E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial: Spielberg's Most Personal Movie

Part two of our Spielberg in Space series leading up to Disclosure Day — this week it's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.

We dig into E.T.'s insane box office run (28 straight weeks in the top 5, nearly a year in theaters, $2.2 billion worldwide adjusted for inflation — second only to Jaws in Spielberg's career), then connect it back to Close Encounters of the Third Kind as a kind of spiritual sequel. We talk about how Spielberg shot the film almost entirely from a child's-eye view, why his parents' divorce shaped both Elliot's story and the absent adults in this movie, and why this whole thing might be the secret blueprint for Stranger Things.

Also covered: the Reese's Pieces vs. M&M's candy debate nobody asked for, the Star Wars/Coors/Coca-Cola product placement, John Williams' score, and our final star ratings — including a Letterboxd community score that genuinely shocked all three of us.

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