How do you improve on perfection?
If you're Steven Spielberg, you dust down a deeply personal film you made 20 years ago, add new special effects, reinsert missing scenes, digitally remaster the sound, and enthrall a new generation of young fans.
If you are a twenty- or thirtysomething whose childhood was forever moulded by three simple words: "E.T. phone home", then E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial - The 20th Anniversary will bring the memories (and the tears) flooding back.
The story centres on youngster Elliot, who lives on an anonymous housing estate with his older brother Michael and precocious young sister Gertie. Elliot's father has abandoned the family to live with another woman - and his mother is struggling to make ends meet.
One night, Elliot hears noises emanating from the shed and discovers, to his astonishment, a stranded alien visitor. He resolves to keep the pint-sized creature - christened E.T. - by hiding the extra-terrestrial in his room.
Invariably, he is forced to let Michael and Gertie in on the secret. However, E.T.'s health begins to fail and it becomes clear that the alien must contact his own family to survive.
Unfortunately, the US government is aware of the alien visitor's whereabouts, and sends in a team of crack scientists to separate E.T. and Elliot, with tragic consequences.
In truth, most of the visual nips and tucks in this 'new' version are so subtle, you'll barely notice them. In a climactic chase scene, walkie talkie replace guns in the hands of government agents; E.T.'s facial expressions have been enhanced with computer jiggery pokery; the alien spacecraft is resplendent with additional lights and colour; E.T.'s neck elongates smoothly; and the seminal image of Elliot and his bicycle silhouetted against the moon is even more breath-taking with the inclusion of a cape billowing behind the young boy.
The additional scenes are a real treat. Most notably, Spielberg has chosen to include the legendary bathroom sequence, in which E.T. enjoys a quick swim in the bath-tub. This section provides plenty of laughs, but also strengthens the bond between boy and alien, which are so important for the big denouement.
John William's haunting score has been completely re-mastered, and has never sounded so rich and clear. Also, in the wake of events of September 11, dialogue has been altered in one scene, so that Elliot's mother now remarks that the lad's Hallowe'en costume makes him look "like a hippy" rather than a terrorist.
Two decades after its initial release, Spielberg's epic has lost none of its power to entertain and enchant. It would be impossible to make a film like E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial in this post-X-Files age. If aliens landed on Earth, they would have to be huge, snarling beasties intent on domination, not some sweet creature capable of loving a human child.
For that reason alone we should keep this timeless classic close to our hearts. But more than that, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial reminds us of the power of cinema to transport us away from the monotony of everyday life, to a world of magic and possibility, where dreams come true for those who dare to reach for the stars.
