For fans of “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” and have the equipment to play 4K Ultra HD films, then definitely upgrade to this 4K Ultra HD 35th Anniversary release. The film looks and sounds better than ever and I highly recommend Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” on 4K Ultra HD.
TITLE: E.T. the Extra Terrestrial
DATE OF FILM RELEASE: 1982
DURATION: 1 Hr. and 55 Minutes
BLU-RAY INFORMATION: 2160p 4K Ultra High Definition, English Dolby Atmos, French, Spanish, Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital, English Audio Description, SUBTITLES: English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Portuguese
COMPANY: Universal
RATED: PG
RELEASE DATE: September 12, 2017
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Screenplay by Melissa Mathison
Producer: Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg
Associate Producer:Â Melissa Mathison
Music by John Williams
Cinematography by Allen Daviau
Edited by Carol Littleton
Casting by Jane Feinberg, Mike Fenton, Marci Liroff
Production Design by James D. Bissell
Set Decoration by Jackie Carr
Costume Design by Kurt and Bart
Starring:
Dee Wallace as Mary
Henry Thomas as Elliott
Peter Coyote as Keys
Robert MacNaughton as Michael
Drew Barrymore as Gertie
K.C. Martel as Greg
Sean Frye as Steve
C. Thomas Howell as Tyler
Erika Eleniak as Pretty Girl
Relive the adventure and magic in one of the most beloved motion pictures of all-time, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, from Academy Award-winning director Steven Spielberg. Captivating audiences of all ages, this timeless story follows the unforgettable journey of a lost alien and the 10-year-old boy he befriends. Join Elliot (Henry Thomas), Gertie (Drew Barrymore) and Michael (Robert MacNaughton) as they come together to help E.T. find his way back home, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial is “one of the great American films” (Leonard Maltin) that forever belongs in the hearts and minds of audiences everywhere.
As the film “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” celebrates its 35th anniversary this year and 2017 features the film’s debut on 4K Ultra HD.
There is no denying how beloved this film is. A personal film created and directed by Steven Spielberg, the concept came from his imaginary friend that he had after his parents divorce in 1960. He and writer Melissa Mathison would eventually develop the film and with a budget of $10.5 million, the film would become the highest-grossing film of all time for eleven years until Spielberg topped it in 1993 with his film “Jurassic Park”.
But “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” is well-known for everyone going out to watch the film, critics praised the film and for “Star Wars” fans, remembering that “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” would overthrow the film as the highest-grossing film but yet paying a homage to the film by featuring the toys in the film.
The film would launch Steven Spielberg’s career, it would also launch the careers of young Henry Thomas and Drew Barrymore, but also would featuring up-and-coming talent with C. Thomas Howell and Erika Eleniak. While talents Dee Wallace and Peter Coyote had established careers, their careers would no doubt receive a boost from “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial”. And for producer Kathleen Kennedy, it was a beginning of what would become a string of consecutive high-grossing films in her producing oeuvre.
Considered by many as the greatest film ever made, in 1994, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.
The film was re-released in 1985, would have a 20th Anniversary release in 2002 which featured a new premiere and a reunion of the cast and it’s first release on DVD. And here we are in 2017 as the film will be celebrating it’s 35th Anniversary and the film makes its debut on 4K Ultra HD.
“E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” begins with alien botanists landing in a forest in California. As they are obtaining plant samples, government agents arrive on scene and as the aliens flee in their spaceship, one is left behind.
Meanwhile, we are introduced to a ten-year-old boy named Elliott (portrayed by Henry Thomas) who is trying to fit in with his brother Michael (portrayed by Robert MacNaughton) and his friends, but also living with his recently-separated mother Mary (portrayed by Dee Wallace) and his younger sister Gertie (portrayed by Drew Barrymore).
As Elliott goes outside to meet with the pizza delivery person and get pizza for his brother’s party, he hears a noise inside the shed. As he throws a baseball towards the shed, someone throws the ball back at him.
Freaking out, he runs inside telling everyone something is in the shed. And when Michael and his friends go to check, they see footprints and suspect a coyote.
As Elliott doesn’t believe it’s a coyote and thinks it may be a goblin, he is made fun of by Michael and his friends.
This leads Elliott to do a test by placing Reese’s Pieces candy to see if he can lure whatever it maybe to his home and sure enough, he is able to lure an alien to his home.
Elliott eventually introduces Michael and also Gertie to the alien and they decide to keep it hidden from their mother.
The alien which they name E.T. is an intelligent life form that learns from the humans and tries to show them where he lives by levitating balls and also he revives a dead chrysanthemum.
It’s not long after, Elliott and E.T. begin to share a psychic connection. Meanwhile, government agents start to do research around the forest and find Reese’s Pieces and are thinking that the alien was lured to a nearby neighborhood. And start to use listening devices to hear any conversations that may be going on the neighborhood to see if someone had lured the alien to their home.
Meanwhile, the longer E.T. stays in Earth, Michael starts to notice that E.T. is getting sick and after seeing a comic strip featuring Buck Rogers, E.T. sees how humans are able to have devices to call home and E.T. tries to find ways to make a device to communicate with his fellow aliens to come back and retrieve him on Earth.
But as E.T. is getting sicker and the government agents are nearby, what will happen to both E.T.and Elliott, who is showing signs of being sick like E.T. as they both share a psychic connection.
VIDEO:
“E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” receives its first 4K Ultra HD release and is presented in 2160p (Widescreen 1:85:1 aspect ratio).
Having watched this film on DVD upon its first release and then on Blu-ray, I can easily say that the 4K Ultra HD is fantastic. For the most part, the film doesn’t even seem ’80s because the resolution is so great. But during the scenes with visual effects (such as Elliot and E.T. bike scene on air), the technology of its time does show its age in that moment. Bu for the most part, this is the best version of “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” that I have seen to date!
IMPORTANT TO KNOW: To watch 4K Ultra HD, you will need a 4K UHD TV with HDR and an Ultra HD Blu-ray Player + a high-speed HDMI (Category 2) Cable.
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
Lossless audio quality is equally impressive. Featured in English DTS-X Immersive Audio, Brazilian, Portuguese, French European, Japanese, L.A. Spanish DTS Digital Surround 5.1 and English, Japanese DTS Digital Surround 2.0.
The film has a blend of crystal clear dialogue and the musical score by John Williams is spectacular!
Subtitles are in English, English SDH, Brazilian, Portuguese, Complex Mandarin, French Canadian, Japanese and L.A. Spanish.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“E.T. the Extra Terrestrial†comes with the following special features (on the Blu-ray Disc):
- A Look Back – (37:43) A look back during the film of “E.T.” with behind-the-scenes footage and also interviews with cast and crew.
- The Evolution and Creation of E.T. – (50:13) A featurette on the making of “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial”
- The E.T. Reunion – (17:55) The 20th Anniversary Reunion with Dee Wallace, Drew Barrymore, Henry Thomas, K.C. Martel, Peter Coyote, Steven Spielberg and producer Kathleen Kennedy.
- The Music of E.T.: A Discussion with John Williams – (10:03) A featurette with John Williams on creating the music for “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial”.
- The 20th Anniversary Premiere – (17:49) A featurette of planning the 20th Anniversary Premiere with a live orchestra conducted by John Williams and setting up the stage at the Shrine Auditorium.
- Designs, Photographs and Marketing – Featuring E.T. designs by production illustrator Ed Verreaux, E.T. Designs by Carla Rambaldi, Spaceship Designs by Ralph McQuarrie, Designs by Production Illustrator Ed Verreaux, Production Photographs and Marketing E.T.
- Theatrical Trailer
- Special Olympics TV Spot
EXTRAS:
“E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” comes with a slipcover, both the 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray disc and an UltraViolet Digital HD code.
I grew up during the time “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” was released in theaters. I can easily remember going to my uncle’s wedding in Reno, Nevada and hearing the news on the radio of how the film became the highest-grossing film of all time.
But the “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” madness didn’t end there, I purchased an Atari game which was supposed to be based on the film that frustrated me to no end and I also had a life-size E.T. toy chest, which my brother and I would use to scare my little sister when she was misbehaving.
I have to admit that I was indifferent towards the film, a little bit bitter as the film would kick “Star Wars” out of the top spot of highest-grossing films of all time. But yet, each time I watched the film, I could see it’s charm, I could see why it attracted people to want to watch it many times.
And as I got older, I watched the film and appreciated it even more. Especially when I first introduced the film to my child and he got to watch it and enjoy it.
And having watched this film many times, here I am reviewing it for the 35th anniversary release on 4K Ultra HD.
“E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” is a film that captivates you. A young boy who meets his first true friend and having to lose that friend. A sci-fi film which government agents want to capture the alien and learn from it. An action film as the children do whatever they can to protect their sick friend. And the fact that the child actors believed E.T. to not be a puppet but like a living being, is what sold the film to audiences.
And even back for the film’s 20th Anniversary, the cast talked honestly about how they never thought about E.T. as a puppet but as an actual thing that was truly alive and that was quite fascinating.
It’s a film that moved audiences, a film that moved President Reagan and his wife, a film that moved Princess Diana and it was a film that was no doubt a masterpiece by Steven Spielberg who would go on to make many more wonderful films in his long oeuvre.
And it’s a film that will no doubt stand the test of time with a new generation of moviegoers.
Now there are a few things I must discuss, for those who owned the 20th Anniversary version which had both the theatrical and the 20th Anniversary Extended Version of the film. The 2002 version digitally removed the guns used by government agents with walkie talkies (towards the end of the film).
In 2011, Steven Spielberg made it clear that there will be no more digital enhancements and perhaps he learned by fan backlash of the George Lucas’ original “Star Wars” trilogy and also backlash from critics and also ridiculed in a “South Park” episode, no doubt Spielberg learned a lesson. He has made it clear that he wants people to watch the original 1982 version and sure enough, with the 4K Ultra HD release, you are getting the 1982 film and yes, the agents have their guns. And no, the 2002 version is not included. So, if you like that version, keep (or find) that 2002 20th Anniversary DVD release.
As far as the 4K Ultra HD version is concerned, this is the best version I have seen of this film to date. While created in 1982, “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” on 4K Ultra HD doesn’t even look its age. It looks almost recent, aside from when the bike flying scene is shown, that is the only time where old technology and 4K Ultra HD tends to show the aging visual effects of its time. But other than that, everything else about this film looks great in 4K! The lossless audio features crystal clear dialogue especially crystal clear music from John Williams. And last, all the 20th Anniversary special features from the DVD are included in this release and more.
Overall, for fans of “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” and have the equipment to play 4K Ultra HD films, then definitely upgrade to this 4K Ultra HD 35th Anniversary release. The film looks and sounds better than ever and I highly recommend Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” on 4K Ultra HD.