National Film RegistryLibrary of Congress · Inducted 1994
“Written by Melissa Mathison and directed by Steven Spielberg, this film chronicles the relationship between a young boy (Henry Thomas) and a benevolent alien who is stranded on Earth and trying to find his way back to his home planet. The film's masterful blending of hopeful innocence with excitement and humor made it both a critical and popular success.”
Universal Pictures · Amblin Entertainment · 115 min
Box office
$792.9M worldwide on a $10.5M budget
Honors
Academy Awards — 4 wins, 9 nominationsGolden Globe Awards — 2 wins, 4 nominationsLos Angeles Film Critics Association — 2 winsBritish Academy Film Awards — 1 win, 8 nominationsAll 20 wins · 27 nominations on record
Academy Awards: Best Visual Effects
Academy Awards: Best Original Score
Academy Awards: Best Sound Editing
Academy Awards: Best Sound
Golden Globe Awards: Best Motion Picture – Drama
Golden Globe Awards: Best Original Score
Los Angeles Film Critics Association: Best Film
Los Angeles Film Critics Association: Best Director
British Academy Film Awards: Best Original Music
Japan Academy Film Prize: Outstanding Foreign Language Film
David di Donatello: Best Foreign Director
National Board of Review: National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
Saturn Award: Best Special Effects
Saturn Award: Best Writing
Saturn Award: Best Science Fiction Film
Saturn Award: Best Music
Saturn Award: Best Classic Film DVD Release
National Society of Film Critics Award: Best Director
Boston Society of Film Critics Award: Best Director
Grammy Award: Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media
Scholarship
Named in the title of 28 peer-reviewed works
Examples
E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial — 100 Science Fiction Films, 2013
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial — A K Peters/CRC Press eBooks, 2010
E.T. the extra-terrestrial — Open Research Exeter (University of Exeter), 1982
Sources: Wikidata · Library of Congress · OpenAlex. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Directed by Steven Spielberg for Universal Pictures, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial premiered in 1982 and became a defining event of the summer blockbuster era, ultimately standing as the highest grossing film of its time. Its story of a stranded alien befriended by a suburban boy struck a rare balance of wonder and intimacy, earning acclaim for its effects, John Williams' score, and Spielberg's handling of childhood emotion. The film's cultural footprint extended well beyond the box office, shaping how Hollywood approached family adventure filmmaking for decades and cementing E.T. as one of cinema's most recognizable creations.
This cell pairs E.T. and Elliott, the two central figures whose bond forms the emotional core of the entire film. Elliott, the boy who discovers and shelters the alien, and E.T. himself remain among the most sought-after subjects for collectors of this title, since their scenes together carry the story's central relationship. A 35mm cell bearing both figures together represents a physical fragment of that shared connection, preserved directly from the film's original theatrical print.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm optical-track theatrical release print of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982).
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame visible on the top edge; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on the top edge, evenly spaced and cleanly punched; bottom-edge perforations are partially obscured by the optical soundtrack area but appear present.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along the bottom edge beside the perforations, consistent with a single bilateral or variable-area mono/stereo optical track.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read manufacturer codes or key numbers.
Base & colour
The base shows a slight warm-amber tint typical of acetate safety stock; the dye image reads as warm-toned with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
Faint vertical hairline scratches are visible running through all three frames, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, consistent with a release print of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982).
Era check
The variable-area optical soundtrack, warm acetate base tint, and four-perforation 35mm format are all consistent with a theatrical release print from the early 1980s.
Read from the original intake capture shown below. Observations only — film is authenticated, not graded.
This original motion picture film element has been examined and authenticated by Crown Grading in partnership with National Film Vault, and encapsulated for archival preservation.
Why so little survivesRelease prints were leased to theaters, not sold. When the run ended they went back to the distributor to be destroyed, and most were. What collectors hold today came from the prints that escaped that order, and no new 35mm prints of these films are being struck.
CROWN SERIAL 000062643
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
