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E.T.
THE EXTRA TERRESTRIAL
The
story is a reflection on Spielberg?s own lonely childhood. Spielberg,
who is Jewish, had previously dealt with Biblical subject matter
in Raiders of the Lost Ark a year earlier, and would later tell
the Christ story brilliantly through the African slaves in Amistad.
The indirect Christian parallels in ET are mostly accentuated through
our subconscious mind without our even realizing it.
Review by Ken Priebe
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(1982 re-release 2002)
This page was created on January 1, 2002
This page was last updated on
May 23, 2005
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THE SOL O. MANN TOP 10 |
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 Directed
by Steven Spielberg
Writing credits: Melissa Mathison
Dee
Wallace-Stone .... Mary
Henry Thomas .... Elliot
Peter Coyote .... Keys
Robert MacNaughton .... Michael
Drew Barrymore .... Gertie
K.C. Martel .... Greg
Sean Frye .... Steve
C. Thomas Howell .... Tyler
Debra Winger .... ET
Produced
by Kathleen Kennedy (producer), Melissa Mathison (associate producer),
Steven Spielberg (producer)
Original music by John Williams
Cinematography by Allen Daviau
Film Editing by Carol Littleton
Rated
PG
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ET The Extra-Terrestrial:
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
1. Far From Home/ET Alone 2. Bait For ET 3. The Beginning Of A Friendship
4. Toys 5. 'I'm Keeping Him' 6. E.T.'s Powers 7. ET And Elliot Get
Drunk 8. Frogs 9. At Home 10. The Magic Of Halloween 11. Sending
The Signal 12. Searching For ET 13. Invading Elliott's House 14.
ET Is Dying 15. Losing ET 16. ET Is Alive! 17. Escape/Chase/Saying
Goodbye 18. End Credits
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His
Adventure On Earth
The Story that Touched the World!
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SYNOPSIS:
Scenes
added back in include a cameo by Harrison Ford,
Differences
include the removal of guns used by the government agents (something
Spielberg says he regrets having put in),
Original theatrical release was June 11, 1982.
The film was shot on the north side of Los Angeles in Northridge.
ET THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL was added to the Library of Congress National
Film Registry in 1994.
ET THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL is number 25 on the American Film Institute's
list of America's 100 Greatest Movies.
Actress Debra Winger contributed to the voice of ET
ET's love for Reese's Pieces was a huge boost to the new product.
The film is one of the top moneymakers of all time, taking in nearly
$400 million at the domestic box office and more than $700 million
worldwide.
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 Review
by Ken Priebe
Ken's Web Site: Web
site: www.prie-believing.com
Ken earned his BFA from University of Michigan School of Art and
Design, where he majored in film and animation. He has a Classical
Animation Certificate from VanArts, where he currently works as
a manager and instructor. Ken lives near Vancouver, British Columbia
with his wife Janet, who is also an artist. They are working on
an animated short film, and are involved with graphic arts, drama
and Bible studies at their church. |
 In
March 2002, the 20th Anniversary Edition of Steven Spielberg?s ET
The Extra Terrestrial will be released in theaters for a whole
new generation. Originally released on June 11, 1982, it is hailed
as one of the defining movies of the 80s, and one of the biggest films
of all time, both in profits and quality. Deleted scenes are going
to be added, and special effects enhanced. It could likely regain
its title as the highest grossing film; either way it will be a very
special film event. |
 Those
of us who grew up watching the film as children are all familiar with
the story: an alien botanist from outer space (originally named
"Puck" by Spielberg but referred to as "ET") is stranded on earth
and befriended by a 10-year-old boy named Elliott (Henry Thomas).
With the help of his brother Michael (Robert MacNaughton) and sister
Gertie (Drew Barrymore), he tries to keep him a secret from his mother
(Dee Wallace) and all other adults. ET explores his earthly surroundings
with childlike curiosity, and stumbles upon a Buck Rogers comic strip
that inspires him to try and contact his people in space, or as he
puts it, "Phone home." ET begins sharing his feelings psychically
with Elliott, and the two become bonded. Eventually ET gets sick,
possibly as a result of his people being far away, and dies. Elliott
is heartbroken and expresses his love for his alien friend, and ET
is miraculously resurrected. The film climaxes with a sky-high bicycle
chase from the scientists and government officials who want ET, and
an emotional good-bye before the spaceship returns to take ET home
at last. |
 Why
is this film successful, and why has it triggered such an emotional
response in audiences? Is it the special effects, the story, the music,
the directing, the characters? Yes, it?s all of these things. As a
film, it is technically and artistically superb. But I think ET speaks
to us on another level, a deeper one in our subconscious and our souls.
It deals with everyday emotions and experiences like broken families,
loneliness, friendship, and love. It also points to a hunger we all
have for a relationship with a being outside our world. |
 Novelist
Martin Amis wrote of the film: "Towards
the end of ET, barely able to support my own grief and bewilderment,
I turned and looked down the aisle at my fellow sufferers; executive,
black dude, Japanese businessman, punk, hippie, mother, teenager,
child. Each face was a mask of tears?And we weren?t crying for the
little extraterrestrial, nor for little Elliott, nor for little Gertie.
We were crying for our lost selves." (p. 245, Steven Spielberg: the
Unauthorized Biography by John Baxter.) |
 This
powerful image points to the realization we all come to that despite
all the riches of this world, even the riches of human relationships,
we are all incredibly lonely. Spielberg?s films Close Encounters
of the Third Kind and ET support the idea that we often
look to the skies as a comfort and hope to fulfill this loneliness
in our lives. The fact that we often perceive aliens in UFOs as being
wiser, more advanced and more peaceful than we are indicates that
we are aware of our own inadequacies and sinfulness. We admit that
we need guidance and salvation from a source outside our worldly realm
of perception. It even goes to the sad extreme of cults who believe
that space aliens will come save them and take them to a celestial
paradise. |
 The
good news is that in reality this loneliness can be filled, not
by space aliens, but by God, through His son Jesus Christ. There we
find peace, purpose and that special relationship that we all ache
for. The New Testament tells us how this relationship has been restored
to us through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. The film
ET has many parallels to this story, which is part of the reason
why it harbors the response it gets. It is questionable if any literal
relation of ET as a Christ figure was deliberately intended by Spielberg
or screenwriter Melissa Mathison. The story is more a reflection on
Spielberg?s own lonely childhood. Spielberg, who is Jewish, had previously
dealt with Biblical subject matter in Raiders of the Lost Ark
a year earlier, and would later tell the Christ story brilliantly
through the African slaves in Amistad.
The indirect Christian parallels in ET are mostly accentuated through
our subconscious mind without our even realizing it. This Jungian
representation of "archetypes of the collective unconscious" gives
us situations and images that echo the myths and historical gospels
that have become part of our experience, in the same way that the
myth and history references in films like Star Wars enhance our connection
and involvement. |
 Persecution
When ET first arrives on Earth, he is immediately pursued and hunted
by a team of scientists who may want to harm him. Shortly after Jesus
was born he was pursued by King Herod, who ordered all two-year old
boys to be killed so the Messiah would not threaten his leadership.
He originally sent the three wise Magi to find the Christ child and
report back to him to he could worship him. The Magi and Joseph were
warned in a dream that worship was not Herod?s intention, so Jesus
was taken to hide in Egypt. (Matthew 2:1-18) In ET, it is not three
wise men but three children who assist in hiding ET from the scientists.
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 Family
10-year-old Elliott is the middle child, too young to hang out with
his older brother Michael and too old to play with his little sister
Gertie. Their mother is separated from their father, who is in Mexico
with another woman. There is an air of resentment and distance between
Elliott and his mother, as if he blames her for his father leaving.
When he first sees ET in his backyard, nobody believes him, and he
comments that his father would have. The broken family is a situation
that all too many of us can relate to, and it serves as an effective
backdrop to set up the bond between Elliott and ET The absence of
a father in his life deepens the gap that is filled by ET as a sort
of "heavenly father" or friend. |
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 Children
ET is brought into the home and hidden by Elliott. He introduces
him to his siblings and makes them promise to keep him a secret.
He knows that if any adults find him, he will be handed over to
the authorities, who will "do tests on him or give him a lobotomy
or something." Although ET is actually 900 years old (much like
many people in the Old Testament), he explores his surroundings
with the innocence and curiosity of a child, which makes him an
ideal pupil for the human children who welcome and protect him.
"Whoever
welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me." Mark
9:37
Spielberg
accentuates this perspective by shooting most of the film in low
angle shots, as if being seen from a child?s eye-view.
"I
tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children,
you will never enter the kingdom of God." Matthew 18:3
Elliott
(to Gertie): Grown-ups can?t see him, only little kids can see him.
"I
wanted to have children after making ET" -Steven Spielberg
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 Salvation/Exodus
Elliott and ET begin sharing feelings telepathically, which results
in some hilarious scenes. While ET is at home, slightly inebriated,
Elliott is dissecting frogs in science class. The frogs remind him
of ET When ET finds a comic strip that inspires him to contact his
spaceship, Elliott is inspired to save the frogs from their fate.
He realizes again that ET will possibly be dissected as well, unless
they find a way to get him back home. At this point in the film,
both the science teacher and the scientists who are searching for
ET never show their faces. We only see their hands, feet or anything
else besides their faces. This stylistic decision dehumanizes them
and makes them seem more threatening, and further emphasizes seeing
the film from a child?s perspective. Just as "only kids can see
ET", with the exception of Elliott?s mother so far the audience
can only see kids.
Elliott
frees the frogs from their jars and they swarm the classroom, in
a chaotic scenario that echoes the plague of frogs from the book
of Exodus, represented visually in another Spielberg production,
The Prince of Egypt. In this case,
it is an exodus for the frogs!
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INSIDE
INFORMATION:
-One of the deleted scenes that will most likely be put back into
the film features Harrison Ford as Elliott?s school principal. -In
the scene where Mom comes home with Gertie and ET is stumbling around
the kitchen, Mom opens the refrigerator door, hitting ET and making
him fall over. This was not in the script; it was an accident that
happened as they were shooting the scene, and it was so funny Spielberg
left it in! |
Words
As ET learns human language by watching Sesame Street, the first sentence
he says is "Be good," which almost sums up the entire Sermon on the
Mount into two words! |
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 Healing
As Elliott and ET gather supplies to build a radio for contacting
the spaceship, Elliott cuts his finger on a saw blade. ET touches
Elliott?s finger with his, and the cut is completely healed.
And
one of them (Jesus? followers) struck the servant of the high priest,
cutting off his right ear. But Jesus answered, "No more of this!"
And he touched the man?s ear and healed him. -Luke 22:50-51
Jesus healed many people in his earthly ministry, and He still heals
people today. The image of ET and Elliot?s fingers touching that
was used in the movie advertising also bears a strong resemblance
to the fingers of God and Adam in Michelangelo?s Creation of Man.
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 Salvation/Faith
In a tender scene that sums up one of the many themes and inspirations
of the film, Elliott and ET hide in the closet, listening to their
mother tell Gertie a bedtime story. The story is Peter Pan, in the
scene where Peter realizes that Tinkerbell drank poison in order
to save his life. In the original stage play of this story, in order
to save Tinkerbell, the audience had to clap their hands and say
they believed in fairies. Gertie and her mother clap their hands
as they read the story, saying that they believe in fairies, as
Elliott and ET listen and embrace. The idea of sacrificing one?s
life to save another, as Tinkerbell did for Peter Pan, parallels
the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross to save mankind, which requires
from us a response in belief and faith.
 The
famous image of Elliott and ET riding on a bike across the moon
is an homage to the final scene of Disney?s version of Peter Pan
(1953), where the pirate ship-cloud sails across the moon. Again,
the context of that scene being one of looking at the world with
a childlike innocence, as the Darling family gazes into the sky,
dreaming of Neverland. Peter Pan had a lasting influence on Spielberg,
and he revisited it more fully in 1991 with Hook.
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 Home
In the forest, Elliott and ET set up their radio and send messages
into space. It begins to work, and ET repeats the word, "Home." Like
Christians, ET is presently "in the world, but not of the world."
We refer to Heaven as our "home," and long for the day when God takes
us there. Prayer is, in a sense, "phoning home." |
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 Death
Living on Earth and being far from home, ET becomes deathly ill,
and because Elliott shares what he feels, so does he. The situation
becomes so grim that the children break their silence and reveal
ET to their mother. At first she thinks ET is fake, but when he
reaches out to her and cries out, "Mooooom?.", she realizes that
ET is very real. Oddly enough, the mother?s name is Mary, who of
course is the mother of Jesus. There is a touching scene where ET
gazes lovingly and helplessly at Mary as he lays on his deathbed,
just as Jesus looked at his mother while on the cross.
The
entire house is quarantined as the government and science steps
in. Elliott and ET are hooked up to machines and Elliott protests
that he can take care of him, reassuring his friend, "I?ll be right
here."
One
of the scientists (Peter Coyote), a man only referred to as "Keys"
because of the many keys he carries on his belt, finally reveals
his face as he speaks to Elliott. He tries to ask him questions
about the radio. Elliott, in his sickness, is reluctant to tell
him his secrets, insisting, "He came to me."
Keys
replies, "Elliott, he came to me too. I've been wishing for this
since I was 10 years old."
Indeed,
Jesus came for all of us to save us from our sin, as had been prophecied
for several hundred years. Keys goes on to say "His being here is
a miracle." It was through the "miracles" of the virgin birth and
the resurrection that Jesus came to be here with us.
As
ET?s life drains away, Elliott?s life comes back. ET sacrifices
his life for his human friend.
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 Resurrection
Elliott peers into the coffin where ET lies and says good-bye. In
response to saving him, as Tinkerbell did for Peter Pan, he tells
him "I?ll believe in you all my life." As he closes the coffin lid,
ET?s heart light comes back, a sign that his people are coming back
for him. At the beginning of the film, when the spaceship leaves,
ET?s heart light fades and doesn?t appear again until this moment.
 Elliott
rejoices in the resurrection of his friend, and tells his brother,
"He?s alive! He?s alive!"
Mary
Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the
Lord!" -John 20:18
Michael
and Elliott steal a van with ET inside, and meet Michael?s friends
at the playground. Previously in the film, his friends openly ridiculed
Elliott concerning his imaginary "goblin"; their mouths are silenced
as they approach the back of the van and see ET alive and dressed
in a white robe.
At the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus was revealed temporarily
in his full glory, as he would be at his resurrection, and his robe
shone a brilliant white light. (Mark 9:2-12, Matthew 17:1-13) Michael?s
friends, the former Doubting Thomases, come face-to-face with the
being they always secretly wished was real and believed in.
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 Ascension
Elliott?s family, along with Keys and Michael?s friends, meet in
the forest where the spaceship lands, and say good-bye to ET He
tells Michael, "Thank you." He tells Gertie, "Be good."
After
a touching embrace with Elliott, ET?s finger lights up and he touches
Elliott?s forehead, reassuring him "I?ll be right here."
"And
surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
-Matthew 28:20
 The
finger touch on the forehead was Steven Spielberg?s way showing
his approval to his friends and colleagues. Tying it to the Christian
interpretation, "I?ll be right here" reminds us that Jesus is not
only present in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, but also in
our minds as He changes us to be more like Him.
Be transformed by the renewing of your
mind.
-Romans 12:2
 ET
enters his spaceship and "ascends into Heaven" as Jesus did, leaving
a rainbow in the night sky. After the Great Flood, the rainbow was
a sign by God of the everlasting covenant He had established with
his creation.
"Whenever
the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the
everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every
kind on the earth." -Genesis 9:16
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How
well do you discern the "salt and light" in pop culture?
Take the Pop Culture ET Quiz (next page)
THE SOL O. MANN TOP 10
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I'M
NOT SURPRIZED
Subject: ET_The_Extra_Terrestrial
Date: Wed, 3 Apr 2002
From: MaryAnn
Well,
somehow I'm not surprised. I've have always thought if we think long
enough, there is a connection to every film in relation to Christ.
Why not? HE is who made us! Not surprising at all to me.
MaryAnn/Turlock,
Calif.
ET
- Christ
Subject: ET_The_Extra_Terrestrial
Date: Mon, 1 Apr 2002
From: William
Agree
with your interesting review - ET is another beautiful illustration
of the universal mythos of which Jesus Christ is just one other example,
a story many many thousands of years old.
THIS
IS NOT NEW
Subject: ET_The_Extra_Terrestrial
Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002
From: Kelley
I read years ago in some trade publication or other (I can't remember
where) that the story of ET was essentially a retelling of the Jesus
story. Made sense to me, and certainly does explain why the story
seems so familiar to people, without their usually realizing why
it does.
FINALLY!
Subject: ET_The_Extra_Terrestrial
Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2002
From: Nowak
I've been coming to this site for years and ive always been hoping
to see your review of this one. I really understood the deeper meaning
of ET a couple of years ago. Nobody ever believed me when I told
them about it. They all just said "it was a coincidence" Anyway,
your review was great. It looks like you got just about everything.
I have 2 things that I believe you missed though. The "gold," "frankincense,"
and "myrrh," in the movie were the reeses pieces, the baseball,
and the pizza. These were all left for ET at the big shed or........
"the stable" Also, Jesus is always with us.....He is in us. It shows
this in the movie. The boys name is Eliot. The first and last letters
of his name are ET. E lio T. Great Review!
WOW
Subject: ET_the_extra_terrestrial
Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002
From: Chris Utley
isn't
it funny how the majority of the most beloved American films turn
out to be Christ allegories? i will look at E.T. in a whole new
light this coming March!
Chris Utley
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