Short Take: E. T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Director Steven Spielberg's E. T. the Extra-Terrestrial is an enchanting picture, and one of the two or three finest children's movies ever made. The story is about an extra-terrestrial visitor who is accidentally left behind by its landing party. Looking for shelter, it befriends a lonely 10-year-old (Henry Thomas), who lives in a suburban development with his mother (Dee Wallace), older brother (Robert Macnaughton), and kid sister (Drew Barrymore). The drama comes from the alien's efforts to contact its people, and to stay out of the clutches of the government investigators looking to capture it. Spielberg sets up the story with a deft mix of slapstick, visual poetry, and emotional nuance. He also delivers some magical moments, such as the airborne bicycle ride over the forest near the 10-year-old's home. The heart of the story, though, is the rapport between the alien and the 10-year-old. In dramatizing it, Spielberg hits some of the most powerful notes of love and friendship in all of film. This sentimental adventure movie leaves one thrilled, happy, and teary-eyed, all at the same time. The screenplay is credited to Melissa Mathison. Allen Daviau provided the cinematography. The score is by John Williams. The wizardly Carlo Rambaldi designed the alien and oversaw the animatronics.