E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was originally released in 1982 and changed the cinematic scene from the moment it was conceived. The brain child of Steven Spielberg, the film had a greater impact than that which first comes to mind. Not only were films involving special effects, blockbuster-style marketing and extraterrestrial themes beginning to saturate the market, but several unexpected occurrences followed; from an increase in the sales of Reese’s Pieces, to the sudden obsession with “E.T., phone home!” Fun fact surrounding the Reese’s candy – Mars was originally approached so that the legendary candy could be M&M’s, but they claimed the film was inappropriate for children and refused to be included. This seems like overkill until you find out that children under the age of 12 were forbidden from even viewing the film in Sweden, Finland and Norway based on concerns regarding “adults being presented as enemies of the child stars”. Oh, how times change.
The raw emotion within the film can be felt at various points, even if certain critics feel that the thematic elements were slightly overused and could be compared to earlier works such as Black Beauty. The irony in this critique lies in the fact that both films had the same screenwriter – Melissa Mathison. Spielberg is quoted as saying, “E.T. was about the divorce of my parents, how I felt after my parents broke up. [It was] the first movie I ever made for myself.” In his mind, the creature was meant to represent the imaginary companion that so many children invent for themselves in times of duress. After just coming off his success following Raiders of the Lost Ark, Spielberg had a sharp desire for a film that felt both closer to home and more intimate in its shooting.
True to blockbuster films, E.T. generated $700 million in revenue, and is still within the top 5 grossing films of American history. The budget for this film was small in comparison to what Spielberg normally worked with – a mere $10.5 million in comparison to the $20 million received for Raiders of the Lost Ark. During shooting, storyboards were never religious used, as director Steven Spielberg was concerned that the child actors, such as a young Drew Barrymore, would translate to the big screen with too much rigidity and spoil the “wonder” necessary for every scene involving the alien.
Many critics and fans alike argue that the true heroes behind the film’s production had very little to do with directing, unless you count the individuals who directly worked with the children as Spielberg is notorious for not working efficiently with young stars, was Carlo Rambaldi. Rambaldi had worked on films such as King Kong and Alien, but his creation of the physical character E.T. directly c contributed to the lovable aura surrounding the character. It may not seem like a feat at first glance, but the ability to create a character loved by children and interesting to adults is no small victory. Fortunately, Carlo was awarded an Academy Award for his work within special effects and we are all better of having known his talent on the big screen.
Hello Aisha,
Within your article you discuss the impact of E.T not just in theaters but outside of them as well. It’s fascinating to take into consideration that an animatronic alien helped the rise of sales of a specific brand of candy due to a mere mention. About your take on Spielberg and his work with children; in the HBO documentary “Spielberg” they go into further explanation about his work on this film and why it was so touching to him. He seemed to have a good relationship with the kids but he also seems to be a perfectionist; which of course can be intimidating. You make a good argument about how nowadays this movie seems so innocent but when it was released it was considered to adult due to the adults as villains. I’ll pay more attention to the difference of viewing a movie as a kid compared to as an adult.
Hello Aisha,
I must say that I am very impressed with the all detail about the film that I found in your post and with the overall way you constructed your post last week. I enjoyed reading it quite a lot and thought that it was both well written and easy to follow. I also was surprised to see that the film you chose last week was directed by Steven Spielberg, as I wrote about Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark which as you know, was directed by him as well. Additionally, I thought it was interesting to learn about the budget differences Spielberg faced when creating E.T. as opposed to Indiana Jones.
Hey, right from the start i like how you start your post. Very good information about the movie and details that a reader would find interesting. I also like the pictures from behind the scenes you used. This compares to my post because i also did the movie E.T. and put a lot of similar information. We both found how the movie was created really important since the main character wasn’t real. One thing i learned was the children in Sweden under 12 couldn’t actually watch this movie. Something i will take away from this post is discuss from critics and other big time people in the movie business.
Wow, I learned several things reading this. First i’m impressed that this movie remains one of the biggest grossing movies in the US. I’m also surprised that the movie wasn’t originally shown to children in several countries, I remember watching this and going on the ride when I was very little.