E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial

"Despite some frustrating faults - including a John Williams score vulgar enough for a biblical epic - this is undoubtedly a movie of real beauty."

"Though marred by Spielberg’s usual carelessness with narrative points, the film alternates sweetness and sarcasm with enough rhetorical sophistication to be fairly irresistible."

"Reason and knowledge recede in the face of still-breathtaking moments like Elliott’s bicycle suddenly taking flight."

"In reducing the unknowable to the easily loveable, the film sacrifices a little too much truth in favour of its huge emotional punch."

"You're still gonna need those tissues."

"A children's classic of the space age."

"A devastating rebuke to anyone who has presumed to patronise this great film-maker."

"Spielberg left it open for all of us. That's the sign of a great filmmaker: He only explains what he has to explain."

"It remains a classic – undamaged by cosmetic changes, and with power enough to overcome the impact of a hundred crappy telephone commercials."

"As vital and accomplished as ever."