E.T. (1982) BREAKDOWN: Details We Missed & Why It's Perfect | The Deep Dive 

The thing I’ve always loved is when ET tells Elliot “I’ll be right here” he points to his head, as if reminding him that these few days and their time together will be something to cherish in his memories, and that as long as he remembers ET, ET will still be with him. It’s an important message for anyone we’ve lost, like Elliot losing his dad.

Watching behind the scenes moments of Spielberg working with kid actors is always heartwarming. He always treats them with respect and works with both their abilities and limitations.

A few years ago, myself, my parents, and an old family friend got to see ET with a live orchestra. It was incredible to revisit the film and highlight Williams’ amazing score. I was deeply impressed at how well it all held up. Truly a timeless and beautiful film!

I love Erik and the editors breaking down these original classics for us. This is an amazing channel ❤

This was the first movie I saw in a movie theater! I went with my parents and sat on top of my mom’s purse so I could see over the adults in front of me. I remember freaking out and crying when the men in hazmat suits took over the house and ET died, and my parents frantically calming me down saying, “look at the plant! He’s going to be ok!!” I still cry every time the plant comes back to life.

Erik, I swear I'm going to be tearing up all month long with how beautifully you break down these Spielberg movies, lol I've had an interesting relationship with this movie. As a kid I watched it multiple times, mainly as it kept being shown on T.V. (even thought I know I had the VHS). But as an adult, I think I gave in to an incorrect mentality that I should "leave this movie behind in my childhood" and the funny thing is, I'm not even sure why. I did see the 2002 re-release in theaters. CGI E.T. was fun but probably unnecessary. Honestly I didn't even notice the 'guns to walk-talkies' thing until after I heard people talking about it. But I'm glad that Spielberg changed it back so now that's the version I'll be seeking out. Being a kid of the 80s, I had forgotten how representative this movie is of my childhood (especially that Halloween scene). Maybe being a father now has changed how I view things I mistakenly thought I should leave in childhood as now I can share those things with my own son in hopes it will help him understand his father, like Spielberg sought to understand his own father. Thank you, Erik, for reminding me why this was an important movie from my childhood!

I was fourteen in 1982 when this came out and it pulled the heart strings pretty hard. I saw it ten times in the theatre that year between the summer and Christmas. I had the trading bubble gum cards, the toy finger that lit up, the book and the soundtrack on vinyl which I still have. It came back to the theatre in 1985 and saw it again. Back to the future was the hit in summer of 85. In 1985, I saw E.T., Back to the future and ghostbusters which also came back to theatres in 85. It was a great experience.

I will be honest, this movie scarred me A LOT as a kid. I have never been able to watch it as an adult. I think it's the whole thing with ET dying and the house all covered in tubes and Elliott's emotionality. I still feel like it would be overwhelming.

The ride at Universal Florida is crazily accurate to this movie. Haven't seen the full movie, but the parts I've seen, are good.

My favorite movie of all time! My first movie in a theater! I cried just watching this breakdown-as I do every single time I rewatch this movie! ❤️

This movie came out when I was 4. It took me 3 tries to see it in the theatre because I could never get past the scene when Elliot meets ET in the corn field, it freaked me out too much. I would spend hours listening to the soundtrack (on vinyl) on headphones for a couple years after it came out. The chase scene still gives me a visceral reaction even to this day. And I still tear up at the end, no matter how many times I see it. Hell, I teared up a bit just watching this breakdown. Come to think of it, time to watch it again!

With all of the talk about Star Wars crossing over into this movie, kinda surprised Eagle Eye Voss didn’t mention that Pat Welsh also did the voice of Boushh, Princess Leila’s bounty hunter disguise in Return of the Jedi. And now you can’t unhear it.

John Williams is such a prodigy. Someone that can create sounds that move through the body mind and soul is just amazing and anybody that hasn’t seen Henry Thomas’s audition needs to watch it. It’s absolutely insane how a kid can channel those emotions.

Thank you Erik and The Deep Dive team for all these breakdowns! I have come to appreciate these classics so much more because of your work and I’m always pumped to see what breakdown you have for us next :) Best wishes for this channel!

Great E.T. Breakdown, This is one my favorite movies of all time! 👍

It’s been a LOOONG time since I’ve last watched ET. Too long! But as a kid born in ‘84 seeing these scenes again now, it’s clear that it was never the plot or story of the movie that really stuck with me, it’s all the little details and bits of production and sound design that made it so memorable for me. Everything from the sound of Reese’s pieces rattling together to the way they unplugged all those bolts holding the plastic hazmat tube to the van during the finale. This movie is filled with stuff unique to my own childhood experience. I’m in a nostalgic mood, so I think I’ll watch ET this weekend! 😆

I've watched this move hundreds of times and I still tear up when ET says I'll be right here...even in this video

My strongest connection to this movie is the ride at Universal Studios. It was the only vacation my family ever took in my childhood. I got ET in my basket, and in 1994, the effects were borderline miraculous. I recently revisited it in 2018, and I swear the ride still holds up.

who here got to sit on the Elliots bike at Universal Studios and get their photo in front of the sky?!? < this dude right here lol . This movie brings back so many great memories of the 80's

A truly spectacular childhood movie ! My Dad was a manager at a novelty store in the mall at the time and they sold Halloween masks - well he would have me go to work with him on Saturday afternoons and wear an ET mask ( I was wrapped up in a burlap cloth - it worked well ) in the store to drum up business. It worked - apparently the corporate office inquired as to why that particular store outsold all the others in masks and costumes that year and Dad told them that he doubled his 11 year olds allowance to pretend to be ET on the weekends for five weeks before Halloween and sales were strong ! Good memories…

This was the best analysis of this movie I’ve ever seen. You pointed out things I’ve never noticed. I saw this movie when I was 5 years old and everything about it from the colors to the music was completely enchanting.

Thanks for this one Voss. Every scene in ET has either a visual or audio queue that triggers some of my earliest memories in life. It’s been a very long time since I’ve last watched it but today you tickled those triggers enough for me to remember… and rewatch as soon as this 39 year old man has the chance. #BeGood

there was a "magic of the movies" museum tour in the late 80s prior to the video release and in it they had the matte paintings from ET and ROTJ plus Regan puppet from the Exorcist. In the Matte area they were playing the bike scene with full WIlliams score. I guess I was 15 or so and remember collapsing to my knees and full on sobbing because of what the music and images conjured up in me. I still can't hear the score with ut tearing up, all these years later.

Admitting my age with this, but when we got our 1st VCR, it came with an E.T. VHS tape. 😊

I was 10.5 when this came out & though we didn't have a lot of money to spare for non-essentials, my mom & I had seen a preview for ET & decided that was going to be our splurge that month. We went to the nearby theater & caught the last show before matinee prices ended & evening prices took effect @4pm, so like 2:30-3:00. We even bought popcorn there rather than make it @ home cheaper & sneak it in in ziploc bags. We both loved it & talked about it for days! Definitely the right choice. I can't even remember what other movies were coming out that month or what my other fun option had been that month. (As I really loved books I often opted for a used book or 2 from the bookstore over an outing, because you can read them over & over.) The only other movie that impacted me that much (as a kid anyway) was when Star Wars came out a little before my 6th birthday, & though we were even tighter on money at that time my mom found out that 1 theater in our city extended its showings & kept it on for 2 more weeks. I remember eating @ home right before we went & mom snuck in some cheap can sodas in her purse. I can still remember the opening, reading along (mom helped with the biggest words, but I actually read most of it). I was so enthralled the whole movie, & that was the instant that all the fairy tales & Dr Seuss read to me melded with all the westerns I watched with my dad & I have been a scifi lover since. By the time ET came out I had watched so many Star Trek reruns with my mom & read quite a lot. Every scifi book my mom had in the house, including The Martian Chronicles, & whatever I could convince mom to get from the library. Until I was 11, when she finally gave up, she kept trying to keep me from certain things because she was worried violent stuff might give me nightmares. But I literally never got nightmares, even when watching monster movies at friends' houses. Once she gave in I got to read even more, like all her Stephen King books & history-based fiction, & so on. Why did she give in? Cause she figured out my reading level had jumped so high I no longer even needed to ask her to explain anything or look certain words up in the dictionary. Not the fact that I watched westerns & wrestling with my dad since 4-5 or that I'd fully understood what s*x was since I was 7 because of reading through encyclopedias for high schoolers after done with the ones for little kids. Nope. It was that it hit her I really wasn't gonna bug her for explanations but I was gonna bug her for more reading material. 😂 Well, mom, you created this monster that loves to devour scifi & adventure stories! After that she didn't censor any reading material. If she brought it home from the library I could read it too & she didn't even blink @ all the books I borrowed from the school library.

ET is the only movie that can make me cry instantly with that magical theme music created by the genius John Williams.

Love the Spielberg breakdowns Erik! Maybe the Edgar Wright films next??

I used to always be terrified of this movie, but I was able to watch the ending because of its emotional impact.

I am loving this channel SO much, Voss, your deep dives into the past have been SO FUN!

I really love how much of a heart @DeepDiveNR has. The stories in this video about Eric’s siblings and the ones about him and his father in the jaws deep dive were really touching and I think they make these videos really special.

I LOVE this movie! From the visuals, the sound design, characters, and overall the feel of this film is something that will always have a place in my heart.

Haven't seen E.T. in years. Man, just watching your recap makes me choke up the way I remember doing when I last saw the movie. How is that possible? Great Deep Dive, Eric!

I was so fucking scared of E.T. as a kid, it was crazy. I actively made sure every Universal movie I ever watched never had the years 2002 and 2012 on the disk. The sight of an E.T. plushie sent me running literal blocks in the opposite direction. Any still image of him actively kept me up multiple nights. Stuff like that only scratches the surface of the intense and irrational terror I had. Ironic how it's now one of my all-time favorites.

Amazing breakdown, Erik and team! Thank you for bringing back those feelings of aww, excitement, and wonder that I had when I first watched this movie. It's an all-time favorite, and I can't wait til I can share this with my son.

these have to be my absolute favorite videos. i love this channel and all the movies you've dived deep on. thank you voss

I've watch a lot of your deep dives and your description of summer and coming of age made me emotional (in a good way). I love what you are doing, continue the great work!

As I watch this movie over and over again I cry every time I watch it

Thanks for such a sweet deep dive EriK. This film is special to me too! Such an important film for me as a kid! As an adult, the music really takes me back. When that score kicks in as Elliot flies across the moon.. so moving and nostaglic. The pairing of John Williams and Spielberg is genius. Music is so imperative in the quality of film and TV projects...something we're seeing now with the new season of Loki...fantastic.

Thanks for all your great work. Love from Belgium 🇧🇪 ❤

Great breakdown Erik!

Does anybody notice Elliott talking on the inhale when E.T. is dying? I think it shows their mirror connection.

Awesome breakdown! Keep the classics coming!!!😊

Still scarred by the river and death scenes. Absolute nightmare fuel for me as a kid. Shining? Nope. Jason or Freddy? Nope. It was freaking E.T.

You are SO good at this and I APPRECIATE you SO MUCH!

I was a kid when this came out. It quickly became my favorite movie for one very specific fact, and it's that E.T. ate Recess Pieces! Recess Pieces were my favorite candy back then, so much so that I have a nickname because of them. My closest older family members (aunts/uncles, and such) call me Reecer.

Excellent job, Guys!

I always thought the reason ET gets sick is because the entire time he’s on Earth all he eats is candy and beer

Just fantastic. love this channel !!

When I first saw ET as a kid, he terrified me lmao. But watching it now, as a 27 year old, it fills me with joy. This movie feels like the realization of every kids dream. The heart and imagination that was put into this film stands the test of time. And I think John Williams’ score here is his best score. I always get chills on the ending when the music swells as everyone watches ET and his family leave earth.

Erik and crew, could you consider doing a breakdown for the Star Wars/Trek films?

I was 10 years old when my older sister took me to see WT the first showing in our city. I've owned it ever since. From VHS,DVD and blue ray. I have to watch at least 3 to 4 times a year. It completes me,it makes me laugh, and it makes me cry . It's such a heartwarming memory of my childhood ❤❤😊😊

wonderfully done

When i was a kid, i always felt like E.T was slowly healing Elliot and his family. They were connected and there's a deeper connection hinted at, so my head canon as a kid was that E.T felt the hurt that Elliots family felt, so after connecting with the young Elliot, he didnt want his friend to suffer. Knowing how important family is, he also healed Elliot's family, which in turn drained him and caused him to die. But when his own family was on their way, it revived him.

What a beautiful bit of work you’ve done here, Erik! I’ve been wondering when would be a good time to let my 8yo daughter see this movie. She’s got a soft heart like her Dad and I’m sure it’ll make her cry, but I’ll be there crying right along side her.

I love this so much. Keep up the good work EA VOSS. This was my favorite movie growing up the 80’s

What an emotional ride, Voss! Best breakdown yet.

4:27 Voss got me hyped for another video while I’m diving deep into this one 👏🏽 love this channel and I saw something like this happening and used to think why doesn’t Voss do his own thing as well, and here we go

This breakdown is making me cry, good job Voss

Another excellent breakdown!

You are very good at this video essay thing Erik, this one almost made me tear up. I'm going to show ET to my kids now.

The piano end suite has stuck with me since i was a child imagining what was behind the forest in my babysitter's backyard and wishing for friends, not knowing my friend was actually music. Thank you John Williams

Brother this video is awesome. I can’t wait till spooky season comes around again for the re watch 😎

when I was a kid in the early to mid 1980s, i was living in Houstoon Texas in a new development. So my neighborhood friends always had fun riding our bmx bikes through all the new housing construction, so watching that scene in ET brings back a lot of fond memories

I was in hospital in Sydney in 1982 and I got to have a day out with my grandmother and mother. I was five years old and was taken to see ET and I can remember bursting into tear when ET got sick and died. My grandmother got me an ET doll which I still have and even as a 47 year old woman, the final scene when ET and Elliott both say "ouch" has me in floods of tears. I too was raised in a divorced family but unlike Elliott, it wasn't my father who left, but my mother. She left one week after my ninth birthday and while she is now back in my life and lives in the same town as I do, there was always a feeling of being abandoned by her and the assoicated tramua it brought.

I actually got to be the kid in the bike during a Universal Studios Hollywood ET experience during the Tram Tour. It was so much fun! My dad faked us out by switching the VHS when we weren't looking when we first got this movie at home. We thought we were going to watch Alice in Wonderland and he switched it to ET.

This was the first movie I saw in theaters. I was barely 6. This is what I remember from that day. I remember my parents having a quiet discussion in the kitchen regarding about me being old enough to do something. I wasn't sure what they were talking about but they were spelling words out so I wouldn't understand. I next remember being in the theater lobby amazed by all the popcorn and candy. All of this was new to me. I had no idea what this movie was about. I don't think I truly knew what an alien was at this age. Probably the first time I heard the word. I remember sitting in the front row of a crowded theater. I was scared out of my mind until the second Elliot shows ET all his toys. Up until that moment I remember cuddling up to my dad to stay safe. I remember being in absolute tears when ET died and the feeling of excitement I felt the rest of the movie and the thrill of the soundtrack with the bike chase. I still cry every time I see this movie.

I saw this movie in the movie theaters during its original release and I was that kid at the end that you wanted to console but couldn't because I wasn't your kid. It was a sobtastic moment in my childhood. The music, the story, the effects (which most hold up except the flying bikes) and everything about this movie is why this has always been my favorite movie.

This is my favorite movie of all times. Is so perfect. I can't avoid crying like a baby from the first note of Williams at the beginning to the very end. This is pure magic.

This was the only movie i bought the sound track too and listened to it when felling down but mostly to go to sleep to i still have the original VHS and its because the music matched the emotions i was feeling at each scene the trumpets at the end always makes me want to take a deep breath and smile

It still makes me want to play D&D. It’s the ceiling lamp..

One of my earliest memories (I must have been two or three) is bawling my eyes out on the bus after seeing E.T. in the cinema. It hit me hard. Sometimes I watch the last act and cry my way through it. It's like when the food critic in Ratatouille tastes the food that transports him back to his childhood. Just watching this video had me in tears. A perfect movie.

i don't really remember my feelings during the movie, but i remember my sister's vividly. she was BAWLING when ET died, and laughing through the tears when he came back to life. An absolutely indelible memory.

There is a “magic” in the bike chase scene that literally brought me to tears when I most recently watched this movie.

I’ve only seen ET once and that was in theaters when it came out and changing the guns to walkie talkies is ludicrous. The closeup of the shotgun and the fact that these adults had weapons made a huge impact on me. It made the stakes higher.

Dude. Why you always make me cry? 😭

@DeepDiveNR are you still planning on doing a deep dive on Lost? Would love to see it! I recently curated a series re-watch with the family and it was a really rewarding experience

I first watched ET at my neighbor's house. We were extremely close when we were young, although we had slowly grown apart over the years but in a natural-feeling way. I always think of him and his family when I watch this movie!

Omg, I loved watching this. Erik, why you got me crying? I saw this movie 8 times in the movie theater, and I cried each and every time. My 8 y.o. is very happy & sad right now.

E.T was the first movie in theaters that I ever saw...I remember walking to the theater with my brother and mom (it was less than a mile away). We stopped at a small convenience store after the movie and got a couple packs of E.T trading cards. I still have them. I am going in October to meet the cast of this movie (minus Drew) in Richmond and being able to take my son with me after all this time is going to really be amazing, as he loves the movie also.

Erik, I'll tell you how I felt after watching the movie. I cried like a baby, this is peak cinema. Music was the main cause for emotional rollercoaster.

The first time I saw this in the theater, when it came to the scene where ET comes back to life, everyone in the theater clapped and cheered.

I like to think that E.T. being in The Phantom Menace is because Elliott works for ILM.❤

This movie was one of my favs as a good growing up in the 90s. It always makes me feel happy

4:36 I do like that change of camera perspective and the reason behind it makes sense! Instead of just trying something new and it looking silly you literally see and understand their point of view

I watched this movie a lot when I was a kid and silly me always thought that Keys was secretly Elliot's father from the way he acted near the end of the movie 😅

This made me tear up, just like the movie did. By the way, I watched The Fablemans because of you and it was sooo good! Everyone should watch it, it’s just a great film, and I’d never heard of it before you brought it up. Thank you!

Something about the lighting in the movie makes it feel more like a dream or a fairy tale... The shadows, bright lights and fog makes the screen bright and dreamy... Really beautiful cinematography there ❤

Hey Erik love your work on this channel please do deep dive into Zodiac

I was 6 when ET came out, saw it twice in the theater and once at the drive in, and it has always been one of my top 10 movies. I carried an ET doll for 3 years, and had an ET lunchbox that I used until it fell apart. Reeses Pieces even became my favorite candy for years because of the movie. I love this movie still as a 48 year old man, watch it a couple times a year. Thank you for making this, several things I didn't know about this great film.

Another interesting factoid is that while Spielberg was making this movie, he was going across town and having a heavy influence on the making of Poltergeist. My childhood memory of this movie was kids mocking others at school asking if "did E.T. make you cry?" I just happened to watch this early last month after seeing the Spielberg documentary and I did notice the no adult faces, except Mary, until E.T. is captured. I still don't understand how E.T. just happens to come back to life and I read the novelization as a kid too. I guess he was still barely alive and when he knew he was going to be rescued telepathically that gave him a spark to fully heal. Nice observation Erik about the bike pedaling because I thought it odd that they're pedaling in air and there is nothing to pedal on. And yes, George Lucas, learn from your buddy and tell Disney to release your original theatrical Star Wars movies on HD video.

Thankyou Erik

Wonderful, personal, nostalgic, thoughtful 🤓

I love this movie so much and this was a beautiful breakdown.

I remember as a child when I saw the trailer for ET, he scared me. I avoided the movie for a long time because of it. But then, when I was in school, I had to study a film and I chose ET. I’m really glad that I did

This is one of those perfect movies for me. I was almost five when I first saw it. My parents had divorced a couple years earlier. I wanted a friend like ET. Everything just came together for me. The amazing acting by all the kids (Henry Thomas as Elliott is some of the best acting by a child actor ever). The brilliant director Steven Spielberg. And that score by the legendary John Williams! It's so perfect! My emotions in musical form. I even played that Atari ET game music over and over. The movie touched my soul. When I watched that movie, I was Elliott. I felt what he felt. Experienced what he experienced. Movies have a magical way of connecting us to these characters like.the way Elliott connected to ET. Even re-watching it, as a grown ass man....I still cry. "Ouch" I can imagine Elliott spending the rest of his life looking to the stars, missing his friend. I know because I do. There is still the kid in me wanting to see ET come back on that big screen, but it would never be the same. you cannot recapture that "first time" magic with a cash grab sequel. I have imagined ET coming back, dreamed of ET taking me on adventures. That's where ET belongs: in our memories and in our hearts. "I'll be right here"

Imagine at the end when ET points at his head and says 'I'll be right...' and then instead points to Elliott's chest and says 'here,' and at the same time ET's chest glows red again. That would have been such a powerful ending considering the emotions at play.

Love this film and score. Can’t have one without the other.

E.T. is one of the first movies I can remember watching. Thankfully, it's one of those that's held up when I rewatched it as an adult.

I barely remember getting the cassette when I was 2. From what I was told, a family member thought I would like it. Since then I would watch this movie loads of times. So much that the cassette tape actually tore itself in the VCR. I remember the original VHS tape was green. Thankfully DVD and Blu-Ray have come along to preserve this timeless classic for future generations.

Last spring i took a college course about all of the movies released Summer 1982, so your series here is just perfectly timed for me. All of these are fresh on my brain 😂