Quality of the E.T. box set (laserdisc) (1 Viewer)

[Gruson]

I own the 2 sided, CLV version of E.T. and the video quality is not too good.
I have been thinking about buying the limited edition box set. How is the video quality of it for those who own it?
Thanks,
JW
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[Dan Brecher]

The CAV box set is superb in every sense of the word!
Excellent THX certified 1.85:1 widescreen transfer, strong dolby surround soundtrack, and an isolated score. The supplement discs hold a big retrospective documentary, stills material, trailers, deleted scenes and the alternate ending. It's one of my favorite Laserdiscs box sets. It also includes an exclusive gold edition of the expanded score CD release.
If you love ET, have LD and don't mind the CAV format, you have to own this set, especially in the light of the news that the future DVD release will not be the original theatrical version.
Recommended box.
Dan (UK)

 

[Michael Reuben]

That early CLV release of E.T. was pretty poor. The CAV box set is almost like watching a new movie. I'm keeping mine no matter what they put on the DVD (whenever it finally arrives).
M.

 

[Matthew Kiernan]

The CAV box is excellent. THX transfer and an excellent documentary, not to mention the complete soundtrack. I wonder just what will be left in next year's DVD release.
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Matthew Kiernan

 

[alan halvorson]

The four disc, all-CAV numbered box is a must have - don't accidentally get the three-disc all-CAV box - it doesn't hold a candle and, I've heard, it's prone to rot.
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They're coming to take me away, ha-haaa!!
They're coming to take me away, ho-ho, hee-hee, ha-haaa To the funny farm. Where life is beautiful all the time and I'll be happy to see those nice young men in their clean white coats and they're coming to take me away, ha-haaa!!!!!
- Napoleon XIV

 

[Michael Reuben]

it doesn't hold a candle and, I've heard, it's prone to rot.

In addition to having the stereo channels reversed (on most copies).
M.

 

[Brad Cook]

Just out of curiosity, what are the deleted scenes and the alternate ending in the ET LD boxed set? I've heard about a couple of the deleted scenes (like Harrison Ford playing Elliot's teacher), but I never heard about the alternate ending.
And does the documentary have any interesting tidbits that viewers of it would care to share?
I missed the boat with LD, so I'm hoping to catch up with DVD, but I'd like to see many of the LD extras appear in the DVD releases.
- Brad

 

[Derek Miner]

The deleted scenes appear in the context of the documentary. You do get to see the rough version of Elliot in the principal's office, where you hear Harrison Ford and see the back of his head. There is also an ending past the one in the film, but it appears to be cut short slightly. I hope the DVD includes complete versions of these scenes as well as any others that may have survived.
The documentary is a great Laurent Bouzereau piece, similar to the 1941, Close Encounters and Jaws documentaries.
= Derek =

 

[ScottR]

Does anyone remember seeing an extended version of the scene in which Elliot and E.T. get drunk? According to the IMDb, the original theatrical run contained the complete scene (including a shot of Elliot drawing with an invisible piece of chalk or something), but Speilberg cut it for all re-releases and home video versions. Personally, I don't think the scene was in the movie, but the IMDb says that the proof lays in the storybook version of the film which contains of still of the scene. I remember that these storybook adaptations varied, sometimes greatly, from the actual film.

 

[Jesse Skeen]

The line "You're not going as a terrorist!" was cut from the laserdisc versions that are out.

 

[Brad Cook]

So, what happens in the ending that continues past the ending that made the final cut? I'm just curious, since I've never heard of it before. Do we see inside the spaceship, a la the SE of CE3K?
- Brad

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

So, what happens in the ending that continues past the ending that made the final cut? I'm just curious, since I've never heard of it before. Do we see inside the spaceship, a la the SE of CE3K?

No.
I don't have the set anymore, so someone else might want to ellaborate, but the alternate ending was simply Elliot playing D&D with thye older kids, and he was the dungeon master. I think it was just to show that E.T. had an impact on the life of Elliot (afterall the story was really just a boy's search for a father).
So Elliot now has confidence and is able to play with the older kids and is accepted as a peer. The old concept of coming full circle from him not being permitted to play in the beginning.
-Vince
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[Dan Brecher]

So, what happens in the ending that continues past the ending that made the final cut? I'm just curious, since I've never heard of it before.

The alternate ending does, as Vince stated, show that Elliot had gained a greater relationship within his own family. What Vince forgets to add however ( ), is that the camera pulls back out of the house and up onto the rooftop, where the communication device ET built sits, and sits working...
Dan (UK)
PS: Scott, I recall there are extensions to the Elliot/ET drunk scene in the deleted footage on the LD, I'd have to check again, not done so in a while.

 

[Brad Cook]

Does Spielberg say why he cut the extended ending? I like the idea of Elliott gaining acceptance, although perhap Spielberh felt that that was already shown when he played "dungeon master," in a sense, by leading the kids during the escape from the government agents (I really hope Spielberg doesn't remove their guns).
I wonder if Spielberg also felt that showing the working communication device would have left an opening for a sequel, something I assume he didn't want. I can't imagine how you could do a sequel to E.T., or CE3K, or even Jaws, really, despite the existence of Jaws II through IV.
Actually, a friend of mine said not too long ago that he'd like to see a sequel to CE3K where Roy Neary returns to Earth, disillusioned by his trip to the stars, and tries to rebuild the life he left behind.
- Brad

 

[Dan Brecher]

As I recall, in the documentary it is Kathleen Kennedy who comments on the dropped ending. I think it was felt it just restricted the viewer from using their own imagination in regard to where it may go from there.
Dan (UK)

 

[Patrick Mirza]

Get the box set now before its price hits the roof next year.
Something tells me not everyone knows the DVD is going to be a new altered version...
I bought mine when it originally came out years ago; simply one of the finest looking LD transfers ever.
And man, there is no feeling like a weighty LD box set! DVD Ses just don't feel like them!
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[Edited last by Patrick Mirza on September 06, 2001 at 08:20 AM]

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

I felt the extended ending was unnecessary, even redundant. I think it was obvious that Elliot was changed by his experiences, and I always (even as a kid) assumed his life from that point forth would be different in terms of his own happiness.
The films ends where I think it should end- the additional minute or two really didn't add anything, IMHO.
-Vince
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[Jay Mitchosky]

Absolutely gorgeous set.
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