And the countdown continues in my quest to watch and find something inspiring in every single one of Yahoo’s 100 Movies to See Before You Die…
Elliot: He’s a man from outer space and we’re taking him to his spaceship.
Greg: Well, can’t he just beam up?
Elliot: This is *reality*, Greg.
This is at least the 10th time I’ve seen “E.T.,” and I’m glad I watched it again, to look at it with the specific purpose of finding inspiration. We all know the story. Boy finds alien, boy befriends alien, boy and alien engage in mind meld, alien phones home for ride, government tries to contain alien, alien outsmarts government, alien’s ride arrives, boy and alien cry, alien goes home, the end. But have you ever noticed the lighting in this movie? Every scene — and I mean EVERY scene — is perfectly lit to create a mood. I wish my life were this well illuminated; it would make my photography so much easier.
Chris MacNeil: Oh no, that was no spasm. I got on the bed. The whole bed was thumping and rising off the floor and shaking. The whole thing, with me on it!
Dr. Klein: Mrs. MacNeil, the problem with your daughter is not her bed; it’s her brain.
I could name at least 10 long, boring, pointless scenes that could be trimmed from this movie without affecting the story, but one stands out as a game-changer for me. After listening to the devil spew obscenities and crazy grunts for what feels like eternity, there’s a brief intermission during which the priest and the mother converse in the hallway. They’re so used to the constant barrage of noise that they don’t notice it anymore. Inspirational! If only I could feel that way about the constant dog-barking outside my window. Every night, I swear, the dogs that live in the condo upstairs and the ones across the way get in some kind of barking contest. Maybe they’re possessed…
