E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

Episode 118 (June 14, 2024)

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The Summer of Spielberg begins with Spielberg’s biggest hit, the classic 1982 alien/divorce family film E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial.

Adjusted for inflation, this is the fourth-highest-grossing movie of all time. Beloved by generations, it is a lot of fun, yes… but it’s also some dark, dark shit. Laci explains why it’s always been so difficult for her to watch, even though she knows how good a movie it is.

There is much gushing about puppets. There has maybe never been a better puppet in a movie. And there may have never been three better child actor performances than the brothers and sister in this movie.

Time stamps:

  • 4:01 — We have a new theme song!
  • 6:23 — Our histories with E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
  • 14:30 — Matt ranks his top-10 Spielberg movies
  • 16:16 — Pre-movie predictions
  • 32:55 — History segment: Development and production of E.T. (the character and the movie)
  • 58:42 — In-depth movie discussion
  • 1:42:53 — Final thoughts and star ratings

 

 

Artwork by Laci Roth.

Music by Rural Route Nine. Listen to their album The Joy of Averages on Spotify (https://bit.ly/48WBtUa), Apple Music (https://bit.ly/3Q6kOVC), or YouTube (https://bit.ly/3MbU6tC).

 

Songs by Rural Route Nine in this episode: 

 

 

“Summer of Spielberg” theme song credits:

  • Words and music written by Matt Stokes
  • Performed by Wade Hymel (drums/guitar), Laci Roth (vocals), and Matt Stokes (vocals/guitar/bass)
  • Produced by TJ Barends, Wade Hymel, and Matt Stokes
  • Engineered and mixed by TJ Barends at Bare Sounds Studio in Ponchatoula, Louisiana

 

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