E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (40th Anniversary Edition)

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Essentially the A/V presentation is identical to the one Universal issued for their 35th Anniversary 4K release, sadly no Dolby Vision upgrade here. But that’s okay, this is still a lovely transfer so I’ll let E.’s findings stand here. I flipped between discs to see if the newly authored disc offered up any bitrate advantage, but there wasn't a substantial difference. Here are Mr. Duarte's thoughts on the HDR10 transfer: Deleted Scenes– Four minutes’ worth. I think the film has done pretty well on its own merit, so these were wisely disposed of.

For countless people, viewing E.T. was a staple of childhood, the kind of movie you watched wide-eyed and quoted to friends for weeks afterwards. But if you haven’t given the film another look since you were a kid, it’s time to dim the lights, grab a box of Reese’s Pieces, and get streaming because there’s still so much to love about E.T. all these years later — including all the behind-the-scenes trivia you might not have known. The new season of Stranger Things is out on Netflix, but this month don’t forget to also celebrate one of the movies that gave the show its biggest inspiration: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, which turns 40 on June 11. The iconic sci-fi film, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Henry Thomas (alongside a 7-year-old Drew Barrymore), was an enormous box-office and critical success when it hit theaters in 1982, and four decades later, it’s still widely considered one of the most beloved films of all time. The 20th Anniversary Premiere– John Williams and his orchestra perform the film’s score for a live audience for the film’s 20th anniversary (making this over 15 years old). Starring: Dee Wallace , Henry Thomas , Peter Coyote , Robert MacNaughton , Drew Barrymore , K.C. MartelThe E.T. Reunion– The main players in the film are reunited for a (then) get together. As of this writing, that was six years ago. Time for another? A young boy befriends a friendly alien and tries to help it escape Earth and return to his home world. Universal’s 40th Anniversary edition includes the new 4K disc as well as a newly-authored Blu-ray with the film in 1080p HD (just the theatrical cut, with the exact same audio and subtitle options as the 4K disc). Each uses the same menu format, and includes the same special features as follows: RELATED: 'E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial': Why E.T. and Elliott's Bond Still Captivates Us 40 Years Later Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore, and Robert MacNaughton are shown in a promotional photo for E.T. Sunset Boulevard // Getty Images

Same goes for the audio - we’re getting the same solid DTS:X audio mix to liven up the adventure and excitement!

One day it was Tommy Howell, and then the next day it would be Henry, and then me one day, Casey, Sean,” Macnaughton joked, Thomas adding: “The funny thing was though, we all kind of took it seriously, you know we were like, ‘Oh Drew’s eating lunch with Tommy today. Guess I’m out.’” The short-lived romance worked out for Macnaughton in the end. As he remembers it, Barrymore set him up on a blind date with his now-wife Bianca Hunter in the eighties. After going to see E.T. together, the pair lost touch and later reconnected in 2010. Considering the movie’s massive success, you might be surprised that there’s never been a sequel. Well, there kind of was one! Spielberg and screenwriter Mathison wrote a treatment for a follow-up film called Nocturnal Fears, which would’ve followed Elliott and his friends getting kidnapped by aliens and requiring E.T.’s help. But the director ultimately decided against making the movie, arguing it would take away from the original’s power. As nice as it would’ve been to get more E.T. in our lives, we can all appreciate not wanting to potentially ruin something so special.

Elliott and E.T.—this gentle, thoughtful being with wrinkly skin and alert, wide-set eyes—will forge an emotional bond so strong that each experiences the feelings of the other. This is perhaps Spielberg’s sly way of introducing children not just to the concept of empathy, but to the idea of the sympathetic imagination, the foundation of all great literature—the act of reaching across a void of difference to understand other people’s lives. Wallace’s story about her experience with the film also leaned into the unexpected. Of course, no one could have known E.T. would become the massive box office hit that it did, the actress who played Mary Taylor was convinced after her first time seeing it that she had reached the end of the road for her career. Steven Spielberg & E.T.– Running roughly 13 minutes, it’s good for what it is, and is about as close as we’re going to get to a Spielberg commentary on the film unless the director changes his stance on the practice in the future. They would put E.T. in a corner when he wasn’t working, and we found Drew, and she’s over there just talking to him," Dee Wallace says. Sunset Boulevard // Getty ImagesThe early 1980s were an amazing time for movie-going. 1982, in particular, delivered the likes of Blade Runner, The Thing, Poltergeist, Conan the Barbarian, Star Trek II, Tootsie, and Pink Floyd’s The Wall. Almost every week that year, a new film arrived in theaters that seemed destined to become a classic, Steven Spielberg’s E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial foremost among them. Arguably (to that point at least) the director’s most personal work, it tells the story of a humble being from another planet, accidentally left behind on Earth by his fellow alien explorers. Lost and alone, the creature is soon befriended by a young human boy named Elliot (Henry Thomas). Together, they work to find a way to return E.T. home again, even as ominous U.S. Government scientists try to stop them.

Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford are pictured at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival. Jean-Louis URLI // Getty ImagesTCM Classic Film Festival: An Evening with Steven Spielberg– The acclaimed director reflects on his career and the making of E.T. 40 years later.