1. E.T. The Extraterrestrial (1982)
After watching this movie, we all wanted a gentle little alien friend. This classic movie stole our hearts when a troubled child summons the courage to help a friendly alien escape from Earth and return to his home planet. Made and released early in the Reagan years, E.T. exemplified a shift in America’s cultural values after the 1960s and 1970s, during which the Vietnam War, the Watergate scandals, and the Iran hostage crisis had convulsed the nation.