In anticipation of seeing the latest Steven Spielberg film, Disclosure Day, I wanted to look back into a couple Spielberg films, but also some other alien-related films where there is a warmer tone to it. We have seen many alien invader movies where it is all terrifying often creating a dystopian world. As such, I am turning back the clock 40 plus years (scarily enough) with ET The Extra Terrestrial (1982) and also Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and then John Carpenter’s Starman (1984).
E.T. The Extra Terrestrial: This movie was yet another phenomenal summer blockbuster from Steven Speilberg who became the master of the genre. I likely don’t have to detail out the plot itself, as this story shows a suburban family with a newly separated Mom (Dee Wallace) with her three young children Michael (Robert MacNaughton), Elliott (Henry Thomas) and Gertie (Drew Barrymore) finding an alien left behind from an exploring ship when Peter Coyote and his investigators scare them away quickly. The story unfolds with the alien, E.T., befriending 10yo Elliott and connecting with him emotionally living and learning about everyday human life. E.T. wants to return to his planet and join his fellow aliens, who seem to be most interested in plants and trees and the natural world. Humans are terrifying.
This movie still works so well. It is emotionally engaging telling a story of everyday life turned upside down by the infusion of this strange alien, who learns quickly drinking in all the human trappings (newspapers, TV, games, and people). He eats plenty of Reese’s pieces (an amazing marketing coup for Reese who took the place offered and turned down by M&M). E.T. is voiced by Debra Winger, and he physically has kind eyes (Spielberg has stated they were modeled on Albert Einstein) and he is funny and cute waddling around, playing with youngster Gertie while drinking beer and using his skills to make a communication device. There is drama about the faceless human adults seeking out the alien, all the while E.T. and Elliott have school life, Halloween, trips to the woods and venturing around a new housing development. E.T. learns from us, makes tools from our ordinary items, and wants to escape the government workers trying to examine him, prod him, and make him a specimen out of a space man. Peter Coyote has a scene with Elliott where he says that he has waited his entire life for E.T. to arrive on Earth. But he was glad that E.T. ran into Elliott. There is genuine real emotion between E.T. and Elliott and you can feel the love in the family unit (like Mom reading Peter Pan to Gertie on the bed). Elliott experiences and feels as a 10yo boy, and we feel it along with him. There is a deep emotional moment too at the end. Spielberg showed that not all aliens are scary; sometimes it is the humans who are far more scary. Further he showed that humans and aliens can work together with each other and learn. Sometimes it takes an alien to shine a light on the lessons we as humans can learn in dealing with one another. If you have never seen this, see it. I saw it on Crave most recently but in the theatre before. I cannot speak about E.T. and ignore the excellent John Williams score which adds so much to what happens on screen.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind: Released shortly after Star Wars in 1977, Spielberg followed up his friend George Lucas’ effort with this summer blockbuster in 1979. I have done a previous review of seeing it on the 40th anniversary in 2017. See my Labour Day posting. I won’t detail more about the plot but this is always a movie worth re-visiting. This pre-dated E.T. so some of the themes are similar. There is a family breakdown with Roy (played by Richard Dreyfuss) and Ronnie (played by Teri Garr) with their young kids. Roy works for the elctrical authority and one night has a bizarre experience in his truck. He believes he saw an alien. He wants to know more. The story unfolds at a micro level with Roy’s family but also a macro level with US federal authorities looking to investigate a series of strange events throughout the globe including ships and airplanes long since lost from many years before. The two stories combine in Wyoming at the Devil’s Tower.
Once again Speilberg reveals that aliens do not always have to mean humans any harm. I will choose to ignore the Tom Cruise film War of the Worlds which has the opposite premise, but I can assure you I am aware that it is out there. In this movie the aliens despite initially being quite scary, especially with the very young little boy Barry being abducted from his mother, are found to be curious and musical at the same time. They have a mission themselves and look to communicate with us. They are various shapes and sizes living in a massive ship which seems to be just visting for a time. The focus is more about the aliens calling to specific humans, while the US government looks to take control of the situation and block out anyone who isn’t affiliated with the military. French expert Claude Lacombe played by Francois Truffat points out to the military brass that the perceived intruders were contacted on a psychic level to be there by the aliens. They were invited! Despite the military’s best efforts, Roy ultimately sees what his purpose in all of the was. Another terrific Spielberg film which is must viewing.
Starman: This 1984 film stars Karen Allen and Jeff Bridges. Allen has never looked so radiant as the grieving Jenny Hayden from Wisconsin who has recently lost her carpenter husband Scott in a workplace accident. One night after crying herself to sleep watching old videos of Scott, there is a meteor that strikes in a nearby wood. An entity emerges from the meteor and flies over to Jenny’s lakeside house where it finds a photo album with a tuft of Scott’s hair. Jenny awakens from her sleep to noise in her living room where she finds what appears to be Scott. She is confused by all of this, all the while the alien being posing as Scott learns about his new environment. In basic structure, the story of Starman and E.T. are similar. Starman wants to return to his planet. He needs to be in Arizona in three days time or he will die. His only assistance are some small grey golfball sized orbs that he carries with him that can perform supernatural tasks. Jenny is taken against her will in her orange Mustang for a memorable road trip. Geeky Charles Martin Smith is from SETI (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) is part of the government trying to track down whatever was in that hollow asteroid, later learned to be a ship. We learn from Smith that in the original Voyager space satellite that there was, among other things, a gold record with greetings from Earth and some basic understanding of humans, our technology and our language. The alien was invited to come and we aren’t being very hospitable hosts.
For me, Jeff Bridges steals the show with an outstanding performance incorporating physical motion, movement and then words as the alien becomes accustomed to the human body that it is inhabiting. He is conversant in other languages, and watches every move that Jenny makes on their journey. He is learning about humans, which he regards as a primitive species. But we also have our positive aspects, like eating and connection. The alien means Jenny no harm, and as she learns this she also becomes more engaged with trying to help him. Emotionally she is compromised as the alien looks and can act like her dead husband. Escape turns to assistance as she is invested into this journey. There are some genuinely funny moments with the alien learning human speech and gestures. He doesn’t pick up on sarcasm very well. He is much more literal. In the end there is yet another emotional scene which works completely. The audience cares about these two people, and we care that the alien is able to complete his mission. Both he and Jenny have grown and learned from one another. The alien, like E.T. is not scary and is not out to hurt us. In fact the cooperation shown between those involved shows that being kind, thoughtful and committed to a task can accomplish great things. Bridges was nominated for his role, but sadly was also in the year that Amadeus was released and both F Murray Abraham and Tom Hulce were also nominated. Had this been another year, I think Bridges wins the award. Once more, we learn that aliens don’t always come to Earth to harm us. Starman is also on Crave. Absolutely this is a movie that I would encourage people to see.
Mondays With Robbie 