Saying that E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial is my all-time favorite movie is pleonasm. All my family and friends know that’s the number one film for me. The movie about “the ugly little alien stranded on earth” has lived in my heart ever since I watched it for the first time. In fact, I love it so much that I decided to execute a plan that I have had in mind for at least two decades: visiting the locations seen in the film.

After some research, I found out that E.T. was mainly shot in a couple of neighborhoods in the San Fernando Valley, a suburb of Los Angeles, California. The San Fernando Valley or simply The Valley, is, in fact, well known for having appeared in several movies, and it was probably the last portion of the Valley to receive settlement and population. I also found out that E.T.’s filming locations were basically of two varieties: the first one being the neighborhood, the streets and the ridge/dirt track, and the second one being the exterior of the actual Elliott/family house (the interior was, of course, shot in a studio).

The first one represents the neighborhood, various streets, the playground, and the dirt track, and is located in Porter Ranch, a neighborhood that was new at the time  and resides in the northern part of the Valley. At places like Granada Circle, Brasilia Drive, Vista Grande Way, Killimore Ave and Viking Ave, Spielberg shot several scenes such as the Halloween sequence, the scene at the bus stop, and the majority of the bike chase sequence. Also at Porter Ranch,  there’s the dirt tracks along the ridge that are part of the Palisades Park, from which there’s an awesome view of the San Fernando Valley. Finally and equally important is the playground that one sees in the final sequence of the movie where E.T. is taken to the spaceship on Elliott’s Kuwahara BMX.

The second represents Elliott’s home (“the E.T. house”), which is east of Porter Ranch in Tujunga, an elevated/high terrain neighborhood at the bottom of the San Gabriel Mountains. Technically, the house sits in the Crescenta Valley.

Obviously, there were more locations were used in the film, but these make up the majority.

I’d like to say that some locations look very different from the movie, and that’s because of vegetation and trees, which were non-existent at the time the film was shot (back in 1981) and are now fully grown and abundant.

I have chosen the neighborhood of Reseda, in the Valley, as a central starting point, from which I could drive to the locations easily and rapidly.

An American friend, Tom Moser, has offered to guide me, since he himself is a Steven Spielberg fan. The first location was the playground. After a 10-minute drive, we arrived there and I felt a great joy upon seeing the caterpillar, the very same that we see in the movie. The playground resides on a very beautiful, clean place, and looks somewhat different from the movie. New equipment has been added and some have been removed (like the monkey bars). Several sand boxes were also added, and vegetation has extensively grown. It was sunny and somewhat crowded. We talked to a nice lady, probably some kid’s mom, who knew that the playground has been used in the movie. Cool! Upon seeing a swing, I couldn’t help but give it a go – and thankful I am that my weight didn’t destroy it!

Since it was conveniently close to the playground, the next stop was the dirt track used for Elliott’s bike scene. That particular scene is very important for it gives dimension to the kid’s quest for E.T. The GPS was programmed, yet we had a hard time finding the correct spot, for we thought the ridge was on the opposite side. Besides, there was a black metal fence that wasn’t there in the movie. I saw higher ground, on a cross street, and decided to climb it to check. Ta-Dam! As we climbed it, we saw the exact spot we were looking for! We saw the actual dirt track and the wooden fence, and they looked exactly like they did in the movie: the ridge, the vegetation, the zig-zag dirt track, the wooden fence, the street below (Brasilia Drive) etc. It was like Close Encounters of the Third Kind when Richard Dreyfuss and Melinda Dillon see Devil’s Tower for the first time! I suppose our perception was similar to theirs! Awesome!

Next stop: The E.T. House. I was nervous because the house was the place I really, really, really wanted to see above all else. We took Freeway 118 (Ronald Reagan), rode about 30 kilometers and went straight to Tujunga, a very beautiful neighborhood at the bottom of the San Gabriel Mountains. My friend was anxious as well. “We’re close” he said. I braced myself. “We’re here”. I jumped out of the car and saw the house. I was very emotional! I didn’t cry because my friend was there! You know, the “macho thing.” I was delighted to know that, 29 years ago, Steven Spielberg, Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace, Robert MacNaughton, Peter Coyote and the filming crew was there where I was standing. Amazing! The house is beautiful and stands at a higher level, not at the street level. The yard has many trees, a lot of vegetation, and looks very different from the movie. I stood by the drive way and my friend took several pictures. With a little imagination, I saw E.T. standing in the drive way and smiling at me. It was magical!

It’s interesting to see that, in spite of being like 40 kilometers away, the house and the neighborhood look as if they’re in the same place. It’s amazing!

At night, we drove on Mulholland Drive. It was awesome! We parked the car on Laurel Canyon and saw the amazing view of the Valley. By the way, that view is very similar to the movie where E.T. sees the Valley lights below and heads to Elliott’s house. It’s fantastic!

On the second day I decided to visit Porter Ranch again on my own since my friend was working. At first, I decided to visit the location used for the Halloween scene. In that scene, E.T., dressed like a ghost, and the boys, each one with a disguise, head to the forest for the little alien to build his communicator – and E.T. sees a kid dressed like Yoda and says: “Home! Home!” I drove through the beautiful neighborhood and reached the spot: Granada Circle with Killimore Ave. Once again, the place looks pretty much the same except for the vegetation and the trees.

Next up is the bus stop. I drove to the street, which was close to Granada Circle. I had a hard time finding the exact place. That scene is kind of funny. A couple of boys from school keep mocking him about the “goblin” thing until Elliott gets real angry with Greg (“Zero Charisma!”). The street looks very different from the movie because of the trees (there are a lot of them now). I could find the spot because of the two rectangular drains. They do appear in the movie, so I was able to pinpoint the correct place.

The next stop was a real challenge. Since we didn’t do it on the first day, I decided to actually visit the dirt track of Palisades Park and reach the wooden fence that’s in the movie. At first, I had to find an entry point to the park and I did that by looking at Google Maps. I ended up messing up the thing for I took the wrong entrance to a different park. I had to talk to a person and have the right path. Since I’m a little obese and out of shape, I knew that I was literally going to sweat my butt off to get there. At the beginning of the track, I saw a “beware of rattle snakes” sign. Oh dear…

At first, there are some houses there. I walked and walked and walked and walked… There I saw rabbits, squirrels, big trees (different from the ones in my country), even an eagle, and I heard several strange noises in the woods – hoping they weren’t produced by a rattle snake or any other snake! After 25 minutes, I finally reached the correct spot. I was positive! I recognized both the proper shape of the wooden fence and the houses below (Brasilia Drive). Also, I saw the black metal fence that my friend and I grabbed the day before. I was there! It was a dream come true! I was standing where Henry Thomas rode his Kuwahara BMX in the movie. The hardest part was walking back!

I was tired, yet I decided to drive to other locations to see some that were used for the escape sequence. I drove to Viking Ave, Killimore Ave and White Oak Ave, and I have to tell you that things look very different from the movie (again because of the trees and the vegetation). It is almost impossible to find the exact locations, unfortunately. The streets are familiar, but I couldn’t be positive at all about the correct spots. Driving on White Oak Ave was especially great. There, Spielberg shot the “bike take-off scene”. Again, I couldn’t pinpoint the exact take-off point.

On the last day, I decided to visit Brasilia Drive in order to have a street level view of the ridge and the dirt track. By the way, Brasilia Drive appears in the final sequence of the movie. We see it from above in the scene where the boys are flying against the sunset. I drove on the street until I saw the wooden fence. I parked the car and took several pictures. The ridge is really big and scary. It’s an awesome view. The street is lovely with its typical American houses.

Well, I feel delighted and lucky to have the opportunity to visit these locations and share my experiences with you. Being in those places, where E.T. was shot almost 30 years ago, was a dream come true. It was like watching the movie again, but for the first time. I was 10 years old again!

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