Thirty-six years ago, principal photography began on Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. It’s incredibly fitting, then, that The Second Disc can exclusively share details on La-La Land Records’ definitive new expansion of John Williams’ timeless, award-winning score to the film, prepared in honor of the film’s 35th anniversary.
“He is afraid. He is totally alone. He is 3,000,000 light years from home.” So announced the first posters for E.T., Spielberg’s seventh feature film. The timeless tale of a mysterious alien creature found and protected by a lonely 10-year-old boy was part science fiction and part coming-of-age family drama–arguably the perfect distillation of the director’s dual sensibilities regarding profound emotion and technically proficient grandiosity–and the result was a worldwide sensation, becoming the highest-grossing film of all time for more than a decade.
As with nearly every one of Spielberg’s films, Williams was selected to provide a powerful and emotional soundtrack. (The Spielberg-Williams partnership, one of the most fruitful in film history, now extends nearly 45 years, with all but three of the director’s full-length features scored by Williams.) Praised in Spielberg’s liner notes for the original E.T. soundtrack album as the director’s “musical rewrite artist,” Williams did not disappoint, creating a score rich in themes and motifs yet surprisingly reserved and intimate in their usages.
As E.T. became a critical and commercial smash, so too did Williams’ score, with the main theme “Flying” even denting the lower half of the Billboard Hot 100. Selections for the soundtrack album, recorded in a separate session, was released concurrently with the film, offering concertized passages from the themes and score. That album helped the score net several major awards in 1983, including an Oscar (Williams’ fourth of five), a BAFTA and a Grammy Award.
While previous expanded releases (in 1996 and 2002) offered most of the film score, they were not complete, nor did they accurately present the performances as actually heard in the film. La-La Land’s new release at last corrects this, while providing a generous amount of alternate and unreleased material–all presented in the best possible sound this music’s ever been heard.
In this 2CD set you’ll find:
- The original film score, newly mixed, mastered and edited by John Williams’ longtime soundtrack producer Mike Matessino, alongside original engineer/album producer Bruce Botnick.
- The original soundtrack album, newly transferred in hi-resolution from the original analog master tapes. (This new master will also feature in the upcoming 35th anniversary Blu-ray/4K box set due this month.)
- Seven alternate and partially unreleased takes from the original scoring sessions.
- One brief but previously unheard cue, “The Levitation,” intended to score a deleted scene featuring Harrison Ford in an uncredited cameo as a school principal.
- The CD debut of Williams’ original suite of music for the Universal Studios theme park ride E.T. Adventure, recorded in 1990.
The package is rounded out with liner notes by Matessino on the creation of the score and a booklet by designer Jim Titus, including newly designed cover approved by the director. Limited to 5,000 copies, this is a release Williams fans will want to phone home about!
We are pleased to premiere the full track list below; the set is on sale September 12 at 12:00 p.m. Pacific standard time at LLL’s official site!
E.T. The Extra Terrestrial: 35th Anniversary Limited Edition (La-La Land Records LLLCD1420, 2017 – original film released 1982)
* previously unreleased
** contains previously unreleased material
Disc 1: Film score presentation
Main Title
Far From Home / E.T. Alone
Bait For E.T.
Meeting E.T.
E.T.’s New Home
The Beginning of a Friendship
Toys
I’m Keeping Him
E.T.’s Powers
The Closet *
E.T. and Elliott Get Drunk
Frogs
At Home
The Magic of Halloween
Sending the Signal
Searching For E.T.
Invading Elliott’s House
Stay With Me *
Losing E.T.
E.T. is Alive
The Rescue and Bike Chase
The Departure
End Credits
Disc 1 total running time: 77:57
Disc 2: Original soundtrack album and additional material
Three Million Light Years From Home
Abandoned and Pursued
E.T. and Me
E.T.’s Halloween
Flying
E.T. Phone Home
Over the Moon
Adventure On Earth
Alternates:
The E.T. Adventure *
Far From Home / E.T. Alone (Alternate) **
The Encounter *
Meeting E.T. (Alternate) *
E.T.’s New Home (Alternate) **
The Kiss *
The Levitation *
Searching For E.T. (Alternate) **
E.T. is Dying
The Departure (Alternate)
End Credits (Alternate)
Disc 2 total running time: 78:42