Cert U Stars 5

Steven Spielberg’s spellbinding family sci-fi adventure remains as moving and magical as it did when I first saw it as a twelve year old in my local fleapit cinema in Middlesbrough way back in 1982.

And watching it with my partner and our nine year old son on a big screen in the grand surroundings of London’s Royal Albert Hall with the BBC Concert Orchestra playing John Williams’ heavenly score, made for an even more emotional experience.

In a wonderfully observed and often very funny family dynamic led by Dee Wallace as the stressed-out mother, Henry Thomas gives a lovely natural and affecting performance as Elliott, the normal suburban boy who befriends a lost and lonely alien he names ‘E.T.’

Along with his scene-stealing screen sister, Drew Barrymore and friends, he helps E.T. phone home while attempting to escape the government’s clutches.

Screened as part of the Hall’s ongoing Films In Concert series, whose upcoming events include classics Superman, and Titanic, it made for a perfect Christmas family treat.