Steven Spielberg's sentimental sci-fi yarn - and the intergalactic Queen Mum/poo hybrid at its centre - are so firmly ensconced in the global cultural lexicon as to be almost beyond criticism. So we won't even try.

DVD Extras:

Irritatingly, this two-disc release only includes the digitally tarted-up 20th Anniversary Edition of the 1982 classic (which undermines ET's "humanity" through the use of CGI). So if you want the original, it's Region One for you. Otherwise, this boasts all the polished back-patting extras now standard for a Spielberg release. Artwork and publicity material are accompanied by the self-explanatory The Music Of ET: A Discussion With John Williams featurette. Two lengthier docs are included, too - - the 37-minute A Look Back and 50-minute The Creation And Evolution Of ET. Both are well-made Making Ofs, the latter focusing more on the development of our wrinkly hero. With plenty of behind-the-scenes footage (Spielberg directed the Halloween sequence dressed as an old woman), they're typical of the quality material DVD lovers have come to expect from documentary-maker Laurent Bouzereau. Best of all though - - and for entirely the wrong reasons - - is The ET Reunion, an 18-minute featurette which gathers the principal talent for a love-in. The endearing reflections of the other docs are replaced by another sorry staple of Spielberg extra features: smugness. The self-congratulatory pap shovelled out here has to be heard to be believed.