Wednesday, September 1, 2010

80s Flashback-E.T. the Extra Terrestrial

When E.T. came out in 1982, I wanted to see it. Every kid I knew wanted to see it. I lived in a rural area growing up, and people from miles around came to the one movie theater in the area. In fact, the original showing was full by the time we arrived, but they were doing a later one due to the crowds. We made the later showing, and sat on the floor. Since my sister and I were young, we didn't care. When you get older sitting on the floor is a bigger problem.

I only saw the movie that one time, and never again. I enjoyed it, but I watched it as a kid. I'm sure most of the references were over my head, and I missed subtleties that I would have picked up as an adult (for example, how did the mom manage to miss an alien in the house?). My sister asked a lot of questions and I tried to answer them as best I could. I do remember the end, and I cried a lot, it was sad when E.T. left.

Like most things from my childhood, I'm afraid of revisiting it. The ending won't be as sad, and I won't be sitting on the floor of a crowded movie theater answering questions. I liked the movie as a kid, I can't see liking it as much as an adult. I enjoy the memory the way it is.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

I watched it again and it seemed so cheesy and I didn't like it as much. So now I only watch cool 80's movies like Pretty in Pink, Better off Dead, and Valley Girl!! lol

T♥

Jodi Ulschmid said...

Yeah, its like they've lost there magic. Kinda funny how our views change so much. :)

Smashed pennies said...

Ok ok well you got me .I have seen this film many times over. Cheesy but I still love it. Still cry at the end , or at least I did 10 years ago when my daughter was little. I will admit to being a video babysitting mom. When you work at home they can be a godsend. And I dont think I damaged my daughter too much as she decided to leave the TV at home for her sophmore year at college. I also cannot watch the ending of "Homeward Bound" without a tear welling.Menopause maybe.......

Tawny said...

My sister is 9 years younger than me, so she wasn't around when this movie came out. I showed it to her when she was 4 in 1990 and she took an immediate liking to it. So much so that I think I've watched E.T. about 693,943 times. It totally loses something when you're not that wide eyed kid though. I suggest that if you try watching it again, you should definitely watch it with a child whose natural curiosity will make it fun again :)

Valerie said...

I've seen it twice (when it first came out, I was 22...and a few years ago and even I found there were subleties I missed the first time around). One childhood film I will always revisit (and have, several times) is the Wizard of Oz. I'll no doubt still be watching it when I'm 90 :)

Sarah B. said...

Sometimes it's best to let our memories live on and just leave it at that! E.T was the first movie I ever saw (my parents brought me as an infant). A classic!

fabriquefantastique said...

Strangely, I have never seen ET....sold a few vintage ET bed linens though. Agree with Valerie, Wizard of Oz is the best. I remember watching it on TV with my then 4 year old the day we bought the new baby home. Our family can sign all the songs, hum all the music and recite most of the dialog too.