E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial [Includes Digital Copy] [4K Ultra HD Blu-ray] [2 Discs] [1982]

Very interesting like a money bag after a laughing bag.

Pros: -It’s always been one of my favorites of all times & holds a special place in me. One of the best stories ever told that never gets old, from beginning to end. Lost count of how many times I’ve watched it throughout three decades. Always make it mandatory to watch it every year during the month of October. -What a new experience watching it in HRD on an OLED, was stunning! Atmos was impressive on my calibrated 7.2.4 setup with sound coming from all over the place including overhead. -Photo book -Lenticular cover Case -Extras -Reese’s as a Bonus Cons: None.

I love love love this film! A child of the 80's this was my movie growing up like a lot of people. I've owned every edition that has come out and this one is by far the best! The 4k transfer is amazing, totally beats the Blu ray transfer! Also on top of it the Limited Edition is a beaut! I mean how can you not own this?! If you just bought a 4k TV/Player this is a day one pick up!

This was the first movie I ever saw in a theater. Brings back a lot of good memories. The 4K transfer looks fantastic! Great package with soundtrack included.

ET is a classic movie that everyone should own. It is a great work of art, and one of the best by Steven Spielberg.

ET is one of the rare kids/ family movies I watched as a kid and truly enjoyed. (While other kids were checking out the next Disney film, you'd find me watching old Hammer horror films or attending the newest horror film to hit the theater in the greatest decade of the genre, the 80s, with my own father... Bambi traumatized me, Fright Night made me want to be a vampire slayer... or vampire!) But ET? ET made me believe not all family movies were boring and (particularly in Disney's case,) obsessed with killing off parents, particularly mothers. It has the family themes, humor, and even action, all crafted by the hand of Steven Spielberg, who was, at his best, a child in an adult body, putting the imaginations of youngsters on the big screen without feeling the need to "grow the tale up" to scale with his peers alone. They were crafted in a way that ET could go home with the parents along for the ride the entire way, or have the kids in tow to watch Indiana Jones cross the globe on an adventure. It could have been easier for ET to speak only to the kids in the audience or have Indy be the next James Bond and have parents forced to answer uncomfortable questions, or easier yet, leave the kids with the sitter. ET may be a rare gem from that era, but it shouldn't be rare in a family's library, especially in this 4K edition. The image is the best it's ever looked, and the included soundtrack on CD is certainly appreciated, but the book, with its look back and interviews with many that made the film so magical is a great perusal. Now, the only wish I'd have is to have the ability to watch it in the non-"Lucased" version, as Spielberg made a couple alterations to the original film. One was made with utmost understanding as Spielberg had a scene of FBI agents pointing their guns in the direction of children, a big no-no he was made aware of by an actual agent. These were digitally changed to walkie-talkies... and the film, with that understanding, is made all the better and believable by the change. The other involves ET as an entire, full length puppet being replaced completely by digital FX. As everything else was done practically, it looks so out of place that it's jarring. As the actor (now an adult,) who played Elliot's brother pointed out so perfectly, when you see the scene as it was, it may have been apparent ET was a large practical effect due to its more stiff and purposeful movement, but you could tell it was in the room with the kids, it had WEIGHT. The "new" ET that was inserted digitally may have more natural movement, but it does not feel like it was in the scene, nor that it was truly interacting with the children. While I understand and even enjoy seeing what directors do with a film when given new technology they wish they had in hand on an old project, I despise the disappearance of the original project as it was released, and while Lucas may have made bigger "dings" on his Star Wars films, it is still a bit of a sting to see it on yet another classic from that same era. Overall, this 35th anniversary edition is the best version to own, and with its stunning transfer, one you should add, even if it is already on your shelf in a different format, especially at the price it stands at, half the price of a 4K new release title.

Steven Spielberg is simply one of the greatest directors who has ever lived, pure and simple. The man has directed his share of flops, though those films are hardly bad or outright terrible (1941 comes close enough to be near the bottom of his films), but a good chunk of his filmography is nothing but classics. Jaws, Close Encounters, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park are just what I can count on one hand alone of his many classic films. Probably on the top of many fans lists of his outright best is E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and I couldn't agree more. The film is the story about Eliot, a 10-year old son of a recently divorced family who is just living the life of a 10-year old in the early 80s. One night while he is awaiting a pizza for his older brother and his cadre of similar-minded teens, he comes across a mysterious, unseen creature. Could be an animal, a thief or something not of this world. Of course, he drops the pizza while scared by the unknown, being made a boy who cried wolf in front of his brother and his friends. Later that night, he lays out some Reese's Pieces in order to lure the creature out, which turns out to be an alien. Almost instantly, he forms a bond with E.T. (Extra-Terrestrial), an emotional and symbiotic one at that. His brother and sister also become friends of E.T., and are set to help him find a way back to his home planet, after he was abandoned accidentally when his other shipmates had to leave suddenly, when the US Government found out about the UFO. With both E.T. and Eliot's lives at stake, it's a race against the clock and the government to reunite the creature with his kind or risk becoming a science experiment. Nobody really thought about the movie becoming the highest grossing film of all time (At the time, June 1982, and staying that way until June 1993 when Jurassic Park became a gargantuan blockbuster) and who can blame them? It's a simple tale of friendship, an everlasting bond between two people, or in this case, beings. It's not filled to the brim with an epic tome about a young man who is about to become a warrior who has to defeat an evil. In fact, there isn't a real villain in the film. The film also isn't a special effects powerhouse (Though winning an Oscar for it's beautiful, but aging, effects work) that brought life to the dinosaur via a bank of powerful computers. It is just a beautiful tale, beautifully told with the classic magic of cinema in full force, with Spielberg delivering his most personal film, with terrific acting from the young cast (the adults are also fantastic, though this belongs to the kids, through and through), a well-written script, one of John Williams best soundtracks, great camera work to deliver the perfect movie. What else can I say, except that Gandhi did not deserve most of the Oscars it won in 1982? Buy it now and enjoy one of the best films ever made. Over the years, the film has been released on practically every format under the sun, with my first viewing on the old green VHS tape, that moved to a DVD, then to Bluray and now, finally, on 4K UHD Bluray. While the VHS looked great at the time, the DVD was then my viewing of choice, then to the beautiful BluRay on the 30th anniversary of the film being the best way to view, outside of a pristine 35mm film print. How does the 4k stack-up against the already amazing standard Bluray? Well, the Blu-ray can take a rest (until I need to watch the extras, more in a bit) and let the new king take it's rightful place on the throne of ultimate good. The 4k picture (Most likely sourced from the outstanding bluray from 2012, which was a 4k remaster) is superb, retaining the beautiful 35mm grain veneer, the sharp camerawork even more sharp than a Ginsu knife, colors and lighting benefitting from the terrific use of HDR and having no issues whatsoever. It's only downside is the fact that it shows the effects age a bit too well, but what more can you do? Moving on to the sound, we get a terrific DTS-X track, with the Oscar-winning score taking on most of the benefits of the added sounds pace. Although released in stereo back in '82 (included here via lossy DTS 2.0 sadly) , the added height during the movie is an added treat. The 7.1 DTS-HD track is also included and sounds great as well, but 11.1 surround sound is the way to go. Extras wise, I'll actually start with the packaging itself. If you just want a no-frills 4K version, it's widely available, with the same specs and features listed, but any fan would want to own this nice box set. The slip box itself is nice, built of sturdy cardboard, topped with a nice lithograph of the iconic moon scene, and is filled with more than just the 4k bluray. Also included is a nicely made booklet, which is the same digibook in the Best Buy Exclusive from 6 years ago, just available as a separate book. The book is made of high-level glossy paper, filled with colorful images and info about the film. Also included is a remastered CD of the score, in it's own slipcover case. Kinda cheap packaging for the disc, but the content more than makes up for any short comings. Moving on to the disc itself, the 4k disc is free of any extras. Sad, but the included bluray (the same from 2012) has all the extras from that set, which was loaded with deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes of the film, a making-of documentary, on the set films, photographs, and more. The only real omissions are of the infamous Harrison Ford scene and the 20th anniversary edition of the film, which added unneeded CGI to ET and replaced the guns with walkie-talkies. Overall, it's a beautiful set with hours of extras included, but sadly there was no new extras for the 35th anniversary. But if you are a fan of the film, and you own a 4k player and a 4k TV, you owe it to yourself to own this classic. Even if you just have a standard Bluray player, go out and enjoy this classic film, and watch all the extras and savor every little morsel.

Very sweet movie for all ages. It had been a long time since we had seen this and it was just as good the 2nd time around.