Steven Spielberg says it was ‘a mistake’ to edit guns out of ‘E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial’
Steven Spielberg is not in favor of changing past art to adhere to modern cultural sensibilities.
Speaking at the TIME 100 Summit recently, the Oscar-winning filmmaker said he made “a mistake” years ago when he edited guns out of “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” for a home release.
“I never should have done that. ‘E.T.’ is a product of its era,” Spielberg said. “No film should be revised based on the lenses we now are, either voluntarily, or being forced to peer through.”
The edit in question – which has long since been reversed – used digital effects advances to change guns in the hands of federal agents into walkie-talkies. “‘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,” Spielberg explained. “I should have never messed with the archives of my own work, and I don’t recommend anyone do that. 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.”
While his comment generated headlines across the media landscape – yes, even right here at this very site – Spielberg has expressed his regrets before. In 2011, just before the 30th anniversary of “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” Spielberg said a future Blu-ray release would restore the film to its original version.
“I tried [changing a film] once and lived to regret it. Not because of fan outrage, but because I was disappointed in myself,” Spielberg said in 2011. “I got overly sensitive to [some of the reaction] to ‘E.T.’ and I thought if technology ever evolved … it was OK for a while, but I realized what I had done was I had robbed people who loved ‘E.T.’ of their memories of ‘E.T.’”
Speaking now, Spielberg said it’s not just his own films that should be left alone – but any old classics that include outdated phrases and thoughts.
“Nobody should ever attempt to take the chocolate out of Willy Wonka! Ever!” Spielberg said at the TIME 100 Summit after being asked about the recent controversy over Roald Dahl books. “For me, it is sacrosanct. It’s our history, it’s our cultural heritage. I do not believe in censorship in that way.”
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