People don't change, not fundamentally. What has universal appeal in one time has the same in another. Robinson Crusoe, Macbeth, Sense and Sensibility are over 200 years old and people are still reading or watching them.
I know it's old but look up the 2019 Xfinity commercial "E.T. holiday reunion" and you won't believe how well it was made, only a few minutes long but might be worth watching for some.
I saw it at the theater when I was 11. The room was packed. My Big Brother from Big Brothers/Big Sisters took me. There weren't even 2 empty seats together, so we had to sit several rows apart. By the end there were no dry eyes. It was amazing. I'm 54 now. My Big is 65. We are still as close as real brothers. This memory is very special to me.
The screenplay (and the novelization) had them as M&Ms, but they declined to let their candy appear in the movie. Hershey was agreeable, so M&Ms got to watch Reese's Pieces triple in sales after this. Apparently they first hit the market in 1978, but I don't think I had ever even heard of them before this movie.
I have shelves in my basement with various bits from my childhood, one of them has a little E.T. that came with a McDonalds Happy Meal, another has Elliot on his bike from Pizza Hut.
People saw it multiple times, every kid loved it and was talking about it, and the merch was everywhere. People who discover it now likely know it was a big hit, but they can't know just how HUGE of a cultural thing it was at the time.
The best final 9 words of dialogue ever. The entire grief process in one simple exchange. "Come". "Stay". "Ouch". "Ouch". "I'll be right here". "Goodbye".
Drew Barrymore says they never let her see the puppeteers behind ET or let her see him just laying around, lifeless. So, to her little mind, he was real. Also, Spielberg shot the whole film in chronological order to help the kids show the appropriate emotions.
It's even better than that. Initially the model used to be left "unmanned" but the puppet crew noticed Drew would keep having her own one sided conversations with the prop. So between them they agreed an unofficial rota so that even during their break times, one of them would be available to offer some interaction with her. Spielberg credits those acts of kindness for her tearful final goodbye as by that stage she considered him her friend.
@@dabe1971 There is a video on RUclips that is a reunion of the family on the Drew Barrymore's show that is wonderful to watch. She really considered the boys her brothers and her onscreen mom her second mom. As you watched the years seem to melt away to the point Drew sat on the floor looking up in their faces which was the same angle like when she was 5. To this day one of the most wonderful movies ever. To top it off in my experience I saw it in a preview audience where the theatre was 100% capacity. I will never forget the audience reactions the screams, the laughter and the tears,
Entirely different type of movie, but American Graffiti was shot in chronological order so the filming schedule left the actors looking exhausted over the course of the schedule rather had them looking like people who'd had a long night out.
My wife is from Ukraine and was born in the mid 90’s. She grew up on a lot of syndicated dubbed American movies and cartoons but this one didn’t make it over there. Made her watch it a couple years ago and this was almost her exact reaction the whole time. She audibly gasped and jumped off the couch when you see him in the river before breaking down. Now we have a stuffed E.T. on the bookshelf that she got at Universal Studios.
I'm 61 years old. Born, raised, living in Canada. I first saw this in January of 2022, because I had no interest in seeing it. Then I decided to watch it to try to complete the "1001 Movies You Must see Before You Die" list.
An all time classic. Just think of the run of magical films between Spielberg, Lucas and John Williams: 1975 Jaws 1977 Star Wars 1977 Close Encounters 1978 Superman (Williams) 1980 Empire Strikes Back 1981 Raiders of the Lost Ark 1982 E.T. 1983 Return of the Jedi 1984 Temple of Doom What a run! And I was a kid through all of it!
John Williams said Spielberg called him to compose the score to Schindler's List. They watched the movie in the studio and Spielberg said to Williams, there's probably better people to write the score to this movie but they're all dead.
@@jasonlambert5552 The production of 1941 was a disaster. Spielberg went wildly over budget and ran into multiple delays,, Spielberg kinda got away with it because of the huge successes of Jaws and Close Encounters. But Universal was not happy with Spielberg, especially when the movie flopped hard at the box office. That's when Lucas and Spielberg met and they put together Raiders of the Lost Ark. Lucas said to Spielberg that he would produce it, and Spielberg was going to shoot and complete the movie under budget and before the deadline.
I was a jaded student of 20 in 1982, my second year of college, when I saw this with my family. By the end I was a bawling blubbering mess... I couldn't even stand up at first. My mom turned to me and asked me if I was all right! It pushed all my buttons in the right way. I'll never have that first time experience again, and I don't watch the movie very often because I don't want to spoil the magic. But magic it is indeed. I still listen to John Williams score frequently.
I was 6, it's the first movie I saw in a theater with my mom. I cried the first time, I cry each time, and at almost 49, still crying watching it... It's the most beautiful movie from Spielberg.
Finally, a reactor who actually gets this movie. I don't know if there is some kind of millennial generational trauma at play, but all the other reactors I've seen thought ET was creepy at first and kept expecting him to kill everybody. You experienced all the same emotions I did so many years ago -- as many others have said, all of us who saw this in the theater were wet eyed and sniffly by the end. This was lovely, Ames. Happy Birthday (then)!
Millennials think everything is creepy. I think it started when the first clown they saw as kids was the one from The Simpsons, or maybe when their favorite childhood book series was Goosebumps. Or maybe it's the fact that the videogames they grew up playing, had sufficiently advanced graphics to get into uncanny valley territory; as opposed to Gen X, whose idea of videogame graphics was set by Atari 2600, which doesn't have enough resolution to really be creepy even when it's trying to.
I was 12 yrs old, raised in a neighborhood in SoCal exactly like Elliot's, when this came out. I was already a film nerd but this was the first film that truly captured "my" life and imagination, and there is a whole generation of people my age who are forever bonded to Spielberg and Williams because of this film. I have seen it dozens of times, and watched dozens of reactions, and I weep every time. Watch the videos about the sound design and foley.
@@lennyvalentin6485 That's editing trickery, that wasn't a SoCal forest, it is probably still there in rural northern California. Editing is what made it seem they were right next to each other, but that's obviously a forest in the much rainier northern part of the state or perhaps Oregon even. SoCal is much more arid.
@@Anon54387 Ah, I see. Thank you for the information! And also, if the bald spot HAD been at the outskirts of L.A., then surely it would be covered in mansions by now. ;)
@@Anon54387 Nah, I couldn't tell any californian forest from any other, as I don't live there. Or on the north murican continent period. You are aware there are other continents, with other countries on them, yes? We don't have the same type of climate and vegetation here where I live. Don't be so presumptious next time.
In my opinion this score is the best thing John Williams ever wrote. More than half of the emotional impact of the last 15 minutes in due to the score which is working really hard. It's so good that Spielberg tweaked the editing to the music performance, which is pretty unusual.
I agree. I have always felt this score, is William’s Magnum Opus...his greatest masterpiece. The beauty and raw emotional power is unmatched in any film before or since.
Same...even watching reactors watching this gets me....have you seen the commercial from a few years back that is kind of a "sequel" to this? It is SO well done for a commercial.
Reactors when they watch a children's movie from the 1980s: "I thought this was a CHILDREN'S movie?! Why is it so sad?" People who were kids in the 1980s: "First time? 80s movies were designed to traumatize you and teach you about life and death. E.T., Land Before Time, The Neverending Story, The Secret of N.I.M.H., etc."
I love how you always have the most invested and emotional reactions! I saw this movie so many times as a child, but a couple of years ago I watched it again after almost two decades and, boy, it hit SO hard. It was like seen your childhood friends once again, those friends that you had almost forgotten about and didn't realise how much you actually missed them. And the music... That soundtrack is half the movie. So magical. That piano during the end credits is genius. It makes me cry every single time.
When I was 10 I read the novelization of this movie. It explains that E.T.'s race were botanists and they traveled through space collecting the universe's wide array of plant life to study and learn about the universe. So their visit to earth was one of scientific curiosity, investigation and study. You were spot on! Yes, the musical score to this movie is, excuse the expression, out of this world. I used the money i earned doing chores and work in my neighborhood to hy the soundtrack on tape. I played it over snd over and over. It is a most beautiful score and so memorable. I watched it in a pocket theater and used the have a two toned long sleeve ET shirt and even s jigsaw puzzle. ET dominated every aspect of American culture at the time. It was a positive, beautiful story about friendship and love. It stands the test of time and is still as heartwarming and wonderful to watch all these decades later.
I had just turned 11 about a month or so before E.T. came out. My first time seeing it was not at any old movie theater, but at a drive-in. Seeing a movie like E.T. for the first time under the stars just made the night much more special, magical and enchanting. It still remains one of my most cherished boyhood memories. Even though you never see his face, the biology teacher at Elliott's school was played by Harrison Ford.
Another GREAT example of why 80s movies were PERFECTION. E.T., Never Ending Story, Labrynth, Dark Crystal, The Boy Who Could Fly...Trauma starter kits, but evidence that mature LIFE topics can be made for children and not DUMBED DOWN!
Gen X knew life in a way that kids today don't: our parents all worked and nobody had cell phones, so like Michael and Elliott we all raised our little sisters by ourselves, walked to school alone, went trick-or-treating without adults, cut through backyards, ordered our own pizzas, band-aided our own cuts, rode our bikes all around town, and nobody called Child Protective Services
Also clearly influenced by Peter Pan and Bambi. It makes me wish Disney animation would return to such weighty topics because when they do they are usually great storytellers. IMO the Lion King was the last time they did a movie with some real emotional gravitas. ET will be a classic just like The Wizard of Oz because they are both perfect family movies that have some important lessons to teach about life.
@@holddowna BTW, growing up in California one realizes that the forest that ET is in is not right next to the subdivision in which Elliot's family lives, the forest is a northern California thing and only appears to be in the same neighborhood because of movie editing. What forests there are south of Sacramento look entirely different than those to the north because NoCal is much more rainy and SoCal much dryer. It sticks out like a sore thumb for someone that grew up in California, not that it makes it a bad movie, the movie is still fun. BTW, that park toward the end is not officially called the ET Park, it's at the corner of Sesnon and Reseda Boulevards in Porter Ranch, California near Santa Clarita (where Magic Mountain is).
@@holddowna I like how the family house looks warm and inviting at first, but darker and foreboding later on when the feds are watching it. Spielberg is a real master, someone did a comparison of the directing styles of Spielberg in Jurassic Park and the sequel directed by someone else and why the first one had more punch than the sequel. You should watch Empire of the Sun, another great Spielberg effort. Spielberg has gotten more PC over the years, and for a while replaced the pewpew with a walky talky in the road block, but after much public backlash he returned it to the police having an actual pewpew.
@@holddowna Yeah, Elliott is starting to feel what ET feels, it started practically right away, it's why when ET scared himself opening the umbrella that Elliott dropped the milk carton.
The audition for Elliott (Henry Thomas) was so good that Steven Spielberg gave him the role on the spot because it brought all the producers to tears. It's on here if you look for it "ET Audition". The reason the mom started laughing is because Spielberg told her that Elliott was going to say something as an insult and she had no idea that peen breath was coming. It was a genuine reaction. They actually had another kid hired to be Elliott, but they didn't like him because of attitude issues or something, so they canned him.
Yep, you're right about the audition. Henry Thomas nailed his performance. Do you know the full story though ? He wasn't the first choice, another kid was chosen but whilst he could act, after losing a game of Dungeons & Dragons being played on set during further casting he showed his real colours when he lost. He kicked off and became a real asshole of a kid and the casting director realised the real person behind the act wasn't the sweet innocent 9 year old they wanted and nobody liked him so they axed him. Word reached them about a young boy from Texas called Henry who seemed to be the real deal, a great kid who could also act. Due to time constraints after the first error of judgement with their initial choice for Eliot, Spielberg had him flown out to audition in front of him in person along with the Producers. He was given a general premise and asked to improvise. Famously, at the end, with hardened Hollywood producers in tears, you can hear Spielberg tell him: "Ok Kid, you got the job..."
@@dabe1971 close, but not quite. According to Marci Liroff - one of the casting agents on the movie - they were playing D&D at the home of the movie's writer Melissa Mathison, to see how well the kids would all get on. The kid who was cast as Elliott at the time very quickly got extremely bossy and so was NOT well liked by the other kids, so he was fired.
Beyond all of the obvious things that make this a great film, it was one of the earliest Hollywood films to show a family affected by divorce. Spielberg's parents split when he was young and it affected him deeply... so much so that broken families was a recurring theme in many of his films.
@@williamshelton4318 Don't forget the TV show "One Day at a Time," about a post-divorce mom raising two teenaged daughters (although that was more of a contemporary of ET than a forerunner). But as the original poster noted, in the early 80s, movies and shows like that were just starting to break into pop culture and ET was part of that wave
The sad thing is that for a long time he did not have a good relationship with his father because he blamed him for the break-up of the marriage. It was only much later that he discovered that the marriage ended because his mother started an affair with his father's friend.
This was one of my absolute favorite movies as a kid. Not ashamed to say that I teared up in a big way when I finally got to go to Universal Studios in my 30s and rode this ride…
A very happy birthday to you Ames I hope it's a very memorable one and thank you for all you do for us I absolutely love watching your movie reactions.
That was the first movie i saw at the theater as a kid and thus holds a very special place in my heart. No better way to start a lifelong love of cinema.
Saw when first came out in '82' . Was 7 or 8. At least 90% of audience were weeping young and old at the hospital scene. Truly one of greatest films of all time..
E.T.'s species (the Asogians) makes a cameo in Star Wars Episode 1, which is set in a galaxy far, far away, and in the distant past. In that galaxy, The Force exists as a "telekinetic" type of power. I posit that E.T. used The Force to levitate the objects including the bicycles.
MAN, I LOVE your reactions to this and other 80's movies!! Thank you dearly for sharing with us! You help me to relive it so beautifully! Movies like these were made for people like you!
@@holddowna if you react to the old 2019 Xfinity commercial, it might make you cry too, look up "E.T. Holiday Reunion" It was a very well made commercial and you will not believe who E.T. bumps into when he returns to Earth.
It's a really cool (probably unintentional) tie-in between E.T. and Star Wars. In The Phantom Menace, E.T., or members of his species, are seen at the Senate meeting. In my head cannon, it's possible that E.T. actually recognized Yoda and didn't just see him as "a fellow alien". Also, it's possible that his ability to make things float and fly, and ability to heal are due to a connection to the Force.
That Force theory is pretty cool, and that's the first time I've heard of it. I don't know how him recognizing Yoda works, though, seeing as how Star Wars exists as a fictional movie series with toys and merch within the E.T. film. Like, is it canon that George Lucas had contact with aliens and based his movies off of real history? 🤣
I was lucky enough to see this as a kid in the theaters when it first came out, it was a massive hit and moved everyone. That was Drew Barimore as the little girl
My first clear memory of the impact of a movie was when I was 7 and my sister was 3 and we went to see ET. I don’t remember watching the movie, but after the movie my sister looked out the window at the night sky and cried all the way home.
I was 10 years old when I saw this movie in the theater with my Mom and Grandma, they could not stop my uncontrollable crying as we walked out of the theater, this movie broke me as a young kid, and still does now..
I watched this at the Cinema when it was released and its the only movie I can remember seeing in a Cinema where almost nobody talked. The cinema was packed but everyone was transfixed by the movie. Shoutout to Melissa Methison as well who doesn't get many mentions, the screenplay was pure perfection. RIP Melissa
I saw this when it came out and the theater was packed and when Gerti ran in the bedroom and first saw E.T. and they both screamed at each other, the theater exploded with laughter
Happy Birthday 🎂, i remember seeing this in theaters as a kid when it came out and now as a grown man i still tear up when Elliot and ET have to say goodbye, always gets to me.
I genuinely enjoy your reactions and you really said something that hit me hard. When Elliott said to E.T. when he thought he was dead: "I can't feel anymore" or something to that effect you said to him "that's grief". And it hit me so hard. Because I suddenly remembered the finger touch and how it came from this movie and how my Mom and I did the E.T. finger touch all the time. I lost her in May 2023 and boy did the realization of that just knock me on my ass. Whew! Grief is undefeated. But I appreciate the beauty of that memory.
hey I’m Ryan I have a movie request can you please do the movie Austin powers international man of mystery and if you can please wear leather gloves for the movie
I haven't watched this movie in anything but clips since I saw it in a theater when it came out. You remind me why I like reaction channels so much. It's a wonderful thing to share things you love with others.
I was the 19 year-old young adult finding my way in the world when this movie came out. Now I am 61 years old, but one thing did not change. I am still emotional and empathetic.
Happy Birthday! The look of childlike Wonder on your face really made my day. I was Gertie's age when this came out, I have loved it ever since. Cute fact: Miss Barrymore ask the film crew for a blanket because E.T. was cold.
Hi, those were Reses Pieces that ET loved. They asked the M and M Company to invest in the movie,but they were not interested. After the movie premiere Reses candy sales skyrocket..😅❤
I watched this in the theater when it originally debuted. It was a sold out theater packed with about 200 people where I could literally hear sniffling and crying. One of my favorite movie memories.
I was 10 and a super nerdy kid. I played D&D, I rode my bike everywhere, definitely through neighbors yards. I played with my sister's Speak 'n Spell, because I got the Speak 'n Math. This movie hit HARD.
The ultimate Gen X movie: the generation whose parents all worked and nobody had cell phones, so we all raised our little sisters by ourselves, walked to school alone, went trick-or-treating without adults, cut through backyards, ordered our own pizzas, band-aided our own cuts, rode our bikes around town for hours, and nobody called Child Protective Services
E.T. takes you back to early childhood, the innocence and the newness of everything. You experience things for the 1st time and everything is hyper-emotional. Growing up in the 80s it was movies, board games and Nintendo with Friday night Pizza Hut and Blockbuster video. Every time I watch it I’m 7 years old all over again and I can’t stop crying. You can never go back, but a movie like E.T. can unlock all those childhood feelings and emotions and make you believe it’s real💯When the defibrillator hits and it cuts to Drew I’m full-on sobbing every time❤️😭❤️
I grew up with this film❤️ I can barely even think about it without crying! When they did the 20th anniversary cinema release back in 2002, my friend and I cried continuously from the opening scene to the end, and had to hang around for about 1/2hr afterwards to compose ourselves. I remember my jumper was sodden from the collar to about half-way down! The staff who came in to clear the cinema just left us there - they saw what absolute states we were both in🤣 It’s such a beautiful film❤️
I would say that, overall, E.T. is the finest score John Williams composed. It doesn't have a big, splashy theme like Star Wars, Indiana Jones, or Superman, but the sheer orchestral musicality is extremely good. Hans Zimmer only wishes he could compose this well.
I agree completely. As iconic as other scores of him are, you could throw them all out and just keep E.T. and would still recognize that John Williams is probably the best composer to ever write for films. Those last 15 minutes of uninterrupted music are unsurpassed.
Infamously, anyway :D I personally prefer Reese's but M&Ms passing on being the candy cost them a lot of money at the time and really boosted Hershey. In the novelization they are M&Ms.
I saw this in the theater with my family as a kid and it was magical! I'll always remember it as the first movie to make me cry. Keep up the fantastic reactions.
I was a 17-year-old boy in the middle of my exam years at school when this was released, and I went to see it with my mum. We both ended up crying a lot, and it was a memorable bonding moment. The score still stands as one of JW's very best, and the 25th anniversary DVD has an audio track featuring live orchestra, which is amazing. The music for the wilting flowers (at 36:43) is a descending diminished scale, which is so effective because it has no harmonic anchor, giving a feeling of helpless detachment and sinking into something scary. Williams is a genius.
Wrong. Paid product placement in film dates back to Hershey’s chocolate being featured in Wings (1927). The ET deal was notable because of the amount of money paid by Hershey’s ($1 million) and the cross-marketing, which featured the movie characters in the ads for the candy.
It was supposed to be M&M's, but the Mars company turned it down. Opened the door for Hersheys to use Reese's Pieces. Reports vary, but after the movie release, RP's sales went up at least 65%, some say it even double or tripled!
This reaction brought me back to the last time my sister was able to visit me before cancer took her from me. It was back in the theater for an anniversary, and it was the last movie we saw together. I remember walking out of the theater, and she was absolutely balling. This movie always left her in a puddle. It's been a long time since I've been able to watch it again, but your reaction just teleported me back to that night. Very awesome, thank you.
In the book, Elliott lures ET with M&Ms. Mars Inc. would not pay for product placement, so Steven Spielberg approached Reeses, and they paid. That is how Reeses Pieces was used in the movie.
I watched this for the first time in 1984, on vacation in London from Sweden. My mom took me (9 years old) and my sister (7 years old) to the theatre, probably thinking it would be a nice couple of hours for our little family. When Elliot discovers ET in the corn, and they both scream, my sister had a complete meltdown and it took mom quite some time to get her to calm down (she wouldn't watch the rest of it though, and spent the entire movie crawled up onto mom). At the end, when they all say goodbye to ET, I was absolutely inconsolable, and spent hours afterwards crying. Poor mom... This movie is a masterpiece, it will never not make me cry, and in his huge collection of amazing film scores, this is the best one John Williams has ever written!
After 40 years and your reaction…and you realizing the kids were playing D&D….when Elliot insults that kid with “zero charisma”…that’s a D&D reference/insult! I never caught that!
Thank you so much for helping me to feel the tears from this movie again. I remember how I cried to this movie at the theater as a kid. I have seen it many times since and each time I felt less and less emotion from it, but to watch such a priceless reaction, you allowed me to feel those emotions like when I first watched E.T. Thanks!
The soundtrack is the real star here. This is, in my opinion, John Williams finest creation and that's some body of work to pick from ! The whole 'Adventures on Earth' suite from the beginning of the final escape and chase leading to that final rainbow stanza is PERFECT. It never, ever fails to reduce this 50+ year old guy to tears. Wonderful work from the Maestro of Maestros and he knew it because it was one of the rare occasions where Williams actually asked Spielberg to hear what he had composed without the footage. Why ? Because he couldn't match the provided visuals with the score as per usual but he knew he had something special. Spielberg agreed and once he'd heard it he took the movie back and re-edited the final scene to match the score.
I saw ET in theaters, I'm 56 now. Rest assured I cried right along with you for this one. I took my 8yo nephew to see this movie shortly before his passing away so it's very special to me as well. Thank you for sharing your reaction and feeling with us all. Happy Birthday! 😊
I saw this when it came out in the theater, I think I was around 8 or 9. I’m 54 this month and you made me feel the same way I did 40 somthing years ago. Thank you
My parents surprised us by taking us to see ET when it came out. I was 8 and the emotions this movie brought out in me then still come out when I hear that theme. This movie is a touchpoint in my life. So glad you loved it too!
This was the first movie I saw in theaters, as a 5 yo in 1982. I've watched many reactions to this, and yours is easily the best. I cried along with you through the whole thing. Thank you
An amazing story...so well done. The special effects are still very good. I did see this in the theater when it was originally released (yep...that old). Thanks for an excellent reaction.
Beautiful reaction!!! My older sister took me to see ET in the summer 1982. I was almost 14. Lost my sister 4 years later. So ET means a lot to me other than the incredible movie it is!!!! Thank U for your Wonderful Channel!!!
One of my all time favorite films both as a viewer and a filmmaker. I saw it at 10 years old in theaters when it came out and became a fan of Reese’s pieces TO THIS DAY because of this movie!😝🤣😂🤣😂
Great reaction and happy birthday. I love the kids in this movie. I saw it when I was 18 I think. It was tearjerking. I was a bit of a tough partier type girl and broke down too. I have seen it many times since. It so warms the heart.
I was 10 years old when this came out* my parents toom me to the theater to see it. And to.The Ponderosa for Dinner after. Man oh man the 80s and early 90s were such a gateway to music and movies! Experiencing it in real time was truly magical. Thanks Ames Atb form the NWT 🇨🇦✌️
You are great! I'm SO glad you watched the original and not the cruddy GCI-infested remake! I saw this in the theatre when it first came out (in '82 or whenever); I guess I was about 11. I'm pretty sure it was the first movie I ever cried at. There was kind of an ET-mania when this first came out. I remember all the kids my age who could draw (such as me), trying to learn how to draw ET. Wonderful memories. This film was monumentally influential on my cinematic aesthetic, and the score is simply one of my all-time favs!
As someone who saw this in the theater when it first came out, I found your reaction refreshing! So many of the reactors I've watched don't have nearly as much emotion when watching this film, and I just don't understand it. Thank you for restoring my faith in younger people!
I was six years old when I first watched E.T. It was in an old movie theater and it was the first movie that I ever saw. Like you, I cried my eyes out. Watching you react to it was awesome. You were able to tap out of your adult self and enter your inner-child. What a joy it is that this film can still touch generationS. Your reaction was genuine and I cried along with ya. It is definitely one of the greatest movies ever made. Absolutely timeless.
I remember seeing this in theaters when I was 9 and cried my eyes out. Saw it again with a friend about a week later, still cried but not as much as the 1st time. Some kid a couple of years younger sitting in front of us was completely sobbing and bawling. My friend and I said to each other "what a wuss" as we're kinda chuckling with tears still streaming down our faces. Such a timeless classic.
This movie was well known for people leaving the cinemas wiping tears.
It’s amazing seeing someone moved the same way over 40 years later.
The word is timeless
People don't change, not fundamentally. What has universal appeal in one time has the same in another. Robinson Crusoe, Macbeth, Sense and Sensibility are over 200 years old and people are still reading or watching them.
I know it's old but look up the 2019 Xfinity commercial "E.T. holiday reunion" and you won't believe how well it was made, only a few minutes long but might be worth watching for some.
I saw it at the theater when I was 11. The room was packed. My Big Brother from Big Brothers/Big Sisters took me. There weren't even 2 empty seats together, so we had to sit several rows apart. By the end there were no dry eyes. It was amazing. I'm 54 now. My Big is 65. We are still as close as real brothers. This memory is very special to me.
I'm closer to Drew Barrymore's age IRL, but when I saw this I was Elliott age. Nobody makes kids films like Spielberg.
@@o0pinkdino0o Me too! I am 49. I saw it in theaters when I was 7. This and The Empire Strikes Back are my earliest memories of going to the movies.
Same here 😂 the theater was so full people were sitting down the walk way. Totally different time.
God bless you and your Big Brother. They are very, very special people.
I was 11 when this came out also.
I remember the sales of Reese's Pieces went through the roof after this movie.
M&Ms declined and done goofed
The screenplay (and the novelization) had them as M&Ms, but they declined to let their candy appear in the movie. Hershey was agreeable, so M&Ms got to watch Reese's Pieces triple in sales after this.
Apparently they first hit the market in 1978, but I don't think I had ever even heard of them before this movie.
Same with BMX bikes 😁
I remember ET biscuits and how bad they tasted..!
@@AnthonySmith-on3gw
I remember having one of my grade school teachers tell me the M&Ms marketing manager was fired after that.
In 1982, E.T. was like Beatlemania. E.T. was everywhere…it was HUGE.
I have shelves in my basement with various bits from my childhood, one of them has a little E.T. that came with a McDonalds Happy Meal, another has Elliot on his bike from Pizza Hut.
First movie I ever saw on a pirated vhs
Its true..ET was a cultural event when it was released.
We lived 30 minutes from a theater and I saw it 7 times cause my mom kept going and I was 8 so that means I had got to go too
People saw it multiple times, every kid loved it and was talking about it, and the merch was everywhere. People who discover it now likely know it was a big hit, but they can't know just how HUGE of a cultural thing it was at the time.
Anyone who doesn't cry at this movie, is too cynical to be trustworthy.
Anyone who cries at it this much, is too genuine to be ignored. Subbed. 👍
The best final 9 words of dialogue ever. The entire grief process in one simple exchange. "Come". "Stay". "Ouch". "Ouch". "I'll be right here". "Goodbye".
never tbought about that. interesting thoiggt
RIP Melissa Mathison (who wrote the screenplay)
So true, it would have been a short movie if ET just grabbed a towel and stuck his thumb in the air.
@@larrybremer4930…. I heard that his species is severely allergic to Vogon poetry.
Drew Barrymore says they never let her see the puppeteers behind ET or let her see him just laying around, lifeless. So, to her little mind, he was real. Also, Spielberg shot the whole film in chronological order to help the kids show the appropriate emotions.
It's even better than that. Initially the model used to be left "unmanned" but the puppet crew noticed Drew would keep having her own one sided conversations with the prop. So between them they agreed an unofficial rota so that even during their break times, one of them would be available to offer some interaction with her. Spielberg credits those acts of kindness for her tearful final goodbye as by that stage she considered him her friend.
@@dabe1971 There is a video on RUclips that is a reunion of the family on the Drew Barrymore's show that is wonderful to watch. She really considered the boys her brothers and her onscreen mom her second mom. As you watched the years seem to melt away to the point Drew sat on the floor looking up in their faces which was the same angle like when she was 5. To this day one of the most wonderful movies ever.
To top it off in my experience I saw it in a preview audience where the theatre was 100% capacity. I will never forget the audience reactions the screams, the laughter and the tears,
Entirely different type of movie, but American Graffiti was shot in chronological order so the filming schedule left the actors looking exhausted over the course of the schedule rather had them looking like people who'd had a long night out.
its hard to believe that there's people left in the world that haven't seen this film. great reaction.
260 people are born every minute
You may be a lot older than her so you had more time.
Lol it is over 40 years old now.
My wife is from Ukraine and was born in the mid 90’s. She grew up on a lot of syndicated dubbed American movies and cartoons but this one didn’t make it over there. Made her watch it a couple years ago and this was almost her exact reaction the whole time. She audibly gasped and jumped off the couch when you see him in the river before breaking down. Now we have a stuffed E.T. on the bookshelf that she got at Universal Studios.
I'm 61 years old. Born, raised, living in Canada. I first saw this in January of 2022, because I had no interest in seeing it. Then I decided to watch it to try to complete the "1001 Movies You Must see Before You Die" list.
An all time classic. Just think of the run of magical films between Spielberg, Lucas and John Williams:
1975 Jaws
1977 Star Wars
1977 Close Encounters
1978 Superman (Williams)
1980 Empire Strikes Back
1981 Raiders of the Lost Ark
1982 E.T.
1983 Return of the Jedi
1984 Temple of Doom
What a run! And I was a kid through all of it!
John Williams said Spielberg called him to compose the score to Schindler's List. They watched the movie in the studio and Spielberg said to Williams, there's probably better people to write the score to this movie but they're all dead.
My band got to record and stay for free at Skywalker Ranch in 2009, it was a pinch me moment.
In 1979 they collaborated on '1941'
@ Yep. But I was just rattling off the truly iconic examples.
@@jasonlambert5552 The production of 1941 was a disaster. Spielberg went wildly over budget and ran into multiple delays,, Spielberg kinda got away with it because of the huge successes of Jaws and Close Encounters. But Universal was not happy with Spielberg, especially when the movie flopped hard at the box office. That's when Lucas and Spielberg met and they put together Raiders of the Lost Ark. Lucas said to Spielberg that he would produce it, and Spielberg was going to shoot and complete the movie under budget and before the deadline.
I was a jaded student of 20 in 1982, my second year of college, when I saw this with my family. By the end I was a bawling blubbering mess... I couldn't even stand up at first. My mom turned to me and asked me if I was all right! It pushed all my buttons in the right way. I'll never have that first time experience again, and I don't watch the movie very often because I don't want to spoil the magic. But magic it is indeed. I still listen to John Williams score frequently.
I was also 20 in 1982 when I went to see this with some friends.
I was 6, it's the first movie I saw in a theater with my mom. I cried the first time, I cry each time, and at almost 49, still crying watching it... It's the most beautiful movie from Spielberg.
Finally, a reactor who actually gets this movie. I don't know if there is some kind of millennial generational trauma at play, but all the other reactors I've seen thought ET was creepy at first and kept expecting him to kill everybody. You experienced all the same emotions I did so many years ago -- as many others have said, all of us who saw this in the theater were wet eyed and sniffly by the end. This was lovely, Ames. Happy Birthday (then)!
Millennials think everything is creepy. I think it started when the first clown they saw as kids was the one from The Simpsons, or maybe when their favorite childhood book series was Goosebumps. Or maybe it's the fact that the videogames they grew up playing, had sufficiently advanced graphics to get into uncanny valley territory; as opposed to Gen X, whose idea of videogame graphics was set by Atari 2600, which doesn't have enough resolution to really be creepy even when it's trying to.
I was 22 when this came out and I went to see it multiple times. I'm 65 now and still bawl like a baby every time.
All I would do is change the ages to 5 years younger, and my comment would be exactly the same. 👍
I was 12 yrs old, raised in a neighborhood in SoCal exactly like Elliot's, when this came out. I was already a film nerd but this was the first film that truly captured "my" life and imagination, and there is a whole generation of people my age who are forever bonded to Spielberg and Williams because of this film. I have seen it dozens of times, and watched dozens of reactions, and I weep every time. Watch the videos about the sound design and foley.
This was in 1982... Today, I'd totally expect the Bald Spot area to be covered by mansions... Ugh. A historic location, lost to history. :/
Did it stick out to you that the forest was obviously a NorCal forest?
@@lennyvalentin6485 That's editing trickery, that wasn't a SoCal forest, it is probably still there in rural northern California. Editing is what made it seem they were right next to each other, but that's obviously a forest in the much rainier northern part of the state or perhaps Oregon even. SoCal is much more arid.
@@Anon54387 Ah, I see. Thank you for the information!
And also, if the bald spot HAD been at the outskirts of L.A., then surely it would be covered in mansions by now. ;)
@@Anon54387 Nah, I couldn't tell any californian forest from any other, as I don't live there. Or on the north murican continent period. You are aware there are other continents, with other countries on them, yes? We don't have the same type of climate and vegetation here where I live.
Don't be so presumptious next time.
In my opinion this score is the best thing John Williams ever wrote. More than half of the emotional impact of the last 15 minutes in due to the score which is working really hard. It's so good that Spielberg tweaked the editing to the music performance, which is pretty unusual.
I agree. I have always felt this score, is William’s Magnum Opus...his greatest masterpiece. The beauty and raw emotional power is unmatched in any film before or since.
E.T. was the first movie that made me cry in the cinema. 😥
I am 45 years old, have seen this countless amounts of times yet I always am a pile of tears watching this movie.
Me too. I always cry at the last 45 seconds
Same...even watching reactors watching this gets me....have you seen the commercial from a few years back that is kind of a "sequel" to this? It is SO well done for a commercial.
You really need to react to the ET Christmas commercial. ET visits Elliot as an adult. Bring tissues for sure. Best commercial EVER!
Looking for this comment just as tear jerking.
The one from Xfinity?
It was a good commercial i didn't skip.
Up!
Reactors when they watch a children's movie from the 1980s: "I thought this was a CHILDREN'S movie?! Why is it so sad?"
People who were kids in the 1980s: "First time? 80s movies were designed to traumatize you and teach you about life and death. E.T., Land Before Time, The Neverending Story, The Secret of N.I.M.H., etc."
I love how you always have the most invested and emotional reactions! I saw this movie so many times as a child, but a couple of years ago I watched it again after almost two decades and, boy, it hit SO hard. It was like seen your childhood friends once again, those friends that you had almost forgotten about and didn't realise how much you actually missed them. And the music... That soundtrack is half the movie. So magical. That piano during the end credits is genius. It makes me cry every single time.
When I was 10 I read the novelization of this movie. It explains that E.T.'s race were botanists and they traveled through space collecting the universe's wide array of plant life to study and learn about the universe. So their visit to earth was one of scientific curiosity, investigation and study. You were spot on! Yes, the musical score to this movie is, excuse the expression, out of this world. I used the money i earned doing chores and work in my neighborhood to hy the soundtrack on tape. I played it over snd over and over. It is a most beautiful score and so memorable. I watched it in a pocket theater and used the have a two toned long sleeve ET shirt and even s jigsaw puzzle. ET dominated every aspect of American culture at the time. It was a positive, beautiful story about friendship and love. It stands the test of time and is still as heartwarming and wonderful to watch all these decades later.
I had just turned 11 about a month or so before E.T. came out. My first time seeing it was not at any old movie theater, but at a drive-in. Seeing a movie like E.T. for the first time under the stars just made the night much more special, magical and enchanting. It still remains one of my most cherished boyhood memories. Even though you never see his face, the biology teacher at Elliott's school was played by Harrison Ford.
@Ames you remain my favorite reactor for your heart, seeking out the classics, and knowing greatness has no expiration date :)
Another GREAT example of why 80s movies were PERFECTION. E.T., Never Ending Story, Labrynth, Dark Crystal, The Boy Who Could Fly...Trauma starter kits, but evidence that mature LIFE topics can be made for children and not DUMBED DOWN!
Gen X knew life in a way that kids today don't: our parents all worked and nobody had cell phones, so like Michael and Elliott we all raised our little sisters by ourselves, walked to school alone, went trick-or-treating without adults, cut through backyards, ordered our own pizzas, band-aided our own cuts, rode our bikes all around town, and nobody called Child Protective Services
Also clearly influenced by Peter Pan and Bambi. It makes me wish Disney animation would return to such weighty topics because when they do they are usually great storytellers. IMO the Lion King was the last time they did a movie with some real emotional gravitas. ET will be a classic just like The Wizard of Oz because they are both perfect family movies that have some important lessons to teach about life.
As one comedian pointed out, PG movies now days are Frozen and Moana. When I was a kid PG movies included films like Jaws.
@@blatherama Heck, Planet of the Apes 1968 was rated G.
Amazing reaction for my favorite 80s movie of all time! Thanks for sharing !
M&M’s declined to be the candy that ET likes. This led to Reese’s Pieces rise in popularity
Wow!!
@@holddowna I've never forgiven Peter Coyote for how he treated ET despite his later PR for America's national parks.
@@holddowna BTW, growing up in California one realizes that the forest that ET is in is not right next to the subdivision in which Elliot's family lives, the forest is a northern California thing and only appears to be in the same neighborhood because of movie editing. What forests there are south of Sacramento look entirely different than those to the north because NoCal is much more rainy and SoCal much dryer. It sticks out like a sore thumb for someone that grew up in California, not that it makes it a bad movie, the movie is still fun. BTW, that park toward the end is not officially called the ET Park, it's at the corner of Sesnon and Reseda Boulevards in Porter Ranch, California near Santa Clarita (where Magic Mountain is).
@@holddowna I like how the family house looks warm and inviting at first, but darker and foreboding later on when the feds are watching it. Spielberg is a real master, someone did a comparison of the directing styles of Spielberg in Jurassic Park and the sequel directed by someone else and why the first one had more punch than the sequel. You should watch Empire of the Sun, another great Spielberg effort.
Spielberg has gotten more PC over the years, and for a while replaced the pewpew with a walky talky in the road block, but after much public backlash he returned it to the police having an actual pewpew.
@@holddowna Yeah, Elliott is starting to feel what ET feels, it started practically right away, it's why when ET scared himself opening the umbrella that Elliott dropped the milk carton.
The audition for Elliott (Henry Thomas) was so good that Steven Spielberg gave him the role on the spot because it brought all the producers to tears. It's on here if you look for it "ET Audition". The reason the mom started laughing is because Spielberg told her that Elliott was going to say something as an insult and she had no idea that peen breath was coming. It was a genuine reaction. They actually had another kid hired to be Elliott, but they didn't like him because of attitude issues or something, so they canned him.
i love as soon as they said okay kid u got the part he smiles wide and winks
Yep, you're right about the audition. Henry Thomas nailed his performance. Do you know the full story though ? He wasn't the first choice, another kid was chosen but whilst he could act, after losing a game of Dungeons & Dragons being played on set during further casting he showed his real colours when he lost. He kicked off and became a real asshole of a kid and the casting director realised the real person behind the act wasn't the sweet innocent 9 year old they wanted and nobody liked him so they axed him. Word reached them about a young boy from Texas called Henry who seemed to be the real deal, a great kid who could also act. Due to time constraints after the first error of judgement with their initial choice for Eliot, Spielberg had him flown out to audition in front of him in person along with the Producers. He was given a general premise and asked to improvise. Famously, at the end, with hardened Hollywood producers in tears, you can hear Spielberg tell him: "Ok Kid, you got the job..."
If there's a better performance by a kid actor in a film I haven't seen it
@@dabe1971 Who was the original Elliot actor?
@@dabe1971 close, but not quite. According to Marci Liroff - one of the casting agents on the movie - they were playing D&D at the home of the movie's writer Melissa Mathison, to see how well the kids would all get on. The kid who was cast as Elliott at the time very quickly got extremely bossy and so was NOT well liked by the other kids, so he was fired.
"E.T. has the zoomies" literally made me blow milk out of my nose. 🤣
👽💨
I was wondering where the heck the "Cheeto's" reference came from.....😂
Beyond all of the obvious things that make this a great film, it was one of the earliest Hollywood films to show a family affected by divorce. Spielberg's parents split when he was young and it affected him deeply... so much so that broken families was a recurring theme in many of his films.
@@williamshelton4318 Don't forget the TV show "One Day at a Time," about a post-divorce mom raising two teenaged daughters (although that was more of a contemporary of ET than a forerunner). But as the original poster noted, in the early 80s, movies and shows like that were just starting to break into pop culture and ET was part of that wave
The sad thing is that for a long time he did not have a good relationship with his father because he blamed him for the break-up of the marriage. It was only much later that he discovered that the marriage ended because his mother started an affair with his father's friend.
Happy Birthday, Ames!! 🎉 Yes, this was a great one to see in the theater. Magic! Glad you got a chance to see it and share it with us. 😊
This was one of my absolute favorite movies as a kid.
Not ashamed to say that I teared up in a big way when I finally got to go to Universal Studios in my 30s and rode this ride…
Spielberg has always considered this his finest film and its hard to disagree
I'm not sure the word he uses is "finest". But he has said multiple times it is his most personal one.
A very happy birthday to you Ames I hope it's a very memorable one and thank you for all you do for us I absolutely love watching your movie reactions.
That was the first movie i saw at the theater as a kid and thus holds a very special place in my heart. No better way to start a lifelong love of cinema.
Empathetic, emotional people are gravitating to each other, and that is why I am so in love with these videos
Is no one going to talk about how good Ame's hair looks?! Always love your videos, look forward to them
Saw when first came out in '82' . Was 7 or 8. At least 90% of audience were weeping young and old at the hospital scene. Truly one of greatest films of all time..
E.T.'s species (the Asogians) makes a cameo in Star Wars Episode 1, which is set in a galaxy far, far away, and in the distant past. In that galaxy, The Force exists as a "telekinetic" type of power. I posit that E.T. used The Force to levitate the objects including the bicycles.
I'm only 10 minutes in, but I love the joy and excitement all over your face for this one, Its a classic for a reason.
Spielberg is a master of his craft.
Also, the Ewok shirt kicks ass. 😊
MAN, I LOVE your reactions to this and other 80's movies!! Thank you dearly for sharing with us! You help me to relive it so beautifully! Movies like these were made for people like you!
Thanks for watching! Means a lot!!
@@holddowna if you react to the old 2019 Xfinity commercial, it might make you cry too, look up "E.T. Holiday Reunion"
It was a very well made commercial and you will not believe who E.T. bumps into when he returns to Earth.
There's really nothing like it. Watched it again recently after so much time. It still gives me that warm feeling when he has to say goodbye.
Your reaction was so heartfelt...God bless you, dear. This old lady is hopeful for the future because of people like you. ❤️❤️❤️
It's a really cool (probably unintentional) tie-in between E.T. and Star Wars. In The Phantom Menace, E.T., or members of his species, are seen at the Senate meeting. In my head cannon, it's possible that E.T. actually recognized Yoda and didn't just see him as "a fellow alien". Also, it's possible that his ability to make things float and fly, and ability to heal are due to a connection to the Force.
Never thought of ET being a Force user. That's awesome.
That Force theory is pretty cool, and that's the first time I've heard of it. I don't know how him recognizing Yoda works, though, seeing as how Star Wars exists as a fictional movie series with toys and merch within the E.T. film. Like, is it canon that George Lucas had contact with aliens and based his movies off of real history? 🤣
@@shawnpatrick1877Don't think about it too hard, my friend. Just believe. 🙂
Its intentional, Lucas are Spielberg were friends
It was intentional and was something added to the DVD version of TPM.
I was lucky enough to see this as a kid in the theaters when it first came out, it was a massive hit and moved everyone. That was Drew Barimore as the little girl
My first clear memory of the impact of a movie was when I was 7 and my sister was 3 and we went to see ET. I don’t remember watching the movie, but after the movie my sister looked out the window at the night sky and cried all the way home.
Happy Birthday! Beautiful reaction 💕
70s and 80s childrens movies were full of dark themes and didnt shy away from painful storylines.
Thank you for sharing your reaction watch with us. HAPPY BIRTHDAY and may the Force be with you always!
First movie I ever saw in the theater as a kid. I was born in 77 :) Great vid ty!
Born in 78. I was 4 when I saw this at the movies. I have a vague memory of standing on the theater seat to watch the movie.
Same for me, except 1975
Same, only difference between you and me is that I had seen animated movies before it. But it was my first live action movie. Also born '77.
I was 10 years old when I saw this movie in the theater with my Mom and Grandma, they could not stop my uncontrollable crying as we walked out of the theater, this movie broke me as a young kid, and still does now..
I watched this at the Cinema when it was released and its the only movie I can remember seeing in a Cinema where almost nobody talked. The cinema was packed but everyone was transfixed by the movie. Shoutout to Melissa Methison as well who doesn't get many mentions, the screenplay was pure perfection. RIP Melissa
I saw this when it came out and the theater was packed and when Gerti ran in the bedroom and first saw E.T. and they both screamed at each other, the theater exploded with laughter
Happy Birthday 🎂, i remember seeing this in theaters as a kid when it came out and now as a grown man i still tear up when Elliot and ET have to say goodbye, always gets to me.
The finale in the score when ET leaves Earth......just wow
I genuinely enjoy your reactions and you really said something that hit me hard. When Elliott said to E.T. when he thought he was dead: "I can't feel anymore" or something to that effect you said to him "that's grief". And it hit me so hard. Because I suddenly remembered the finger touch and how it came from this movie and how my Mom and I did the E.T. finger touch all the time. I lost her in May 2023 and boy did the realization of that just knock me on my ass. Whew! Grief is undefeated. But I appreciate the beauty of that memory.
Grief is love with nowhere to go. Once we let our grief pass through us, it will be gone, then we will go on, and we will be stronger.
One of the best jobs of Spielberg, so awesome
Soo good!
hey I’m Ryan I have a movie request can you please do the movie Austin powers international man of mystery and if you can please wear leather gloves for the movie
I haven't watched this movie in anything but clips since I saw it in a theater when it came out. You remind me why I like reaction channels so much. It's a wonderful thing to share things you love with others.
When elliot first saw him in the field...that scream gave me nightmares as a kid lol
I was the 19 year-old young adult finding my way in the world when this movie came out. Now I am 61 years old, but one thing did not change. I am still emotional and empathetic.
21:50 The movie is The Quiet Man. With John Wayne. Directed by John Ford, the real-life director played by David Lynch in Spielberg's The Fabelmans.
And the space movie is This Island Earth, featured in Mystery Science Theater 3000, the Movie.
Happy Birthday!
The look of childlike Wonder on your face really made my day. I was Gertie's age when this came out, I have loved it ever since. Cute fact: Miss Barrymore ask the film crew for a blanket because E.T. was cold.
Hi, those were Reses Pieces that ET loved. They asked the M and M Company to invest in the movie,but they were not interested. After the movie premiere Reses candy sales skyrocket..😅❤
I watched this in the theater when it originally debuted. It was a sold out theater packed with about 200 people where I could literally hear sniffling and crying. One of my favorite movie memories.
I was 10 and a super nerdy kid. I played D&D, I rode my bike everywhere, definitely through neighbors yards. I played with my sister's Speak 'n Spell, because I got the Speak 'n Math. This movie hit HARD.
The ultimate Gen X movie: the generation whose parents all worked and nobody had cell phones, so we all raised our little sisters by ourselves, walked to school alone, went trick-or-treating without adults, cut through backyards, ordered our own pizzas, band-aided our own cuts, rode our bikes around town for hours, and nobody called Child Protective Services
E.T. takes you back to early childhood, the innocence and the newness of everything. You experience things for the 1st time and everything is hyper-emotional. Growing up in the 80s it was movies, board games and Nintendo with Friday night Pizza Hut and Blockbuster video. Every time I watch it I’m 7 years old all over again and I can’t stop crying. You can never go back, but a movie like E.T. can unlock all those childhood feelings and emotions and make you believe it’s real💯When the defibrillator hits and it cuts to Drew I’m full-on sobbing every time❤️😭❤️
I am Gertie’s (Drew Barrymore’s) age. I saw this movie 8 times in the theater. I cried every single time. One of my favorite movies of all time.
I'm a couple years older than Elliot and a little younger than Michael. I'd have been the middle brother. lol
I grew up with this film❤️ I can barely even think about it without crying!
When they did the 20th anniversary cinema release back in 2002, my friend and I cried continuously from the opening scene to the end, and had to hang around for about 1/2hr afterwards to compose ourselves. I remember my jumper was sodden from the collar to about half-way down! The staff who came in to clear the cinema just left us there - they saw what absolute states we were both in🤣 It’s such a beautiful film❤️
I would say that, overall, E.T. is the finest score John Williams composed. It doesn't have a big, splashy theme like Star Wars, Indiana Jones, or Superman, but the sheer orchestral musicality is extremely good.
Hans Zimmer only wishes he could compose this well.
I agree completely. As iconic as other scores of him are, you could throw them all out and just keep E.T. and would still recognize that John Williams is probably the best composer to ever write for films. Those last 15 minutes of uninterrupted music are unsurpassed.
I wasn’t planning on sobbing this morning but this came up and now I am. So much heart in this film and that score hits every emotion.
All time classic
I’m an Aussie. I felt strangely comfortable for a moment there at the beginning of your video.
The candy was famously Reese's Pieces
Infamously, anyway :D I personally prefer Reese's but M&Ms passing on being the candy cost them a lot of money at the time and really boosted Hershey. In the novelization they are M&Ms.
@@mattnewmark7607 why I said famously because they made sure everyone knew it was Reese's Pieces not M&Ms
I saw this in the theater with my family as a kid and it was magical! I'll always remember it as the first movie to make me cry.
Keep up the fantastic reactions.
I'm still saddened by the crossover movie that never happened: ET vs Predator.
Would be a very short movie though...
I was a 17-year-old boy in the middle of my exam years at school when this was released, and I went to see it with my mum. We both ended up crying a lot, and it was a memorable bonding moment. The score still stands as one of JW's very best, and the 25th anniversary DVD has an audio track featuring live orchestra, which is amazing. The music for the wilting flowers (at 36:43) is a descending diminished scale, which is so effective because it has no harmonic anchor, giving a feeling of helpless detachment and sinking into something scary. Williams is a genius.
The Reeses Pieces that were featured in the beginning was one of the first ever Product Placements in a movie! It was a big deal back in the day.
Wow! And I couldn’t get it right
Wrong. Paid product placement in film dates back to Hershey’s chocolate being featured in Wings (1927). The ET deal was notable because of the amount of money paid by Hershey’s ($1 million) and the cross-marketing, which featured the movie characters in the ads for the candy.
It was supposed to be M&M's, but the Mars company turned it down. Opened the door for Hersheys to use Reese's Pieces. Reports vary, but after the movie release, RP's sales went up at least 65%, some say it even double or tripled!
Not true
@@andreshernandez1180 what's not true about it?
This reaction brought me back to the last time my sister was able to visit me before cancer took her from me. It was back in the theater for an anniversary, and it was the last movie we saw together. I remember walking out of the theater, and she was absolutely balling. This movie always left her in a puddle. It's been a long time since I've been able to watch it again, but your reaction just teleported me back to that night. Very awesome, thank you.
In the book, Elliott lures ET with M&Ms. Mars Inc. would not pay for product placement, so Steven Spielberg approached Reeses, and they paid. That is how Reeses Pieces was used in the movie.
I watched this for the first time in 1984, on vacation in London from Sweden. My mom took me (9 years old) and my sister (7 years old) to the theatre, probably thinking it would be a nice couple of hours for our little family.
When Elliot discovers ET in the corn, and they both scream, my sister had a complete meltdown and it took mom quite some time to get her to calm down (she wouldn't watch the rest of it though, and spent the entire movie crawled up onto mom). At the end, when they all say goodbye to ET, I was absolutely inconsolable, and spent hours afterwards crying.
Poor mom...
This movie is a masterpiece, it will never not make me cry, and in his huge collection of amazing film scores, this is the best one John Williams has ever written!
After 40 years and your reaction…and you realizing the kids were playing D&D….when Elliot insults that kid with “zero charisma”…that’s a D&D reference/insult! I never caught that!
Thank you so much for helping me to feel the tears from this movie again. I remember how I cried to this movie at the theater as a kid. I have seen it many times since and each time I felt less and less emotion from it, but to watch such a priceless reaction, you allowed me to feel those emotions like when I first watched E.T. Thanks!
The soundtrack is the real star here. This is, in my opinion, John Williams finest creation and that's some body of work to pick from ! The whole 'Adventures on Earth' suite from the beginning of the final escape and chase leading to that final rainbow stanza is PERFECT. It never, ever fails to reduce this 50+ year old guy to tears. Wonderful work from the Maestro of Maestros and he knew it because it was one of the rare occasions where Williams actually asked Spielberg to hear what he had composed without the footage. Why ? Because he couldn't match the provided visuals with the score as per usual but he knew he had something special. Spielberg agreed and once he'd heard it he took the movie back and re-edited the final scene to match the score.
I almost cried watching this reaction. This movie is my childhood and it never fails to move me deeply. A true masterpiece!
I saw ET in theaters, I'm 56 now. Rest assured I cried right along with you for this one. I took my 8yo nephew to see this movie shortly before his passing away so it's very special to me as well. Thank you for sharing your reaction and feeling with us all. Happy Birthday! 😊
I saw this when it came out in the theater, I think I was around 8 or 9. I’m 54 this month and you made me feel the same way I did 40 somthing years ago. Thank you
My parents surprised us by taking us to see ET when it came out. I was 8 and the emotions this movie brought out in me then still come out when I hear that theme. This movie is a touchpoint in my life. So glad you loved it too!
This was the first movie I saw in theaters, as a 5 yo in 1982. I've watched many reactions to this, and yours is easily the best. I cried along with you through the whole thing. Thank you
I saw this when i was little. I'm 41 now and still can't see it without balling my eyes out.
An amazing story...so well done. The special effects are still very good. I did see this in the theater when it was originally released (yep...that old). Thanks for an excellent reaction.
Beautiful reaction!!! My older sister took me to see ET in the summer 1982. I was almost 14. Lost my sister 4 years later.
So ET means a lot to me other than the incredible movie it is!!!! Thank U for your Wonderful Channel!!!
One of my all time favorite films both as a viewer and a filmmaker. I saw it at 10 years old in theaters when it came out and became a fan of Reese’s pieces TO THIS DAY because of this movie!😝🤣😂🤣😂
Great reaction and happy birthday. I love the kids in this movie. I saw it when I was 18 I think. It was tearjerking. I was a bit of a tough partier type girl and broke down too. I have seen it many times since. It so warms the heart.
I was 10 years old when this came out* my parents toom me to the theater to see it. And to.The Ponderosa for Dinner after. Man oh man the 80s and early 90s were such a gateway to music and movies! Experiencing it in real time was truly magical.
Thanks Ames
Atb form the NWT
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You are great! I'm SO glad you watched the original and not the cruddy GCI-infested remake! I saw this in the theatre when it first came out (in '82 or whenever); I guess I was about 11. I'm pretty sure it was the first movie I ever cried at. There was kind of an ET-mania when this first came out. I remember all the kids my age who could draw (such as me), trying to learn how to draw ET. Wonderful memories. This film was monumentally influential on my cinematic aesthetic, and the score is simply one of my all-time favs!
I love how John Williams used a little bit of Yodas Theme when they see the costumed kid on Halloween.
Thanks!
As someone who saw this in the theater when it first came out, I found your reaction refreshing! So many of the reactors I've watched don't have nearly as much emotion when watching this film, and I just don't understand it. Thank you for restoring my faith in younger people!
I was six years old when I first watched E.T. It was in an old movie theater and it was the first movie that I ever saw. Like you, I cried my eyes out. Watching you react to it was awesome. You were able to tap out of your adult self and enter your inner-child. What a joy it is that this film can still touch generationS. Your reaction was genuine and I cried along with ya. It is definitely one of the greatest movies ever made. Absolutely timeless.
This movie is WHY I still love reeses pieces to this day.
This was childhood for an entire generation and it still brings us to tears. Superb story, acting, music and so much more.
I remember seeing this in theaters when I was 9 and cried my eyes out. Saw it again with a friend about a week later, still cried but not as much as the 1st time. Some kid a couple of years younger sitting in front of us was completely sobbing and bawling. My friend and I said to each other "what a wuss" as we're kinda chuckling with tears still streaming down our faces. Such a timeless classic.