8.5 | / 10 |
Users | 4.7 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.6 |
A young boy befriends a friendly alien and tries to help it escape Earth and return to his home world.
Starring: Dee Wallace, Henry Thomas, Peter Coyote, Robert MacNaughton, Drew BarrymoreAdventure | 100% |
Family | 70% |
Sci-Fi | 53% |
Fantasy | 49% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS 2.0
French: DTS 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Spanish: DTS 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH, French, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
UV digital copy
DVD copy
BD-Live
D-Box
Mobile features
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
There are classic films that leave a lasting mark and some that leave an enduring legacy. Then there are those special few that leave a mark, a legacy and, somehow, something even greater. Something more palpable and timeless. Something almost indescribable. Something that washes over its faithful fans; a warm, refreshing wave of nostalgia so pure and tangible that it transforms a beloved movie into an experience akin to coming home. For children of the '80s and early '90s, Steven Spielberg's E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial is more than a mere movie. Reducing its charm to the word "mark" or its appeal to the word "legacy" seems feeble and feels impersonal. And for a film whose heart still beats strong some thirty years after its debut, for a film Spielberg still considers his most personal, for a film audiences of all ages still call one of their personal favorites, feeble and impersonal just won't do. I won't pretend 21st century kids will develop the same deep appreciation and affection for E.T. as children of my generation, nor do I expect them to so easily look past its less than seamless special effects. But E.T. remains as funny, thrilling, touching and powerful today as it was in 1982, and it would be tough for anyone -- young or old, boy or girl, newcomer or longtime fan -- to come away without having laughed, gasped, cried or cheered, for the first time or the hundredth.
E.T. dazzles with a lovely, beautifully restored and, yes, filmic 1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer supervised and approved by Spielberg himself; one that I can't imagine will generate many, if any, serious complaints. For those who've long railed against Universal's treatment of its catalog titles, take this moment to breathe a hard-fought sigh of relief. E.T. doesn't exhibit any signs of problematic filtering, unnecessary tweaks, noise reduction or, really, any other technique that might undermine its textures' integrity, reduce its grain to a soupy mess, or subvert Spielberg's intentions or Allen Daviau's photography in any way. Simply put, E.T. has never looked better, never been more faithful to its original presentation, or exhibited more life and vitality than it does here. Colors are warm and pleasant, with wonderfully saturated skintones, bright primaries and satisfying contrast. (Black levels are often a touch muted, but very little appears to be out of sorts.) Detail is excellent as well, even if soft shots are fairly common and special effects sequences come with a slew of inherent anomalies (the most distracting of which involves general, image-wide disruptions most noticeable in the night sky). The key word there, though is "inherent," as none of it appears to trace back to anything other than the source. Otherwise, edges are clean and refined (with only the slightest hint of intermittent ringing to be found), fine textures are nicely resolved, a variety of shots are far more revealing than I anticipated, delineation is commendable, and there isn't any significant artifacting, banding or aliasing to report. Perfect? Not quite. As close to perfect as could feasibly be achieved? I suspect so. Fans will be most ecstatic, Universal skeptics will be most surprised, and everyone in between will be most impressed.
E.T. phones home with quite an unexpected surprise: a full and boisterous DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 surround track that propels the film into the future without distancing its original sound design too far from the past. The rear speakers aren't aggressive per se but they are most engaging, immersing the listener in whatever dense underbrush, foggy forests, cramped closets, busy classrooms or mobile med-labs await. Directionality is reserved but precise (particularly in early scenes, when E.T. is avoiding human contact), pans are smooth and there isn't much in the way of air hiss or a noise floor in any of the scenes. It's still a thirty-year-old film with thirty-year-old sound design (difficult as it is to tell at times), but just as much attention and care has been invested in the eight-channel remix as the 1080p video presentation. John Williams' score is the greatest beneficiary to the lossless 7.1 upgrade, of course, and his sweeping themes and soaring orchestral melodies flow freely from every channel, creating a more robust and evocative experience than many will be prepared for. Low-end output is strong as well, lending weight and presence to spacecraft and shady government agents as needed, and dynamics don't disappoint. Dialogue and alien chatter, meanwhile, is clear, intelligible and carefully centered, and only a handful of lines are hollow, muffled or tinny. So could E.T. sound any better? Honestly, I don't see how.
E.T. takes me back; to childhood, to a simpler time, to a purer state of movie-going ease... wherever, whenever or whatever it may be, Spielberg's adventure classic takes me back. I still laughed, still gasped, still grinned, still wept like a child. I still felt like burying my head as E.T.'s life slipped away, and I still felt like exploding out of my seat when his chest began to glow and Elliott's flower began to grow. After all these years -- thirty to be exact -- it's a film that still has a hold on me. And now it has it's hold on my son as well. Much to their credit, Universal didn't rush this one to market. Between its terrific restoration and video transfer, its excellent DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 surround track, and its mix of worthwhile special features old and new, E.T. is one of the year's must-have Blu-ray catalog releases.
1982
30th Anniversary Limited Edition
1982
100th Anniversary Collector's Series
1982
30th Anniversary Edition | with Plush Toy
1982
30th Anniversary Limited Amazon Exclusive Spaceship Edition
1982
Academy Award Series
1982
35th Anniversary
1982
1982
35th Anniversary Limited Edition
1982
1982
1982
1982
Limited Edition Steelbook
1982
40th Anniversary Edition
1982
40th Anniversary Edition
1982
40th Anniversary Limited Edition Gift Set
1982
40th Anniversary Edition
1982
40th Anniversary Limited Edition Gift Set
1982
35th Anniversary / Glow in the Dark Slipcover
1982
2014
2018
2016
The Star Beast / Wild Blue Yonder / The Giggle
2023
2016
2009
2007
2009
2014
3-Disc Edition
2010
30th Anniversary Edition | US Version
1984
2015
2019
2018
2016
2014
2010
2016
2014
Collector's Edition
1988