E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial at 40 – Spielberg’s most exhilarating film

Hollywood once saw aliens as hostile critters intent on planetary carnage – Steven Spielberg's 1982 smash changed everything.

Ben McCann, University of Adelaide

Some 40 years ago this month saw the release of Steven Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial – a film about a stranded alien, the boy called Elliott who discovers it and a bond of friendship that remains as magical and heartbreaking as it did back in 1982.

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