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E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (re-release)
Universal Pictures

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (re-release) reviews


7.2

based on 26 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 38 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

FILM:

GAMES:

PS One E.T. The Extraterrestrial: Interplanetary Mission

MPAA RATING: PG for language and mild thematic elements

Starring Dee Wallace-Stone, Henry Thomas, Peter Coyote, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, K.C. Martel, Sean Frye, and C. Thomas Howell

The 20th Anniversary re-release of Steven Spielberg's classic tale of an extra-terrestrial who is accidentally left behind on earth and befriends a young boy and his family.

GENRE(S):	Sci-fi
WRITTEN BY:	Melissa Mathison
DIRECTED BY:	Steven Spielberg
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: October 22, 2002 Video: October 22, 2002 Theatrical: March 22, 2002
RUNNING TIME:	120 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

Best Original Score (John Williams), 1983 Academy Awards; #25 on American Film Institute's 100 Greatest American Movies

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

New York Post Lou Lumenick

An all-time classic that seems even better after two decades.

100

The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps

Unchecked goodness has its price, after all, and childhood wonder wouldn't be nearly as sweet if it didn't fade. That may explain the film's appeal. It trapped that feeling, and its sense of possibility, in amber -- then, now, and for any time.

100

Washington Post Desson Thomson

A sophisticatedly sappy masterpiece that bucked the prevailing Hollywood vision of aliens as nasty invaders and recast them as friendly collectibles for children.

100

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

Just as moving, uplifting and funny as ever in its slightly modified form.

100

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

This movie made my heart glad. It is filled with innocence, hope, and good cheer. It is also wickedly funny and exciting as hell.

100

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

The least fussy great movie ever made.

100

Variety Todd McCarthy

Had the aura of an instant classic when it was released, and the good news is that it looks at least that good, if not better, on the eve of its 20th anniversary reissue.

100

The New York Times Dana Stevens

Watching E.T now, in an era dominated by cold, loud special-effects-laden extravaganzas, one is struck less by its lavish grandeur than by its intimacy and precision.

100

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

Always a magical film. For its anniversary rerelease, though, it's been extensively restored and even partly reshot by Spielberg. It now looks better than it did back then.

100

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

Seeing E.T. again reminds us of how much we've remained the same, how gratified we still are by a film that connects so beautifully to our sense of wonder and joy.

100

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

Beaming back on screens for its 20th anniversary, holds up spectacularly well.

100

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

It's one modern film worthy of being called a contemporary classic.

100

Boston Globe Jay Carr

Music for the eyes. That's why it has become a treasured classic. That's why we'll see it again and again.

100

The New Yorker Anthony Lane

Spielberg wrote a poem. And all the best movies are poems. [25 Mar 2002, p. 86]

100

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

In E.T., Spielberg proved a herald of the age when moviegoers would make full-time friends with fantasy, but his most special effect was taking us into ourselves.

100

Salon.com Charles Taylor

One of the loveliest and happiest of American movie entertainments.

100

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

If we approach with sympathy and curiosity, we will be rewarded with same. And our souls, not to mention our bicycles, will soar to the heavens.

LA Weekly Paul Malcolm

The film's real power to move flows from its low, childlike angles, which, rather than infantalize its audience, bring it down to where the hurt and fear, and hence the comfort, loom larger.

Portland Oregonian Kim Morgan

It's a fascinating look into what Spielberg truly loves, but it's not so much a masterpiece as a nice milestone.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

When E.T. debuts on DVD, you can choose between the new version, which better matches E.T.'s words to his lips, and the sweetly clunky, digitally deprived version redolent of penis breath. I don't need to phone home to know which one I'm buying.

TV Guide Staff (not credited)

One of the most popular movies ever made, E.T. translates religious myth into cute, familiar terrain.

New Times (L.A.) Gregory Weinkauf

We're told that this new version is tweaked and enhanced, with the E.T. puppet digitally smoothed out, and the guns in the meanies' hands removed (silly, but bravo).

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

A fine picture because it can still, without fail, make an entire audience of children shut up and fall in love with a little green alien with big eyes and a turtlelike body.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Doesn't make it a masterpiece, but it's fun.

Film Threat Rick Kisonak

The story itself holds up fairly well though, twenty years later, does come off as thinner than I recalled.

Village Voice Don McKellar

E.T. is a dog movie. Genre-wise, I mean. It's about a boy meeting a dog, naming it, taming it, learning from it, and growing up. Of course, the genre is superficially disguised as science fiction, as was the fashion at the time.

The average user rating for this movie is 7.2 (out of 10) based on 38 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Lauren S. gave it a10:
Spielberg's E.T. is one of greatest movies ever made, as a 13 year old, i've never been a fan of kid movies. But E.T. lives on as the friendliest alien Earth, or at least, the movie Industry has ever met. The effects are spectacular, everything is superb. It's a favorite of my all time movies.

Jens J. gave it a10:
Ask John Williams to play in your country live with his orchestra in E.T.'s 30th Anniversary Edition. Please enter here: http://sites.google.com/site/et30thjohnwilliams/Home

[Anonymous] gave it a10:
Hmmmm...this is really interesting. When E.T. was first released, a lot of critics hated it. Now that it's re-released, they love it...i don't get it....Anyway, this movie is just a classic and one of my favorites. (Please stop calling movies "shows"...unless you want to look like an idiot)

Mon gave it a10:
One of the best modern classics!

Antoine T. gave it a10:
One of Spielberg's greatest films by far, timeless storytelling.

Sam gave it a10:
A masterpiece that you will fall in love with every time you see it. Key word, "will."

John B. gave it a10:
Don't listen to the cynics, those who reject anything with an ounce of heart. Forced sentimentality is junk, yes, but this movie has none of that. It's enchanting and wonderful. A great film all around.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (re-release) Universal Pictures

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (re-release)
Universal Pictures