Top 5 Movie Mistakes – E.T. – The Extra Terrestrial

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Steven Spielberg's beloved 1982 classic E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL is a borderline untouchable movie. Everyone loves it. For millions of people it takes them back to their childhood, a warm fuzzy nostalgia that unlike a lot of films, remains unbroken when rewatched as an adult. But it was also a special effects heavy movie made in the 1980s. The puppeteering of E.T. was consistently limiting and blue-screen technology was still in its adolescence, so while its resonance with audiences stands unchallenged, like all films, it's still not immune to movie mistakes!

In this episode of Top 5 Movie Mistakes we're looking at some of the best goofs and errors contained in E.T., and especially the mistakes that Spielberg would later fix in the 20th anniversary re-release in 2002. Unlike George Lucas, he quickly realised that fans weren't particularly keen on a CGI rendition of E.T. and so he opted to discontinue the special edition version. Which, in this high definition era, leaves us with only the original 1982 cut (mistakes and all!) for future generations to enjoy. From visibile pupeeteers, to crew member's shadows and disappearing handlebars, when it comes to Movie Mistakes… there's a little bit of everything in E.T.!