'E. T.' DVD something to phone home about

"E.T." is a classic family film by director Steven Spielberg, a story of an alien, left on this planet by his ship, and a boy, Elliott. The tale shows how they find each other and become best friends, only to have to face the challenges and dangers of such an unusual friendship.\nTo celebrate "E.T.'s" 20th anniversary, Spielberg reworked about 50 of his favorite scenes and re-released the movie into theaters. Now, both the original and the "touched up" versions are out in a two-disc set, and both look and sound great.\nThe inclusion of the 1982 version of the film was a last-second decision, so it's not mentioned on the box, and some of the features listed are not included in full. In terms of extras, the 2002 version gets more attention. It contains a few "new" scenes, including a rather amusing episode between Elliott and E.T. in the bathroom that Spielberg felt contributed to the onscreen bonding between the two.\nThe DVD also gives you the option of listening to a "live" version of the soundtrack, played under the direction of composer John Williams and recorded at the 2002 premiere. While I might have preferred a commentary track, this second audio track, with its different mix of music and dialogue and clapping and hooting of an audience, provides an unusual and enjoyable home-movie experience.\nOther extras include the usual "making of" featurettes, interviews and footage from a "reunion" of the stars and the 2002 premiere, as well as a couple of galleries of pictures from the filming and conceptual drawings of "E.T." There is some overlap between these featurettes, but each provides many interesting looks at the actors and the film. One surprising tidbit, for example, is that E.T. often was played by a legless boy wearing a costume.\nAll in all, I would have preferred a few more special features, such as deleted scenes, but I can't fault Universal for including the original film instead. If you have any fond memories of this film whatsoever, this is a must own.