This was an interesting one.
After doing a little research, you can appreciate this film more. There was very little story-boarding, the shots were chronological, and the kids were left as kids. These give the film a spontaneous, natural feel. At the same time, it feels disconnected and unfinished. I will explain why this is important later.
First, let's look at the camerawork. The first thing I noticed was how low the shots are. Almost no adult faces are shown in the first half of the film, and few are given names. This is so the world is introduced as a kid's view of events. It is also at E.T.'s eye-level. This gave the shots a confining feel, as well, and you could never see the whole picture. This lent to the unfinished nature mentioned previously. One thing I did appreciate about the camerawork was how often it captured the actors entering the stage. Almost everyone had an entrance. The police and the scientists frequently have a dramatic drive-on, and kids walk or bike. One exception is when Elliot appears behind the fridge door. This is just enough of a shock to get the audience on their toes in preparation for things to come. Also, there are a few close shots of Elliot that jump around a little. Take the cornfield scene as an example. As the camera jerks around, you jump a bit, too. The placement for this technique was well chosen. Overall, not too shabby.
Next, lights. In general, they were rendered well. Night was dark, day was bright, flashlights were nothing spectacular (that's a good thing), and twilight was well balanced between extremes. There were a few mistakes in regard to "actual time", but those are things that can go unnoticed easily. They do add to the unfinished and disconnected feel on a subconscious level. In short, nothing terrible, nothing fantastic.
The last technical aspect I want to discuss here is sound. There were many scenes that, I felt, would have benefited from a soundtrack. Then again, the lack of music in the film lets you focus more on the story and keeps the dramatic scenes from being too frightening. It also takes away from the coherency. There were some sound disconnects and exaggerations, like squealing tires. Overall, the sound was appropriate for the film.
Why do I keep mentioning the incomplete feel? Many occurrences in the movie are not explained, but simply happen. Nameless faces, air tubes going nowhere, shots that don't tell the whole story, and spacemen at the front door are a few such happenings. While the confusing feel keeps the audience contemplating the film after viewing, it also disconnects them from the picture. This is not a film you find yourself wholly immersed in, as if you are a character. It is more like the neighbor kid across the street watching though binoculars. Or maybe this is just me. Regardless, I respect the film, enjoyed it with my family, and plan to watch it with my children someday.
After doing a little research, you can appreciate this film more. There was very little story-boarding, the shots were chronological, and the kids were left as kids. These give the film a spontaneous, natural feel. At the same time, it feels disconnected and unfinished. I will explain why this is important later.