'IMPROVED' EDITION OF 'E.T.' STILL SIMPLE, YET ENCHANTING.Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Critic IF CYNICISM had indeed died, as all the obituaries read last September, then ``E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' would be the perfect movie for these times. As it stands, Steven Spielberg's film, re-released in theaters today on its 20th anniversary, is a classic fairy tale fairy tale Simple narrative typically of folk origin dealing with supernatural beings. Fairy tales may be written or told for the amusement of children or may have a more sophisticated narrative containing supernatural or obviously improbable events, scenes, and personages that perfectly captures the wonders and worries of childhood in a way that few movies have ever approached. Time has not diminished its power to evoke wonder. There are small changes to the film. Among them: Law enforcement officers now carry walkie-talkies instead of guns because Spielberg said he has always wanted to remove the weapons from the film. Special-effects wizards at Industrial Light & Magic digitally touched up certain details with computer graphics, including E.T.'s facial expressions. Also, Elliot's mother no longer forbids him from dressing as a ``terrorist'' on Halloween. And there are two new scenes: one, a bathtub scene with E.T.; the other, when Elliot's mother - Dee Wallace - drives around looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. him on Halloween. Curmudgeons (myself included) and more than a few adults (Spielberg included) might look at ``E.T.'' today (even with the changes) and grimace grimace Neurology A humorless facial 'mask' typically seen in Pts with catatonia. See Amimia. at the movie's messianic connotations and yearn for a less simplistic sim·plism n. The tendency to oversimplify an issue or a problem by ignoring complexities or complications. [French simplisme, from simple, simple, from Old French; see simple view of the chasm between children and grown-ups. But then, Spielberg made a movie like that last year (``A.I.'') and most people hated it. So rigorous truth-telling might be an overrated Overrated was a Horde World of Warcraft guild, based on the US Black Dragonflight Realm. On November 2 2006, the majority of the guild members were indefinitely banned from the game for use of (or directly benefiting from) a third-party "wall-hack", used to bypass content quality in films, at least when popularity is an objective. When Spielberg made ``E.T.,'' he was still at that stage of his career when being king of the world meant everything and he wasn't above pandering to moviegoers' childishness if it meant a few more tears More Tears was a Canadian television series, which aired on CBC Television in 1998. The series was a short run dramedy, produced and written by Ken Finkleman following the success of his 1996 series The Newsroom, and was in part a remake of Federico Fellini's and a few more dollars at the box office. (He still panders - he's just less obvious about it now.) When Francois Truffaut Noun 1. Francois Truffaut - French filmmaker (1932-1984) Truffaut told Spielberg to ``make a film about kids, because you are a kid yourself,'' he hit the nail on the head. For good and (mostly) bad, going to the movies hasn't been the same for adults since Spielberg and his pal George Lucas Noun 1. George Lucas - United States screenwriter and filmmaker (born in 1944) Lucas ascended their cinematic thrones. E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL - Four stars (Rated PG: language, mild thematic elements, i.e., an alien death scene) Starring: Dee Wallace, Henry Thomas, Peter Coyote, Robert McNaughton, Drew Barrymore. Director: Steven Spielberg. Running time: 1 hr. 56 min. Playing: Wide release. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: An alien sheds some light on the situation for a lonely young boy (Henry Thomas) in the reissue of Steven Spielberg's ``E.T. The Extra- Terrestrial.'' |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion