Pre-Order E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial Limited Edition (1982) 40th Anniversary Gift Set (4k UHD Combo) Available for Preorder (1 Viewer)

[B-ROLL]

I wouldn’t call it egregious - it’s simply that it’s a different version of the film and some would prefer that filmmakers not revise their earlier works, even if they allow both the new and old versions to remain equally accessible.

Some people object to some CGI added to give ET a little more range of motion compared to the original puppet. Some people object to having the federal agents chasing the children carrying walkie talkies instead of firearms. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with those decisions in the revision, nor the decisions made in the original release. I don’t think it’s crazy for a filmmaker to say “we couldn’t finish this scene to my satisfaction back when the movie came out, let’s see if I can get it closer to what I wanted now.” I don’t think it’s crazy to say, “Maybe we don’t need to have men with guns chasing small children in a film that’s supposed to be for family audiences”. But I also don’t think there’s anything wrong with saying, “I thought the movie was fine as it was when it first came out and I’m not interested in seeing a different version”.

I think you had to be there in 1982 to understand why the agents having guns was appropriate. The film is an allegory but I can't say more than that.

 

[Bryan Tuck]

I have to ask what is really so egregious about the 2002 version?

I just think the CGI clashes with the animatronic and puppet work. And the extra two scenes are kind of in the way (especially the one where Mary picks up Gertie and Michael and doesn't seem particularly worried that her other son is not with them).

But it's also kind of the principle of the thing.

Incidentally, the 7.1 and DTS:X mixes on the BD and UHD still contain a few of the audio revisions from the 2002 cut, most notably the medical scene right after Peter Coyote's face is revealed for the first time. The original sound design for the scene was very atmospheric and echoey, while in the remix it's more natural-sounding, and there is different ADR from the doctors. A short time later, when the one doctor shouts "He's got DNA!" the remix follows it with some technobabble about nucleotides.

Fortunately, both the standard Blu and the UHD contain the original stereo mix as well.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

I think you had to be there in 1982 to understand why the agents having guns was appropriate. The film is an allegory but I can't say more than that.

Also, the scene makes a lot less sense without the guns.

The kids are scared and threatened, and ET shows the same response: their lives are at risk.

Of course, flying over the agents doesn't stop them from shooting - bullets do go UP - but if they're just faced with unarmed agents, the whole thing seems less intense.

And less logical. The agents are trying to capture evidence of alien life - you think they're not gonna attempt this by any means necessary?

Though there's nothing about the scene that clearly indicates they would shoot any of the kids. They could shoot out the bicycle tires.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I can see it both ways - it’s not unrealistic that in a law enforcement scenario with an unknown adversary that said law enforcement would have weapons. On the other hand, in a film that’s essentially a children’s fantasy meant to be acceptable for all ages, that raises the stakes on potential violence more than some viewers might feel is necessary or appropriate.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

I can see it both ways - it’s not unrealistic that in a law enforcement scenario with an unknown adversary that said law enforcement would have weapons. On the other hand, in a film that’s essentially a children’s fantasy meant to be acceptable for all ages, that raises the stakes on potential violence more than some viewers might feel is necessary or appropriate.

Plenty of "children's fantasies" include violence or the threat of violence.

And it's a PG-rated movie, back when PG actually meant something.

It's not "Care Bears" or something intended to be utterly soft.

 

[TonyD]

So we’re still debating, 40 years later if the guns were necessary in this movie?

 

[MartinP.]

^^^

I don't recall this being a thing 40 years ago when the movie originally came out. Was it something people were talking about or reading about or discussing? I don't recall it being an issue at the time. I mean, in that scene in the film who was really noticing that and not concentrating on the kids on the bicycles?

 

[Malcolm R]

I don't recall it ever being a thing. Modern society has just become a bunch of powder puffs. Nobody thought twice about it in 1982.

They were federal agents chasing an alien life form. Of course they'd be armed.

 

[JoshZ]

Had Spielberg shot the scene originally with walkie-talkies, nobody would have questioned that either. What fans object to is the stench of revisionism that wafted over the movie in 2002. Also, the CGI replacement looks awkward.

 

[Ethan Riley]

Had Spielberg shot the scene originally with walkie-talkies, nobody would have questioned that either. What fans object to is the stench of revisionism that wafted over the movie in 2002. Also, the CGI replacement looks awkward.

I found the new CGI almost objectionable for a few reasons. I mean, not only is it awkward, especially the scene where E.T. over-reacts to meeting Gertie, the replacement effects are actually robbing Drew Barrymore of her performance. She was acting to the puppet, not the CGI. Over the years, she has spoken rather eloquently of her acting approach to the whole thing--you have to stand by someone who put that much thought into a performance and she was only six at the time.

 

[B-ROLL]

I found the new CGI almost objectionable for a few reasons. I mean, not only is it awkward, especially the scene where E.T. over-reacts to meeting Gertie, the replacement effects are actually robbing Drew Barrymore of her performance. She was acting to the puppet, not the CGI. Over the years, she has spoken rather eloquently of her acting approach to the whole thing--you have to stand by someone who put that much thought into a performance and she was only six at the time.

...and I'm sure genetics had nothing to do with it either !

 

[Colin Jacobson]

I don't recall it ever being a thing. Modern society has just become a bunch of powder puffs. Nobody thought twice about it in 1982.

They were federal agents chasing an alien life form. Of course they'd be armed.

I don't think "modern society" felt the scene needed to change in 2002.

It was Spielberg. He became sensitive about it.

There was no mass demand for the scene to change in 1982, 2002 or 2022.

 

[JoshZ]

I don't think "modern society" felt the scene needed to change in 2002.

It was Spielberg. He became sensitive about it.

There was no mass demand for the scene to change in 1982, 2002 or 2022.

The Columbine massacre happened in 1999 and was still very much on people's minds in 2002. That was the year Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine was released (admittedly, after the E.T. reissue). I suspect that affected Spielberg's feelings about having characters with guns chasing children in his family-oriented film.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

The Columbine massacre happened in 1999 and was still very much on people's minds in 2002. That was the year Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine was released (admittedly, after the E.T. reissue). I suspect that affected Spielberg's feelings about having characters with guns chasing children in his family-oriented film.

Those are good points!

I would still think that the general public didn't care, though, especially since the guns never get used.

Just don't ever recall any public outcry about that scene - in any decade!

 

[Lord Dalek]

The Columbine massacre happened in 1999 and was still very much on people's minds in 2002. That was the year Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine was released (admittedly, after the E.T. reissue). I suspect that affected Spielberg's feelings about having characters with guns chasing children in his family-oriented film.

Yeah except he already said he wanted to get rid of the guns in the making of documentary from three years earlier.

 

[Garysb]

This will be I believe at least the 3rd release of ET in 4K. There was the original release in maybe 2017, the 35th Anniversary in 2020, and now the 40th in 2022. Don't worry about the math, I am using dates per Amazon. Is the film transfer the same on all the releases with the difference being the extras? The 35th had a cd of the score. The 40th has Steven Spielberg at the TCM film festival. Currently all versions are available to order somewhere with the first version currently $9.94 at Amazon and the 35th (GRUV) and 40th (Amazon) both for $20. GRUV gets extra 20% off.

See on Amazon

 

[Lord Dalek]

Deleted.