As much as I'd love to take the highbrow route and say it was Antonioni or Truffaut, this movie, probably more than any other, set me on this destructive path of trying to write movies.

E.T. was the only movie I ever saw with my father where he cried. Considering he was a retired Air Force colonel, that is saying a helluva lot about the emotional wallop the movie delivered. Such is the power of the film's basic themes: abandonment, loss, family, friendship, home, etc.

Geez, I haven't seen this movie since I was little, you all are definitely making me want to see it again.

I should movie marathon the suggestions I made for Daily Dialogue this holiday weekend, those are all good movies.

Also, thanks Scott.