E.T., tears and nostalgia: why Spielberg's film still divides audiences

Am I the only one who cries at E.T.? The short answer is no, but the alien isn't what makes you cry

Am I the only one who bursts into tears every time I watch E.T.? The question, thrown into the air of a digital playground, has an uncomfortable answer: no, you're not the only one, but you're probably not crying for the reason you think. Spielberg's film, released in 1982, still divides those who consider it an emotional landmark from those who see it as a saccharine product carried by John Williams' music. One participant delivers the key insight: "It's not E.T. that makes you cry, it's John Williams." That's the crux of it.

The tears don't come from the alien, they come from the score

The theory most often repeated in the conversation is that E.T.'s emotional power lies not in the script or the direction, but in the score. John Williams, also behind the soundtracks of Star Wars, Jaws and Indiana Jones, builds a theme that works as a tear trigger. Some argue that without that music, without the four or five special effects well executed for the era, and without Spielberg's craft, the film would be "mediocre at best".

The skepticism is not a minority view. One participant admits he only saw it once, at Christmas 1998, out of family obligation, and felt no sadness because "I was already too old for that." What did impress him were the practical effects: the same man responsible for the creature in 1979's Alien and the monster in Conan the Destroyer had built the little Martian. A fact that vindicates artisanal work over today's CGI.

The nostalgia of those who grew up with Alien and Naked Gun

The conversation drifts toward generational nostalgia. Several posts contrast the childhood of those who watched Alien at an early age with that of those enjoying Home Alone. "My parents let me watch stuff like Alien really early," says one participant who knew Naked Gun by heart while his peers were laughing at children's films. The cinephile hierarchy of taste prevails.

Another post recalls that E.T.'s screenplay was written by Harrison Ford's ex, and that the story was supposedly based on a 1960s tale about a boy who befriends an alien. Authorship, as almost always, is murkier than it seems.

The fact almost nobody knows: Spielberg and Tobe Hooper

The juiciest anecdote of the exchange concerns Spielberg's frustrated plans. According to claims in the conversation, the director proposed to Tobe Hooper, the man behind The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, that he direct a sort of sequel or variant of E.T. Hooper said no, but the two collaborated years later on Poltergeist. The connection between family cinema and 1970s pavor is closer than the official filmography admits.

The discussion also drops the hint that E.T. isn't as childish as it seems: "it has plenty of details a kid wouldn't catch." The film's adult reading, from Elliott's loneliness to the scientific bureaucracy surrounding the alien, underpins part of its lasting appeal.

The cheap knockoff almost nobody remembers

Among the comments there's a reference to Mac and Me, a low-budget production that copied E.T.'s formula with fewer resources and worse luck. The comparison serves to vindicate what Spielberg achieved with limited means: four or five special effects very well done for the time.

The conclusion, if there is one, is that E.T. still works as an emotional test. Some cry at Titanic and Leonardo DiCaprio; others at the alien's glowing finger. And some, quite simply, don't cry at anything. The irony is that the film meant to unite an entire generation still generates the same divisions it did four decades ago.