A Heartfelt Blockbuster

As argued by film analyst David Gibson, E.T. the Extra Terrestrial is, “one of the most personal blockbusters ever.” While E.T. contains many elements of a traditional blockbuster it differs slightly from the traditional due to director Steven Spielberg’s ability to pull on the audience’s heartstrings and tell a personal story that covers the basic human longing to be loved and accepted.

Elliot, played by Henry Thomas, is a young boy who is a child of divorce. He desperately wants to fit in with his older brother and friends. Yet is continually teased and shunned. When Elliot discovers an alien in the family’s outdoor shed, his family only ridicules him for being scared of nothing. E.T. is revealed to be a stranded alien and Elliot immediately relates to his feelings of loneliness. He hides E.T. in the house and later reveals him to his siblings. The group grow together as E.T. learns how to communicate to Elliot. They form a supernatural bond and their feelings become intertwined. In a heart wrenching ending Elliot is able to reunite E.T. with his own kind leaving the pair forever changed in a hopeful way. These deep feelings of insecurity and desire to be loved are portrayed in such a wholesome way that, while geared towards kids, everybody can be entertained.

According to Spielberg himself in a 1982 Rolling Stone interview he pulled many situations and feelings from his own life. Spielberg was a child of divorce and blamed it on the time on his father. Spielberg also grew up in a suburban setting and struggled with the uniformity of a suburban childhood if one did not fit in. Spielberg admits he always wanted to make a film with “boyhood wonders” but was unable to do so with more traditional blockbuster movies in his lineup like Jaws and Indiana Jones. When making Indiana Jones Spielberg was able to humanize Harrison Ford’s character but was never able to really slow the movie down to draw deeper connections with the audience. With E.T. Spielberg was able to open up and share some of his personal story and experiences.

John Williams composed the score and went on to win an Oscar for his work. Williams was highly credible having previously worked on Star Wars and Indiana Jones. The music fits perfectly whether it needs to convey sorry or joy. The most memorable moment comes when Elliot and E.T. lift off the ground on their bicycle. As they are about to fall off of a cliff the bike takes flight and the soundtrack comes to a crescendo. An overwhelming sense of joy washes through the viewer. To get this near perfect crescendo, Spielberg allowed Williams to conduct from his heart and cut the movie to fit the soundtrack, not the other way around. This feeling is seldom captured by any director and producer but here Spielberg and Williams were able to create an absolute masterpiece.

Spielberg’s budget of $10 million was easily outmatched in ticket sales and E.T. stands today as the 4th highest grossing movie of all time when accounting for inflation. This movie takes on many standard blockbuster elements of the time but also adds its own spin to the genre. The film is not traditional by having a cast that includes no real stars and a very relaxed pacing. The trailer opens by establishing the ethos of Spielberg and Williams and shows multiple different action scenes but is narrated in a comforting and soothing tone. This resembles the tone for the movie as a whole. E.T. the Extra Terrestrial is traditional in how well known both the director (Spielberg) and composer (Williams) were. Many implausible situations and plot devices occur which add to the movie’s mystical feeling. The conclusion of the movie is an example, space-suited men break into Mary’s home and set up an impromptu hospitalization of E.T. The boys make an elaborate escape with E.T. from the cold and dark halls of the claustrophobic prison. Themes of evil adults are apparent from beginning to end as they want to acknowledge their own interests such as capturing E.T. and show no remorse in restricting E.T’s freedom to reunite with his kind and secure his own sense of belonging. The original movie poster turns no viewers away and appeals to adults and children alike as it sets the wondrous stage for Spielberg’s crowd pleasing masterpiece.

Spielberg took a risk of conveying personal emotions in an otherwise standard blockbuster film and it captured the hearts of many Americans along with making a historic amount at the box office.

Works Cited

1. David Gibson L.O.C. Essay
2. Spielberg’s 1982 Rolling Stone interview
3. Herald Sun article on the John Williams Score
4. 30th Anniversary Article on E.T.
5. The Original Trailer
6. The Original Movie Poster