Trapped on earth after being left behind by his space ship, E.T. is found by Elliot and kept safe. With the help of his brother Michael and sister Gertie, E.T. is kept hidden while he works out a way to phone home and arrange his rescue.

Directed by Stephen Spielberg and  loosely based on a character he imagined during his parents divorce it is an understatement to say E.T. was a blockbuster. Not only the highest grossing move of 1982 but it knocked Star Wars off the top spot for the highest grossing movie of all time at that point and held the accolade until Jurassic park was released in 1993.

As a child growing up in Scotland, the film may as well have been set on another planet as California always seemed so alien anyway. The houses were big, the roads were wide and it was always sunny, even on halloween. When I was driving towards Porter Ranch where a lot of the outside shots were filmed I was expecting to be dissapointed. I thought that film trickery may have made the area look bigger and cleaner that it did in real life but I need not have worried. The area was almost unchanged from the film bar a few more trees and it felt like I had stepped straight into the film. I just wish I had my BMX with me to race down some of the hills.

Elliots house was around 20 miles away from where the Halloween scenes and BMX chase scenes were filmed in Tujunga and again it was instantly recognizable even though it was surrounded by a lot more trees. 

I hope you enjoy the videos and picture sets below and if you have any connection to the film please get in touch and let me know.