1982 E.T. The Extra Terrestrial

In 1982 a little film about a boy befriending a stranded alien became the biggest movie in the world. There is no doubt about it, E.T. was a phenomenon. Wherever you went in the world E.T. was there. The image of the alien was used to sell biscuits, Atari games, records, toys and Speak and Spell units.

Why was E.T. so popular? Probably because of its tragedy. Anyone who went to see the movie came out in tears. It spoke to different generations about different things, and its legacy is that of saying goodbye to your childhood. It is the flip story to Peter Pan, it is about growing up and the pains that this involves.

To view it now the power of the story has not changed. It is a wonderful film. Expertly directed by Steven Spielberg; beautifully written by Melissa Matheson and E.T. given heart-rending life by Carlo Rambaldi. The score by John Williams is genius, giving operatic life to this suburban tale. It is a love story, an adventure and a tragic soap opera.

The movie was not released on video for years, at the request of Spielberg. However it was repeated in the theatres and a sequel was always mooted, but never realised. This is how it should be. The story does not need a follow up, it is perfect exactly as it is.

it remained the most successful film ever until Titanic was released in 1997, grossing an enormous $663m worldwide. It also has the unenviable legacy of almost destroying Atari, who released one of the worst games ever to tie-in with the movie. That remains to be the case, no game has suffered such ignominy.

To list the merchandise here would require pages and pages of links, therefore I present a pick of the bunch. Search for yourself and revel in the joy that is E.T.



Go to Abe Books for the  E.T. novelization

While E.T. was massive globally and its release spawned a whole myriad of merchandise, I remember the biscuits in particular, the video game was a disaster and almost crippled Atari. It was rushed out, which is no good thing, and the gameplay was dreadful, garnering terrible reviews. There is a wonderful documentary of the hunt for copies of the game which were apparently buried in a desert outside of California. Alternatively, you could pop to Ebay, as some copies have been seen on there: 

ET Atari