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The 25 best science fiction movies of all time

What are the best movies about mysterious planets, visitors from other worlds, and the future on our very own Earth? Check out our picks!

7. 'E.T.'

Warner Bros.
'E.T.' stars Henry Thomas (center).

Steven Spielberg's 1982 sci-fi film centers on lonely 10-year-old Elliott (Henry Thomas), who finds a strange creature in his yard (nothing lures an alien like Reese's Pieces, apparently) and discovers that it's an alien who traveled to Earth with others but was mistakenly abandoned when his spaceship left suddenly. Elliott calls the creature "E.T." and tries to help him get home. As you probably know, E.T. possesses the power to make a bike fly, among other abilities. The relatability and cuddliness of E.T. furthered Spielberg's message from "Encounters," that aliens don't have to be monsters that make us cower.

Monitor film critic David Sterritt found the movie to be "a triumphant victory of trust over suspicion, magic over technology, and young Elliott over the adults who don't really understand. It's a sentimental celebration of sci-fi, fantasy, and pure fun."

Actor Robert MacNaughton, who played Elliott's older brother Michael, remembered in an interview with Entertainment Weekly how talented the crew who controlled E.T. was. "E.T. was like any other actor," he said. "If you said something differently on another take, it would react differently. That's how skilled the people working it were."

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Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

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