E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) on Netflix
A small alien gathering plants in a California forest is left behind when his group flees. Ten-year-old Elliott Taylor shelters him in his room, hidden from his mother.
- Netflix4.0/5
- IMDb7.9/10476,921 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes99%
Trailer
Plot summary
A band of small aliens comes to a California forest at night to collect plant specimens. Government agents arrive, and the group lifts off in a hurry, leaving one of its number behind. The stranded creature takes shelter in a shed at the home of ten-year-old Elliott Taylor, then Elliott lures him inside with a trail of candy and hides him in his bedroom. He brings in his older brother Michael and his younger sister Gertie, and the three keep the visitor, whom Elliott calls E.T., hidden from their mother Mary. E.T. can lift objects into the air with his mind, and a government task force keeps hunting for him.
Cast
- David M. O'Dellas Schoolboy (as David O'Dell)
- Richard Swingleras Science Teacher
- Frank Tothas Policeman
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Columbia CEO Frank Price, who had already funnelled nearly $1 million into development, called the film "a wimpy Walt Disney movie" and put it into turnaround. Spielberg took it to MCA president Sid Sheinberg, who acquired the script for $1 million while Columbia retained 5% of net profits.
- E.T.'s voice was performed by Pat Welsh, who smoked two packs of cigarettes a day, giving her a quality sound effects creator Ben Burtt liked. She spent nine-and-a-half hours recording and was paid $380. Burtt also recorded 16 other people and animals, including Spielberg and actress Debra Winger.
- Two little people, Tamara De Treaux and Pat Bilon, plus 12-year-old Matthew DeMeritt, who was born without legs, took turns wearing the E.T. costume. DeMeritt walked on his hands and played all the scenes where E.T. walked awkwardly or fell over.
- Mars, Incorporated refused to allow M&M's to be used in the film, believing that E.T. would frighten children. The Hershey Company agreed to let Reese's Pieces be used instead, and the placement resulted in a large increase in Reese's Pieces sales.
- Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray claimed E.T. drew on his unproduced 1967 screenplay The Alien, copies of which had circulated in Hollywood. Arthur C. Clarke contacted him in 1982 about the similarities, and in 1983 Ray said E.T. would not have been possible without his script.
- During post-production, Spielberg cut a scene featuring Harrison Ford as the principal at Elliott's school, in which his character reprimanded Elliott for his behavior in biology class and warned of the dangers of underage drinking.
- Reports from 1983 that millions of unsold E.T. video game cartridges were secretly buried in an Alamogordo, New Mexico landfill were deemed an urban legend, until April 2014, when diggers hired to investigate confirmed the landfill contained many E.T. cartridges.
- President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan were moved by the film after a White House screening on June 27, 1982, and Diana, Princess of Wales was in tears after watching it. On September 17, 1982 it screened at the United Nations, and Spielberg received a UN Peace Medal.
