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E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
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1986 MCA Issue
1990 MCA Issue
1996 Re-issue
2002 20th Ann.
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Co-Produced by:
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Shawn Murphy
Bruce Botnick
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Orchestrated by:
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Herbert Spencer
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Audio Clips:
1996 Re-Issue:
1. Far From Home/E.T. Alone (0:30), 151K et1.ra
11. Sending the Signal (0:30), 150K et11.ra
16. E.T. is Alive! (0:30), 151K et16.ra
18. End Credits (0:50), 96K et18.ra
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Availability:
The original concert format re-recording was reprinted by MCA many times between 1986 and 1990, each time with slightly different cover art. They are out of print, but still available in
some stores. The 1996 reissue is a regular U.S. release and readily available. The 2002 20th Anniversary reissue is a regular U.S. release as well, with a SACD alternative also released.
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Awards:
Academy Award and Golden Globe Winner, 1982.
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Filmtracks Editorial Review:
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E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (John Williams) What more can be said about
E.T.? Go purchase this score. Immediately. Without a doubt one of the
best scores of the decade and century, this John Williams is just as much of a
"must" in any film score collection as his Star Wars scores. In a way,
E.T. even eclipses those. It has a certain magic that even Williams
rarely captured, and it represented a once in a lifetime "absolute perfect fit"
between music and film when not a single cue in the entire score can be
questioned. The film and score feed off of each other tremendously, and Williams
won practically every existing award possible, making up for the cold shoulder
the award givers gave him the previous year for Raiders of the Lost
Ark.
Everyone has their own favorite cues from the film. Many people get stuck on the short statement of Yoda's theme from The Empire Strikes Back in the Halloween cue. My combination of favorite cues is likely different from those of many other people. The regular favorite
is what was originally called the "Adventures on Earth" concert suite, which
consisted of the "Escape/Chase/Saying Goodbye" track of ten to fifteen minutes.
As classic as this track is, I believe it has literally been worn out due to
over-performance... leaving a few other gems in the score ready for better
enjoyment. Aside from the concert suite, I believe more attention should be paid
to the opening and closing track of the most recent album (they're the same as
the opening seven minutes of the film and the end credits).
The first cue begins with the whimsical fantasy theme, performed by the flute.
Following is the scary organ theme... the one that rumbled through the theater
with such awe inspiring power when first I saw the film. The organ made it
almost a religious experience, and its use as the undertones for the evil
"government theme" throughout the film is unsettling yet highly effective. As
the spacecraft exits and leaves our favorite Yoda-lookalike on Earth, Williams
bursts out with a magnificent statement of yet another theme. Then, as if we
haven't heard enough thematic introduction, a base woodwind theme erupts as the
pursuit through the woods begins. The use of the organ and base woodwinds to
represent the "badguys" is brilliant (especially in that it scares children!).
The second of my favorite tracks is the end credits, which contains the infamous
and delightful piano solo performed by Williams on occasion; it is the best
theme adaptation for piano that Williams has written to date.
Because of its immense popularity, the score for E.T. The
Extra-Terrestrial has been released many times. From about 1988 through 1996
the only recording of the E.T. score available --on LP or CD-- was a 40
minute collection of recordings that weren't those that originally appeared
in the film. Williams recorded those eight tracks himself at the time of the
original recording as well, but meant for the second recordings to be a concert
version of a large portion of the score. The recordings are noticeably different
than those in the film, and although some people were satisfied with these
recordings, others were not. Some people believe that the re-recordings on the
original album have better sound quality, though I would beg to differ. The
original albums, which were reprinted several times by MCA, had many of the cues
in the wrong order.
Nearly the entire E.T. score, as it was originally heard in the film, was
finally released by MCA in 1996, shortly after a very attractive expanded
edition of Raiders of the Lost Ark was released. The new, 71 minute
E.T. not only offers 31 more minutes of music, but also has the cues in
their original form and order. This is important for people like me who greatly
appreciate the darker side of this score. Williams never recorded many of the
dark passages for his original album release --completely ignoring some of the
brilliant performances of the organ and bass woodwind theme as the government
stalks Elliott's home, as well as some of the great string performances of the
bicycle/freedom theme (which is the same as the end credits piano one). The
sound quality of the new 1996 CD is crisp. The only downside to new release is
the fact that the end credits piano theme is still not the version that was heard in the film (an alternate mix was pressed onto this CD instead). For the 20th Anniversary release of the film in 2002, MCA/Universal released the score again, this time with the complete score of almost 76 minutes. The added three cues are definitely not necessary, and the 2002 album is not remastered any better than the 1996 one was. The true benefit of the 2002 album is finally the appearance of the original end titles ("Over the Moon") performance. An identical SACD version of the 2002 album was also released concurrently.
This presents a problem for Williams completists and die hard E.T. fans, though. Which version should you get? Unfortunately, each album has its unique benefits. The original MCA pressings were all identical, with the eight concert tracks, and these CDs feature a powerful performance with resounding bass. The 1996 album has cleaned up sound quality, and features all of the material from the film that you will ever need. The 20th Anniversary album completes the picture with the extra few minutes of score and the original end credits music. Thus, it's possible that many Williams enthusiasts will pursue all of the albums. You can still obtain a digital copy of the original "Over the Moon" track without purchasing the older, original out-of-print albums; it appears on the "Spielberg/Williams Collaboration" CD (track 9 --excellent quality) performed by
the Boston Pops. On the whole, no film music fan can be without at least a few of these albums,
for they represent some of the best music our genre has to offer. Also, take some time to watch the film again every now and then, just to appreciate Williams' score!
Score as Heard in Film: *****
All Albums: *****
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Viewer Ratings and Comments:
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Track Listings (Original CD issues (1986-1990)):
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Total Time: 40:14
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• 1. Three Million Light Years from Home (2:57)
• 2. Abandoned and Pursued (2:58)
• 3. E.T. and Me (4:49)
• 4. E.T.'s Halloween (4:07)
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• 5. Flying (3:20)
• 6. E.T. Phone Home (4:18)
• 7. Over the Moon (2:06)
• 8. Adventure on Earth (15:06)
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Track Listings (1996 Re-issue):
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Total Time: 71:21
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• 1. Far From Home/E.T. Alone (6:49)
• 2. Bait for E.T. (1:43)
• 3. The Beginning of a Friendship (2:50)
• 4. Toys (3:11)
• 5. "I'm Keeping Him" (2:19)
• 6. E.T.'s Powers (2:42)
• 7. E.T. and Elliott Get Drunk (2:53)
• 8. Frogs (2:10)
• 9. At Home (5:37)
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• 10. The Magic of Halloween (2:53)
• 11. Sending the Signal (3:57)
• 12. Searching for E.T. (4:16)
• 13. Invading Elliott's House (2:22)
• 14. E.T. is Dying (2:17)
• 15. Losing E.T. (2:00)
• 16. E.T. is Alive! (4:18)
• 17. Escape/Chase/Saying Goodbye (15:04)
• 18. End Credits (3:51)
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Track Listings (2002 20th Anniversary Re-issue):
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Total Time: 75:37
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• 1. Main Titles (1:06)
• 2. Far From Home/E.T. Alone (6:46)
• 3. Bait for E.T. (1:44)
• 4. Meeting E.T. (2:05)
• 5. E.T.'s New Home (1:38)
• 6. The Beginning of a Friendship (3:02)
• 7. Toys (2:43)
• 8. "I'm Keeping Him" (2:18)
• 9. E.T.'s Powers (2:42)
• 10. E.T. and Elliott Get Drunk (2:54)
• 11. Frogs (2:10)
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• 12. At Home (5:37)
• 13. The Magic of Halloween (2:52)
• 14. Sending the Signal (3:56)
• 15. Searching for E.T. (4:16)
• 16. Invading Elliott's House (2:21)
• 17. E.T. is Dying (2:19)
• 18. Losing E.T. (2:02)
• 19. E.T. is Alive! (4:06)
• 20. Escape/Chase/Saying Goodbye (15:01)
• 21. End Credits (3:49)
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The original 1986-1990 albums had no insert notes to speak of. The 1996 reissue has the best packaging, with pictures from every cue and an interview with Williams. The 20th Anniversary release in 2002 has fewer pictures and a reprint of the same interview.
Williams with Spielberg
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"In the case of E.T. (1982), John asked that we simply let him perform
his theme without trying to measure it closely with the edited film. We shut off
the projector and John perfromed the theme for E.T., just letting the
spirit come from his heart. It worked so well that we took the last scene back
to the editing room and conformed out pictures to John's interpretive
conducting. This score won him his fourth Academy Award (the third was for
Star Wars), and my continued admiration and gratitude.
I've always felt that John Williams was my musical rewrite artist. He comes in,
sees my movie, rewrites the whole thing musically, and makes it much better than
I did. He can take a moment and just uplift it. He can take a tear that's just
forming in your eye and he can cause it to drip.
In our ten year and six picture association, John Williams has been an
immeasurable creative force in all of my movies. This should be obvious to
anyone who realized that John was the voice of Jaws, the soul of the
mothership from Close Encounters of the Third Kind and the furious
heartbeat from which Raiders of the Lost Ark flowed. John's score to the
movie E.T. is unlike any of his others. It is soothing and benign. It is
scary and suspenseful and, toward the climax, downright operatic. For me, this
is John Williams' best work for the movies. John Williams is E.T."
-- Steven Spielberg, director.
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