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
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial arrived from Universal in the summer of 1982, directed by Steven Spielberg at the height of his early creative run. It became a defining event of the era, a family film that crossed generations and briefly stood as the highest grossing release in history. Its story of a stranded alien and the boy who befriends him tapped into something universal about childhood, wonder, and connection, and it remains one of the most beloved American films ever made.
This cell brings together the two figures at the heart of that bond: E.T. and Elliott. Their pairing is the emotional center of the entire film, the relationship every other scene builds toward or away from. Collectors seek out frames with both characters together because they represent the film's core partnership rather than a single isolated image. A 35mm cell like this preserves an actual frame of release printing stock, a small physical fragment of the film as it played in theaters during its original run.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm optical-track release print of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame visible on the top edge; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on the top edge; bottom-edge perforations are also present and visible. Spacing appears even; punch edges appear clean.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical soundtrack is visible running along the bottom edge beside the perforations, appearing as two bilateral variable-area tracks consistent with a stereo optical print.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read any key numbers or manufacturer text.
Base & colour
The base shows a warm amber-brown tint typical of a processed colour print; dye image appears intact with no obvious fading.
Projection history
Light vertical lines are visible across the frame area, consistent with projection wear on a previously screened print.
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.
Era check
The bilateral variable-area optical soundtrack, warm colour dye base, and perforation layout are all consistent with a 35mm 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 000062659
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
