A lonely 10 year old boy (Henry Thomas) is being raised by a divorced single mother (Dee Wallace) along with his older brother (Robert MacNaughton) and little sister (Drew Barrymore). One evening he meets up with a small extra terrestrial that has been accidentally left behind on Earth when his ship left without him. The boy and the alien form an unbreakable bond. Not only one of the greatest sci-fi fantasy films ever made, this Steven Spielberg classic is one of the all time great films (in an AFI poll, it was rated the 24th best film of all time). I don't know that any film has explored a child's need for companionship, to have someone that belongs to you, so indelibly. With the exception of Wallace's mother, until the government agents take over the child's home, we never see any adults. Oh we hear them, we see them in silhouette or from the shoulders down but Spielberg keeps them out because he wants us to see it from a child's perspective. Young Thomas's performance is inconsistent, at time convincing, at other times, child actor rather than child. But it never compromises the film. Yeah, pretty much a masterpiece. John Williams' Oscar winning score is one of the greatest. With Peter Coyote, C. Thomas Howell and Erika Eleniak.
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