47 - "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial" (1982)

     I have a feeling I just made a lot of people happy....and upset at the same time. I imagine this movie is on a LOT of peoples top movies list and because of that, I imagine a few people might think I have this too low. You wouldn't be wrong necessarily, but ultimately this is where it fell. That being said I will always have an emotional attachment to E.T. and it is one of the greatest family films ever made. One of my earliest theater experiences is my mom taking my sister and I to see this film when it first came out. The thing I remember most about the movie though was that I was so heartbroken the first time when I thought E.T. had been captured and killed by the scientists. That traumatized me. I remember my mom taking me again and since I knew what was going to happen I was able to put all that behind and just enjoy the movie. I ended up seeing it years later in a theater when it was re-released and it was just as good then. The odd thing about this movie is that I do not recall ever watching it on the small screen. I'm sure I probably have a time or two, but this is a movie I associate with that theater experience. If it is ever re-released again, I will be the first in line. Steven Spielberg's E.T. has an innocence about it that few movies have ever come close to matching. It picked up 4 Oscars in the Music, Sound and Effects categories but missed out on Best Picture and Best Director (seriously Academy!!).