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Steven Spielberg Reveals His Biggest 'Regret' About Catering To Censorship With 'E.T.' Re-Edit
Steven Spielberg recently appeared at Time's 100 Summit and revealed his greatest "regret" regarding his 1982 classic E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
The legendary director shared he believes editing guns from a scene in the film was a "mistake."
The scene in reference showed officers chasing a group of children while wielding firearms, but for the 20th-anniversary release of the film, Spielberg had the guns replaced with walkie-talkies.
At the time of the edit, Spielberg admitted his evolving views sparked the change, as he was "sensitive to the fact" that children were being chased with firearms.
While Spielberg still holds the same beliefs, he admits he shouldn't have changed the film.
"That was a mistake. I never should have done that because 'E.T.' is a product of its era."
"'E.T.' was a film that I was sensitive to the fact that the federal agents were approaching kids with firearms exposed, and I thought I would change the guns into walkie-talkies..."
"Years went by, and I changed my own views."
"I should have never messed with the archives of my own work, and I don't recommend anyone do that."
Spielberg explained:
"All our movies are a kind of a signpost of where we were when we made them, what the world was like, and what the world was receiving when we got those stories out there."
"So I really regret having that out there."
You can watch Spielberg reveal his "mistake" below.
Viewers of the clip agreed with Spielberg's notion that the scene should have remained as it was originally.
\u201c@NEWSMAX Never mess with an original\u201d— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) 1682531401
\u201c@NEWSMAX \u201cNo film should be revised based on the lenses we now are, either voluntarily, or being forced to peer through.\u201d It\u2019s technically redirecting the film to alter original releases. That\u2019s a cinema sin, and Spielberg should know better.\u201d— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) 1682531401
\u201c@NEWSMAX That's like painting over a Monet.\u201d— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) 1682531401
\u201c@Mediaite Yes\u2026 yes it was\u201d— Mediaite (@Mediaite) 1682437941
\u201c@CultrHack I'm glad. He went to all the trouble of filming upwards from below even kid's eye level to make the adults feel more threatening and then took out a chunk of that threat almost on a whim.\u201d— Harvey G. Cohen (@Harvey G. Cohen) 1682527286
\u201c@nypost I'm glad he said it\u201d— New York Post (@New York Post) 1682507943
\u201c@nypost Look, he\u2019s one of the greats \u2014 gotta respect any thoughts he has on film.\u201d— New York Post (@New York Post) 1682571667
\u201c@nypost Remaking and recycling classic films demeans their value and lessons they're historical value. The process reflects an alarming lack of originality and ability to create compelling entertainment that people actually want to watch.\u201d— New York Post (@New York Post) 1682571667
Just last month, Spielberg admitted to Stephen Colbert he believes E.T. is "a pretty perfect movie."
\u201cSteven Spielberg doesn\u2019t usually like to rewatch his own films, but there is one movie even he agrees is pretty perfect. #Colbert\u201d— The Late Show (@The Late Show) 1677807600
He explained:
"It's one of the few movies I've made that I can look back and look at again and again."
A classic, indeed.