From 1977-1989, there was something in the water. to me this was the renaissance of American cinema. from this we saw a sleuth of directorial geniuses arise including George Lucas ( in his prime), Martin Scorsese, Coppola, and none other than the man himself Steven Speilburg. we've spoken about Spielburg's work o "Schindler's List" but when talking about Speilburg it's difficult for me lump Schinder in with the rest. While it is his best stand alone work. it really does not represent his mass body of work which made him into the icon we know. for that we must go back to a magical place called the 1980's where Cindi Lauper made a music video with the World Wrestling Federation in order to promote the Goonies (Seriously, LOOK IT UP!) in the 80's Speilburg was a powerhouse director and producer. he had his hands in everything from the indana Jones series to Jaws, t the Gremlins to even he goonies!. our entire childhood was molded by a single man with big aspirations. but if there was ever a film that had more heart than the rest it was without a doubt the little known picture e"E.T. The Extra Terrestrial"
E.T. follows the story of Elliot, a young boy in suburban California. Elliot has trouble reaching out tp the rest of his family and feels like an outcast. one night An extraterrestrial ship lands o n earth and accidentally leaves one of their own behind. Elliot discovers the Alien and is finds that the two of them share a telepathic bond which makes them able to understand each other. what follows is a heartwarming adventure as Elliot fights to protect his new friend and return him home. along the way Elliot will discover the love his family has for each other as well as a dark and foreboding force in the form of the u.s. government that is on the prowl.
What can be said about this movie without first bringing up Mr. Spielburg's body of work. Something i loved about Spielburg is his ability to recapture that feeling of being a child. watch any film during the 80's Spielburg was always able to make the audience wish they were a part of the action. to be a kid again. k remember seeing goonies and wishing i was there. i wished i was indiana jones. hell i wish i w as involved with the group of friends who helped save E.T. There is something just so wonderful about the tone of the film while providing a greatly painful loneliness of Elliot who suffers being abandoned by his father, but at the same time we are exposed to this beautifully hopeful story about love and friendship.
i would love to take the time to talk about the E.T. himself. while he is just a puppet, the design of E.T. is incredible. thee is so much emotion and feeling put into it. the concept of having a character that can not be directly communicated with is something that hasn't been done away with. while E.t. may not have originated this plot device it is something that hs been used widely in children's films ever since. most notably in transformers with the character of bumblebee.
another key figure in the films are the villains. The government, while this is once again nothing new to cinema E.t.'s approach to the them is what makes them extremely affective. throughout the picture the agents our portrayed in the shadows or from a first person perspective. seldom do we see there faces if ever and when we do it is typically a character that has been humanized. the skewing of the government's image makes them sam more alien and abstract to the audience while we are forced to see E.t. head on making him more human to us. one great scene in particular has Elliot's family being terrorized by government agents in astronaut outfits. this whole entire scene seems to be right out of a sic fi horror film all except for th fact that THESE are the humans.
and that's E.T.. Like i said before nothing will make you feel more alike a child again than the films of Spielburg. and E.t. is no accept ion. everything about this film is grand and wondrous and will provide you with a wide eyed wonder that most films don even try to make. it's a must see so please check it out.
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