Artistic note: 
(4.5/5)
Synopsis
A small alien lost more than 3 million light years from his planet. A 10-year-old boy who will do anything to bring him home. Two lives turned upside down by a timeless adventure and a friendship that knows no boundaries on Earth.
• Original title: ET, The Extra-Terrestrial
• Media tested: UHD
• Genre: science fiction
• Year: 1982
• Director: Steven Spielberg
• Cast: Dee Wallace, Henry Thomas, Peter Coyote, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, KC Martel, Sean Frye, C. Thomas Howell, Erika Eleniak
• Duration: 1 h 54 min 28
• Video format: 16:9
• Cinema format: 1.85/1 (HDR)
• Subtitling: French, English, Japanese, Italian, Dutch
• Soundtracks: DTS-X English – DTS 2.0 stereo English (original) – DTS-HD HR 7.1 French dub 1982 – DTS 5.1 Italian, Japanese, Dutch – DTS 2.0 French dub 1982, Japanese
• Bonus in VOST: SteelBook with UHD and Blu-ray of the film – 40 years of ET, the Extra-Terrestrialnew retrospective on film and its heritage (2022, 20 min 14) – TCM Classic Film Festival, an evening with Steven Spielbergthe director looks back on his career and the making of the film, 40 years later (2022, 27 mn 07) – ET’s filming diary, montage of images from the shoot in 2 parts (2012, 53 min 38) – deleted scenes (3 min 40) – Steven Spielberg & ETunpublished interview with the director, directed by Laurent Bouzereau (2012, 12 mn 31) – Back to ETRetrospective making of the film, directed by Laurent Bouzereau (2002, 37 mn 43) – The evolution and creation of ETcelebration of the 20th anniversary of the film, directed by Laurent Bouzereau (2002, 50 mn 16) – The ET meetingactors and director remember the adventure of the film, directed by Laurent Bouzereau (2002, 17 mn 56) – The music of ET, a discussion with John Williamsdirected by Laurent Bouzereau (2002, 10 min 04) – The 20th anniversary previewbackstage at the concert given by John Williams at the Shrine Auditorium on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the film in 2002, directed by Laurent Bouzereau (2002, 17 mn 49) – galleries: drawings by ET by Ed Verreaux, by Carlo Rambaldi, drawings by ship by Ralph McQuarrie, drawings by Ed Verreaux, photos from the set, Marketing – original trailer (1 min 50) – Special Olympics TV spot (1 min 02)
• Publisher: Universal Pictures France
Art commentary
Forty later ET, the Extra-Terrestrial preserves, intact, the magic of cinema according to Steven Spielberg, which has amazed millions of spectators around the world and garnered record revenues. With its four Oscars (music, sound, special effects and image) and its story by Melissa Mathison, this science fiction film has moved generations of fans with the originality of its theme: a child who is lost on the Earth that other earthling children will do everything to help reach his planet. Skillful director, Steven Spielberg brilliantly exercises his consummate art of the show with spectacular sequences (spaceship, invasion of the house by quarantine services, flight of bicycles), emotion (discovery of ET, relationships with humans) and humor (mimics of the creature, cult replica of the telephone). With sensitivity, the filmmaker focuses on children, adults being relegated to the background. The message of mutual aid and acceptance of difference advocated in the film is universal and timeless, which explains the immense continued success of ET, the Extra-Terrestrial, which, even today, brings together children and adults alike touched by the sincere emotion aroused by this story. In addition to the director’s undeniable talent as a storyteller, who emerged from the failure of 1941 (cf. 2022 bonus) overtaken by the success of The Raiders of the Lost Ark (nineteen eighty one), ET, the Extra-Terrestrial benefited from essential assets: the unforgettable music of John Williams, the very beautiful photography of Allen Daviau, the excellence of the still effective SFX, and the extraordinary development of the creature by Carlo Rambaldi assisted by several animators. To all these talents must be added that of all the performers, that is to say, apart from Dee Wallace (Mary) and the man with the keys (Peter Coyotte), the children: Henry Thomas (Elliott), remarkable for natural, Robert MacNaughton (Michael) as an accomplice teenager and the cute Drew Barrymore (Gertie). Forty after its release, ET, the Extra-Terrestrial is still as touching and the film maintains the enchantment of a memorable fantastic science fiction tale which does not take itself seriously but whose message of benevolence is still relevant. Even if we have already seen this film in all formats, this new 4K edition surpasses all the previous ones and is all the more worth watching as two special 40th anniversary bonuses complete this beautiful SteelBook edition.
Technical Comment
Image : UHD copy, for its 40th anniversary the film was scanned in 4K from the original negative and restored in 4K, although shot on film (shooting in 35 mm with Panavision Panaflex Gold cameras, Master Format 4K) the definition is beyond reproach and surgical sharpness (striking close-ups), silver texture remains stable and homogeneous, but more present on special effects shots, very clean image, flawless compression, perfect HDR management of contrasts, especially in low light scenes or night, dense blacks, realistic shimmering grading, beautiful colorimetry with subtly nuanced naturalistic glowing hues, saturated tones
His : English mix DTS-X (remix because Dolby Stereo at the cinema release, version available on disc), clear and balanced centered dialogues, excellent dynamics on the atmospheres and on the epic score by John Williams, open spatialization with convincing immersive surround effects, height channels reinforce the precision of the mix, solid and effective LFE: VF 7.1 clear, dynamic, neat dubbing from 1982, very impressive ample spatialization
Our opinion
Image : (5/5)
Sound mixes: 
(5/5)
Bonuses: 
(4/5)
Packaging: (4/5)
IMDb : https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083866/
SteelBook UHD/Blu-ray combo available on Amazon
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