E.T. Review
by Tim Wick
Dear Mr. Spielberg
I just had to write you to tell you how much I loved getting the chance to
watch E.T. on the big screen again. I wish more filmmakers would
recognize that a great movie should not be doomed to live on television
screens forever but should be allowed to re-live it's days of glory every
now and again. Having been privileged enough to enjoy Raiders of the Lost
Ark on the big screen just a few weeks ago, this month has been a great
opportunity for me to see the movies I grew up with.
As I think about it, your work is kind of like a theme park. Raiders of
the Lost Ark is the roller coaster. Jaws and Poltergeist are the log
flume and the haunted house. Jurassic Park is that spinning ride that
turns you upside down and makes you a little woozy. E.T. is the carousel.
I don't know how many theme parks I've been to or how many roller coasters
I've ridden but the one ride it seems I'm never willing to miss is the
carousel.
As I watched your masterpiece again - for the first time in almost twenty
years - I was a little disappointed. You see, Mr. Spielberg, I have a 2 1/2
year old son. I'm trying to teach him to love movies but I think he's about
two years too young to take to your movie. I sat in the theatre alone
looking at all the parents - people my age - who were bringing their
children to see Elliott and E.T. and Gertie for the first time. I can only
hope they were bringing their children because they remembered what it was
like when they were children watching this film with their parents. I
smiled as they cried during all the scenes that made me cry (yes, your movie
still makes me cry) and I laughed when they squealed with delight. Through
all this, I wished my little boy was old enough to see the movie too.
I wanted him to look at me with those wonderfully expressive eyes and ask
"Is E.T. dead" the way the little girl sitting in front of me did. I wanted
him to tell the government agents to leave E.T. alone the way the little boy
behind me did. Frankly, I felt a little cheated.
My little boy loves the carousel. When we took him to Disney World this
year, it was the only ride he insisted on riding more than once. I know
that if I took him to E.T. once, I would have to take him again. Probably
twice in the same day.
So I'm disappointed, Mr. Spielberg, because I think you should release
E.T. every couple of years. Think of the benefits. The film would
unquestionably remain the top box office draw of all time (something I
imagine interests you very little) but more importantly, it would remain a
part of our culture. We have grown cynical, haven't we? I've heard the
argument that you can't make films like E.T. any longer but I wonder if
that is true. I think instead that the fact is no-one would accept E.T
with the kind of wide eyed wonder they could when it was first released in
1982. Had you made the same movie - just as good - in 2002, I don't know
if anyone would have gone to see it.
But because you made this movie when you did, we can hold on to that
idealistic state and simply wrap ourselves in the movie like a warm blanket.
When they are old enough, we can wrap our children in that same blanket and
we stop worrying about terrorists and wars and drugs and crime and realize
that within the framework of unconditional love and trust, bicycles can fly.
Do you suppose that when my little boy is old enough, I can point to
Elliot's relationship with E.T. and say "That's how much I love you?" I
wonder if he would understand.
I noticed things this time that I had never noticed before. I noticed the
pain of a family going through a divorce. I noticed the fact that you
achieved a kind of naturalism from a young Drew Barrymore and Henry Thomas
that no director has ever matched. I noticed the fact that the older
brother, Michael, needed E.T. just as much as Elliott because for a little
while he didn't have to grow up. You must have thought of all this when you
were making the movie. You must have known that this was more than a fluffy
family picture. This was a picture about family, love, life, trust and even
death.
Now I know that you decided to do a few technical touch-up's to the film for
it's theatrical release. I have to admit that federal agents holding walkie
talkies like guns look a little bit silly but that is probably because I
knew what I was looking for. I didn't notice a single kid in the audience
mention a thing. The CGI enhanced E.T. looked fine for the most part
although there were a few points that made him look - well - different than
the E.T. I remember. I see in interviews that you will have both the
original and the special edition on the DVD that will be released later this
year. I appreciate that even though I'm betting none of the kids who saw
the movie with me will care. Thanks for respecting my desire to see the
version I first fell in love with. Can you talk to your pal George about
doing the same thing for Star Wars?
Before I go, let me once again urge you to consider re-releasing this film
every couple of years. I'm sure you have enough money to cover the costs
and I think that you owe it to future generations to keep this film firmly
implanted in the public consciousness. Will I be showing my son the DVD
copy in a couple years? Of course, but it just won't be the same.
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