ET . . IS 40!

How a wayward, wobbly little space alien forever won our hearts in 1982.

Before there was E.T. the Extra Terrestrial, there was Growing Up. That was Steven Spielberg’s original title for the story inspired by adolescent feelings of alienation after his childhood move to Arizona and his parents’ divorce. The director likely didn’t imagine that his most personal effort would be so universally relatable—and that four decades later the movie’s awe-inspiring wonder would still hold a special place in the heart lights of its fans, who have embraced it as a nostalgia trigger for youthful innocence, adventure and the universal longing for home.

“Not only is it incredibly artistic, it pulls on many primal emotions from our childhood,” says film critic Molly Haskell, author of the 2017 book Steven Spielberg: A Life in Films. “It’s scary, and yet it’s like the taming of a nightmare.”

Most of us remember well the comingof-age tale about Elliott (Henry Thomas), who befriends a wide-eyed extraterrestrial accidentally stranded on Earth. Along with his friends and family, Elliott must help “E.T.” go home while evading government agents who are determined to derail those plans.

“I remember reading the script behind closed doors at the studio and thinking it would do a lot for the world,” says Dee Wallace, who played Elliott’s single mom, Mary. After premiering at the Cannes Film Festival, it became an instant cultural phenomenon as well as a Best Picture Oscar nominee with four wins. “This wasn’t just a movie,” Haskell says. “It was a blockbuster with incredible marketing that could play in any country.”

For its 40th anniversary, we “phone home” to celebrate the movie’s enduring legacy.

“E.T. began with me trying to write a story about my parents’ divorce.” —Steven Spielberg