E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Directed by Steven Spielberg
An alien is left behind on Earth and saved by the 10-year-old Elliott who decides to keep him hidden in his home. While a task force hunts for the extra-terrestrial, Elliott, his brother, and his little sister Gertie form an emotional bond with their new friend, and try to help him find his way home.
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What critics compared E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial to
When 8-year-old Alton (Jaeden Lieberher), the boy everyone is after, is pursued by government agents, it recalls E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, with the kid serving as a mixture of Elliott and E.T.
Other sci-fi films are nodded to here as well, including "E.T." and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," and, in fact, seeing Nichols as someone like Steven Spielberg but with a darker palette is not a bad reference point.
The film has been compared to Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Starman, with a dash of E.T. thrown in as well, but unlike a lot of sci-fi movies, we’re not given a set of rules at the start to then serve as our guide into the narrative.
Combine “Close Encounter of the Third Kind,” with “E.T.” and a mix of the television series, “Fringe,” and you have the plot for Jeff Nichol’s film, “Midnight Special.”
Thematically, Arkansas-born writer-director Jeff Nichols’ fourth feature draws capably from the models of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “E.T.” and “Starman,” as well as Nichols’ own affinity for spare widescreen compositions akin to Clint Eastwood movies of that filmmaking era.
It’s especially reminiscent of Close Encounters of the Third Kind and the scarier, government-experimentation bits of ET.
It's all a little like E.T., if E.T. were kind of a dick.
What they're trying to do is evoke the innocence of an “E.T.” while introducing a more recent level of special effects.
And if you grew up watching E.T. and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, you’ll appreciate the references, but a flat-out nostalgia-fest isn’t really enough.
You only have to compare “Super 8" (unfairly perhaps, but inevitably) to the Spielberg film it most resembles, the impeccably entertaining “E.T.,” to see the ways the earlier movie felt fresh and inventive while the new one has the aura of stuff we’ve already seen.
The movie is a touchingly self-conscious homage to early Spielberg, to Jaws and Close Encounters and E.T., and if it's not at the level of those films, neither does it embarrass itself with the comparison.
Without giving too much away, let's just say there's a lot of "ET." here (albeit in a fairly modified form), along with obvious material related to "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," and even some bits of inspiration from "Jaws" as well as the boy group dynamic from "The Goonies" (that Spielberg didn't direct, but did produce and obviously similarly inspired way back when).
From its mysterious otherworldly presence with unknown motives to the late ’70s suburban kids whose vast imaginations are swept up in its path, “Super 8” contains echoes of “E.T.,” “Close Encounters,” “Jurassic Park” and even less essential entries in the Spielberg canon, like “War of the Worlds.”
“Super 8” was basically “E.T.
It was nice to see some homages to some of the kids/blockbuster films from the 80s and 90s with references to E.T. and Independence Day, to name a few.
The kind of risk which family-friendly film The Adam Project shares along the same lines as E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), The Last Starfighter (1984), and Flight of the Navigator (1986), pushing the bounds of the PG-13 rating in its action set pieces, character interactions, and narrative themes to feel a touch more like Timecop (1994) from time to time.
The many hilarious jokes and endearing scenes between the two Adams feel absolutely effortless, and are made even more enjoyable to watch by exciting sci-fi nostalgia that pays homage to cult films like Back to the Future , E.T. , Star Wars and Star Trek .
He referenced the sense of awe that moviegoers felt after they saw E.T. for the first time.
The Adam Project is a love letter to classic family sci-fi movies from the 80s like E.T. and Back to the Future with nods to them scattered throughout the film.
Not so much the Indiana Jones movies but the likes of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial , Back to the Future , and The Goonies .
This isn't a masterpiece like "Back to the Future" or "E.T.", but it would be at home on the same marquee as, say, "Gremlins", "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" and "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure".
While the film's score (by frequent Shyamalan collaborator James Newton Howard) ingeniously combines homages to Bernard Herrmann's themes for "Psycho" and John Williams' music for "E.T.," in these scenes Shyamalan employs no score, letting the exterior sounds and actors' strong performances work the audience's anxiety.
A hard-to-swallow spookfest cum religious parable, the film, which also recalls everything from "E.T.
"E.T." and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" are paid homage via a riderless swinging swing and mashed potatoes.
Visual motifs of the seventies and eighties have turned the century with him: His fascination with science and the myth of Pinocchio (from Close Encounters to AI), the men in spacesuits ready to arrest our spirits (Close Encounters to E.T. to Minority Report).
Olivia DeJonge and Ed Oxenbould make for credible kids who are clearly hurting from their family situation (their father left several years ago to be with a younger woman, a scenario that left similarly deep psychic wounds on adolescent Elliott in Spielberg’s E.T.) and are looking to make amends for both themselves and their mother.
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Director
Steven Spielberg
Critics compare E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial to 10 of Spielberg’s own films.
In the same year The BFG was published, Spielberg and Mathison collaborated on E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, which has endured as one of the most beloved family films in cinema history.
I can't understand why; it seems to me that it's one of his gentlest and most beautiful films, less frenetic than Hook , less grueling than E.T. the Extra-terrestrial and less wispy than War Horse .
Adapted by Melissa Mathison, best known for writing E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, the script often feels caught in this limbo between literary richness and the demands of a fast-paced blockbuster.
The BFG was written by Melissa Mathison, who died last year, and who wrote the screenplay for Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, one of the greatest children’s movies of all time.
Las referencias a E.T. no son antojadizas ni se cierran en la presencia de Mathison (fallecida en noviembre último) en la transposición o en que ambas películas tuvieron su estreno mundial en Cannes .
Steven Spielberg’s “The BFG,” adapted by the late Melissa Mathison from the 1982 Roald Dahl novel, harks back, thematically if not favorably, to “E.T.” It’s about Sophie (Ruby Barnhill), a spunky, bespectacled 8-year-old orphan from central London who is plucked from her forbidding orphanage in the middle of the night by a 26-foot giant with a spindly neck, sharp nose, and floppy ears, played by a special effects-enhanced Mark Rylance.
But there is a late-blooming raison d’être here: reminding us that Spielberg’s great works (from E.T. to A.I. to Munich) have always evoked lonesome alienation when they wanted.
His group of friends/co-conspirators enters the frame on bicycles, reminding us of “E.T.”
Spielberg once said his original concept for E.T. “didn’t include an extraterrestrial.
For the children, but especially Sammy, it is a harsh confrontation with antisemitism combined with the fish-out-of-water existence that so many out-of-sync teenagers face when confronted with a rich kid/jock atmosphere that they are no more prepared to face than an alien from “ET.” Mitzi, whose hold on daily life was already fragile, now feels she’s without an anchor and she begins to withdraw further.
The divorce of Spielberg's parents has been a theme in many of his movies, from the breakdown of the Close Encounters of the Third Kind family and the single mother in E.T., to Indiana Jones's daddy issues and the real-life Frank Abagnale in Catch Me If You Can.
Moments dealing with initial romantic inclinations, like in E.T. (1982) or the boy scouts which conjure the opening of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) are only a couple of the nods to Spielberg’s own creative conjurings, but in essence, besides the cinematic prowess of Kaminski (and playful nods to what constitutes an interesting horizon line), there’s little to differentiate the tone of The Fabelmans from a myriad of other memoir-inclined narratives (think last year’s The Tender Bar , for instance).
From his own work, Spielberg includes material borrowed from "E.T." (a hiding in the closet scene) and "Close Encounters," while there are moments related to Kubrick's work (the smooth talking robotic teddy bear could be a descendent of HAL from "2001: A Space Odyssey) and that of other films including "The Wizard of Oz," "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome," "Planet of the Apes," "Waterworld," etc.
From the "Close Encounters" homage (in the visual and the audio) to an over the top (excuse the expression) mechanized moon, to the very title "A.I." (Need I remind ..."E.T."?) When given the choice of solid story-telling or big impressive visual - Steven chooses the latter every time.
It's said that Kubrick was inspired by Steven Spielberg's E.T.
It has scenes that echo "E.T.," aliens right off the mothership of "Close Encounters," and motorcycles dressed up like the predators of "Jaws."
Then Spielberg's sensibilities slowly take over, with the overall tone mating his yearning "E.T." vibe with Kubrick's infamous semi-nihilism.
And, how does this relate to similar themes in previous Spielberg films, notably in the mother-son relationship central to "E.T."?
Steven Spielberg’s captivating Cold War drama Bridge of Spies revisits the director’s favoured themes of outsiders and father figures while also recalling one of his classic movies: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
The denouement is second only to ET for outright emotionalism.
Left to his own devices, he tends to default to a child (or childlike character) trying to get home (“E.T.,” “Empire of the Sun,” “A.I.,” “The Terminal”).
The characters, a failed father (Tom Cruise, wearing his blue collar on his sleeve), his rebellious teenage son (Justin Chatwin, channeling a young Mr. Cruise) and his precocious daughter (Dakota Fanning, filling Drew Barrymore's shoes from "E.T.") have all been done to better effect in other films.
In Steven Spielberg's unofficial trilogy Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T. and A.I. Artificial Intelligence , kindly, curious aliens visit earth and gently explore our mysterious ways.
That may come as a surprise, considering that "Worlds" comes from ace director Steven Spielberg, whose previous alien visitation movies ("E.T.
If Spielberg is through making instantly classic films like E.T. or Saving Private Ryan, we'd be plenty lucky to have him finish out his career churning out a yearly dose of glossy, empty, blockbuster entertainment like this.
In total contrast with earlier Spielberg creations, E.T. and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, that illustrated his long held fascination with the heavens and other worlds that exist out there.
There’s no sign of the cute and cuddly alien-loving Spielberg of E.T. and Close Encounters of the Third Kind; instead he pulls out all the stops and gives us almost two hours of solid Earth-trouncing action, albeit sprinkled with a Tom Cruise sub-plot about parental issues.
Spielberg displays here the same sensitivity to this sense of family tragedy and childhood angst that he brought to E.T. ; it runs like a minor theme through the bouncy plot of the film.
Broken families have long been a recurring motif in Spielberg's work: in "E.T.," Henry Thomas' Elliott was depressed about his father running off to Mexico with a girlfriend; Christian Bale's Jim lost his family amid the chaos of war-torn Shanghai in "Empire of the Sun"; Haley Joel Osment's David was an android abandoned by his adoptive mother in "A.I."; cop Tom Cruise used drugs to avoid dealing with the tragedy of his son's murder in "Minority."
Spielberg's told enough stories of hopelessly broken homes (Close Encounters, The Color Purple), guys proving their worth (Duel, Schindler's List), and innocents making their way in a corrupt adult world (E.T., Empire of the Sun).
For all the great films Spielberg has made since Jaws, Close Encounters, Raiders and E.T., this is the one that's closest in spirit and rush to the four of them.
La nueva película de Spielberg cuenta con la devoción a la magia cinematográfica que lograron que filmes como “ET”, “Raiders of the Lost Ark” y “Jurassic Park” dejaran una huella permanente en el séptimo arte.
“Ready Player One,” Steven Spielberg’s dizzying foray into ’80s pop culture fandom, is a return of sorts to the pure pop escapism that pervaded his filmography in the late ’70s and early ’80s, with such films as “Jaws,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “E.T.” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”
There’s nothing particularly unique about Wade, but the movie’s throwbacks extend to its live-action scenes as well: He’s the typical white kid ready to rule the world, a Spielberg staple since “E.T.”, and through perseverance he finally cracks the code to get to the first key.
An amalgamation of "American Graffiti," "Star Wars," "E.T." "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," and nearly every successful adventure movie franchise of the '30s, '40s, and '50s, the movie is dotted with immediately recognizable nostalgic elements that play to the kid in everyone.
It's the most tender, warm-spirited and entertaining picture Spielberg has made in years, and I say that as someone who's regularly rejected the whatever-it-is that Spielberg is often trying to sell: There are Spielberg pictures that I love ("E.T.," "Jaws," "Schindler's List") and others I despise, like his delusional work of sci-fi craftsmanship "War of the Worlds," which I consider one of the ugliest, most mean-spirited pictures of the decade.
It's obviously b.s., but it allows Spielberg to resurrect images from virtually every popcorn movie he's ever made, from "Close Encounters" to "E.T." to "War of the Worlds."
Viktor learns English over the course of several weeks by watching the terminal’s CNN feeds (for other characters learning English by watching TV, see Spielberg’s “E.T.” or Hanks’ “Splash”), and by locating a travel guide in English and the same one in Krakozhian and comparing them.
No, it’s not E.T., but rather The Terminal, an uneven blend of comedy, romance, and corniness about an Eastern European immigrant (Tom Hanks’ Viktor Navorski) confined to an airport when his fictional native country of Krakozia undergoes a coup and his traveling papers are rendered null and void.
But Spielberg sees him like a more animated version of ET, a curious figure who helps everyone else learn about patience and the virtue of waiting for the right moment.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)…
Instead, his latest science-fiction epic finds him reaching for something stranger, knottier, and more elusive. Disclosure Day is not a tidy alien invasion spectacle or a clean return to the emotional clarity of E.T. or Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
I personally prefer when such religious resonance is left to be teased out by audiences, as it is in something like Close Encounters and E.T.
His newest film, Disclosure Day, arrives more than four decades after ET, and can oddly be considered its liturgical continuation.
E.T. was inspired partly by research into a notorious alleged alien encounter in Hopkinsville, Kentucky in 1955.
…or turn it into something sweet (E.T.)
Nope is Peele’s most ambitious project yet as a filmmaker, a Wild West space-alien epic with overtures of Spielberg ( E.T. and even Jaws ) that challenges Hollywood’s time-honored concept of bug-eyed “little green men,” what intergalactic travelers might look like, or do, or why they might be interested in us.
Spielberg also loves combining awe and dread, as seen in his earlier titles (“Jaws,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and even “E.T.”) and some of his later works (“Jurassic Park” and “War of the Worlds”); these sources of terror are also impressive unknowns that instill wonder as well as panic.
Peele even includes a (bloody) visual nod to the finger scene in "E.T." and riffs on the catchphrase of the Spielberg-produced "Poltergeist."
Now, before you think I have a thing against sci-fi movies, in general, I love them, including those where beings from other worlds show up, be that "E.T.," "War of the Worlds," the silly "Mars Attacks," "A Quiet Place" or the superlative "Close Encounters of the Third Kind."
With DNA strands from Signs, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and even E.T., Nope feels a bit as if Spielberg’s abandoned Night Skies project (intended as the malevolent counterpoint to Close Encounters) had finally reached the screen, but Peele has gene-spiced the elements into something instantly recognizable as a “Jordan Peele” film, mixing scares with social commentary.
Us could be seen, in the sense that it is partly about the lingering aftereffects of childhood trauma, as a reply to early-Spielberg fantasies: How did the kids from The Goonies or E.T. grow up, and how did their experiences impact their lives?
He not only achieves a similar kind of suspense by showing less, but also conjures up that E.T. feeling that the Wilsons are every modern family, and that their experiences are reflective of ours.
It’s also because it’s a relationship we recognize from the other children’s classics to which it easily compares (“E.T.” being the obvious touchpoint), and possibly even, if we were very lucky kids, from our actual childhoods.
The very notion of blending an ET-style heart-warmer with a sometimes graphic exploration of industrial-scale food production practices might be a challenge too far for most tastes.
Some might say that “Okja” is a mash up of moments from such films as “Lassie,” “King Kong,” “Mighty Joe Young,” “Soylent Green” and, even “E.T.” And, in a way, it is.
On the one hand, it is a film that is clearly trying to hit the same sweet spot that “E.T.” did 35 years ago and there are a number of moments here that are indeed as magical, both technologically and emotionally, as anything that Spielberg whipped up back in the day.
The movie’s underlying premise — child bonds with otherworldly beast and defends it from cruel adults — easily calls to mind “E.T.” or “Pete’s Dragon,” but Bong bends the formula into his own agenda.
This has resulted in a number of great films over the year—the true-life serial killer investigation “Memories of Murder” (2003), the “Godzilla”-inspired monster movie epic “The Host” (2006) and the elaborate train-based dystopian sci-fi saga “Snowpiercer” (2013)—and even on the rare occasions when he has slipped—I confess to not being much of a fan of his odd “E.T.” riff “Okja” (2017)—his mistakes have at least had the good manners to be as ambitious as his successes.
“E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” (1982)…
Yes, there are several terrific scenes inspired by sci-fi classics (E.T. is obvious at the camp’s forest, while the clone recalls the many “Body Snatchers” adaptations).
That tendency continues with Elio, which will inspire comparisons to everything from Close Encounters Of The Third Kind to E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial to Pixar’s own Wall-E.
…add a healthy dose of Spielbergian sentiment (mostly via “E.T.”)
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Much of Act 2 gives E.T. vibes, complete with every millennial’s recurring nightmare of hazmat-suited government researchers in billowing white duct-tunnels.
But not before Ridley touches its horn, forming a vague, E.T.-style bond with the mythical beast.
With plot points eerily echoing E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial mixed with a bit of the 1983 sci-fi Brainstorm…
Writer/director Alex Scharfman makes his feature debut with the umpteenth twist on "E.T.,"…
Really, though, a Lovecraftian monster might have made this movie more interesting, because the adaptation of the long-running Sega video game series is a dull, predictable family movie that borrows heavily from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and ALF , turning Sonic into an alien who’s taken refuge on Earth.
He’s certainly the best thing in the movie, which is otherwise pretty standard “family” fare in the low-rent “E.T.” mode.
Think "E.T." in running shoes.
Jeff Fowler and Paramount build a very serviceable amalgam of entertainment and action that invokes a lot of the classics like “ET” in interesting albeit vague shades here and there.
The plot isn’t too far from the classic “ET” or the more modern “Bumblebee” — an alien lands on Earth to hide and soon must team up with a kindly human (James Marsden, in a very Marsden groove) to escape the clutches of evil government scientists who want to dissect it.