National Film Vault

FILM NOTES

Universal Pictures released E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial in June 1982, directed by Steven Spielberg. The film became the highest-grossing release of its time and remains a defining work of American cinema, blending science fiction with a deeply personal story of childhood, loneliness, and connection. Its cultural footprint has only grown in the decades since, cementing its place as one of the most recognized films ever made.

This cell, titled E.T. and Elliott Flying, captures three consecutive frames from the film's most iconic image: Elliott silhouetted on his bicycle with E.T. in the front basket, arcing across a luminous full moon against the night sky. The sequential nature of the frames offers a rare sense of motion frozen in time, preserving the precise moment that became synonymous with the film itself.