I was old enough. As a matter of fact I might have been exactly the correct age for their target demographic. When this Spielberg gem hit the scenes, it almost immediately was everywhere.
I thought to write about this because Henry Thomas (Elliot in E.T.) is now in a popular Netflix show that I have not yet watched called "The Haunting of Hill House." I'll have to check that out at some point. He was in a movie with Brad Pitt years ago called "Legends of the Fall" but to be honest I don't feel as though his career really took off after E.T. Perhaps he didn't want it to? I bet the royalties from E.T. are more than enough for most people to have a very nice living.
Back to the topic at hand. The merchandising on this film was incredible. It would be considered annoying today. For example, prior to this movie I don't think anyone ate reese's pieces but after everyone in the world watched it, it was the most popular candy in the world for a while. Pizza Hut had product placement and a commercial deal, I am quite certain they experienced increases in sales as well.
if you ordered a pizza and paid something liek 50 cents extra, you got a commemorative cup
One of the most famous pieces of merch that came out of this film being released in the E.T. video game by Atari, which is largely considered to be so bad that it nearly ended home video game systems - yet EVERYONE bought a copy.
My favorite piece of ET memorabilia was a 2 record (it may have been 3 records) complete with a picture guide and the entire story of E.T. was read to you by a then black Michael Jackson.
i wish i had that poster still
Another winner, and these were everywhere, was the wind up walking toys. These were likely free or near free but it holds a special place in my family history.
You see, E.T. was just the right size for the nativity scene that Grandma put up every year in her living room and we would always sneak him in there. It started off as funny and then just became a tradition and Grandma accepted it as long as we didn't put E.T. in the manger, it would be ok.
Lunchboxes, trading cards, posters, toys (even though aside from E.T. and Elliot, there wasn't much to sell,) shirts, bikes, you name it - E.T. was everywhere and since none of it was very expensive it didn't have a chance to be annoying. I don't know if any of this stuff is worth anything now but the small E.T. wind up toy would be worth a few quid to me. I think I'll have a look on Ebay right now.
I remember seeing this in the theatre in my hometown. You are dead right that it was everywhere... Partially due to the staggering success of the merchandising for Star Wars, this was one of the first big "merchandising push" movies of it's time. I also remember buying the godsawful Atari game, and wondering why I was so bad at it. For a long time, there was an urban legend associated with the game, that it was so overproduced and so awful, that the manufacturers had to round up multiple warehouses of this turd and dumped all the spare copies in a landfill just to get rid of the damned things... Then a few years ago, they accidentally found it! It was not an urban legend, it was completely real.
On a side note, Henry Thomas played a young Norman Bates in Psycho IV: The Beginning, which is actually quite a strong movie in it's own right. Aside from one corny line: "Am I embarrassing you?" The movie is pretty damned good. So there's that. =)
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LOL! I played the hell out of ET for Atari. I was only ever able to consistently beat it on the lowest difficulty. Level 2 I could beat it rarely, but I think level 3 was impossible. The little FBI agent guy that would chase you was impossible to get away from.
I don't know why it was considered such a bad game; I'd have to play again as an adult I suppose. The only thing I can think of is that it is so random and doesn't really correlate much with the movie. There were so many garbage and random Atari games though.
My favorite line from the movie is still:
"Hey Eliot, where's your alien. Did he come backWELL DID HE????!?" (no time to respond)
Then the insults.. something like "Zero CHARISMA! Centus Supremus!"
What the hell does that even mean.
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i think the charisma was a reference to D&D stats. but at one point Elliot calls someone a penis brat, which was a fun thing to call someone.
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Yeah, I figured that part was something to do with character stats, but what the hell is a centus supremus? (Or however the hell you spell it)
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The classic of family classics, 'E.T.' is a wonderful and heartfelt portrait of childhood exploring the friendship between Elliot, a young boy living in California, and an extra-terrestrial who gets accidentally left behind by his spaceship. From the multiple viewings during my childhood to the nostalgic sense of warmth I get from watching it nowadays, there is no way I can fault this science fiction masterpiece. One of Spielberg's greatest films, 'E.T.' is a compassionate and emotionally-driven tale packed with clever storytelling, bold direction and state-of-the-art visual effects.. oh and it also features one of the most iconic images in cinema history. A remarkable adventure that acts as both a touching family drama and an exciting sci-fi flick, and one that needs to be seen by all.
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I still have a little stuffed ET from back in the day :-)
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E.T. was the very first movie I saw in a theater. I was 5 and my grandfather took me. Considering the theater used to be a church complete with remnants of the alter still behind the screen it was literally and figuratively a religious experience. To this day I can still remember the overwhelming smell of popcorn and the floor still being a little sticky.
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nice!
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Yes, great memory of mine. Hey do you have discord? I started a server dedicated to music and I know you post about albums you love so I thought you might be interested. Let me know and I'll send you a reply with the link.
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Great 80s movie.
About the E.T. video game by Atari. I've seen a documentary: Atari Game Over, and they dig up E.T. cartridges.
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Great Kids movie.
Yiu have nice ET memorabilia. May be worth more if you hang onto them
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For real??? lol wow, I was about 6 years old when this movie was all over the T.V, I had to watch it about 3 times before I could finish it, but I remember the kid, I remember how the alien called himself Eeeeee.Teeeee, and at the end it took off to the sky and this little boy was riding into the sunset with a bicycle.lol, a very vague description I know, I was really little then, but seeing from your description, it was such a hit...
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perhaps it was more exposed in the United States. Actually i dont know where you are from but for me it was everywhere.
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