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
Released by Universal in the summer of 1982, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial became one of Steven Spielberg's defining works and, for a time, the highest-grossing film ever made. Its story of a stranded alien befriended by a suburban boy struck a chord with audiences worldwide, blending science fiction with a deeply personal tale of friendship and loss. The film's success cemented Spielberg's reputation as a master of emotionally resonant blockbuster filmmaking and remains a touchstone of early 1980s American cinema, celebrated for its practical effects, John Williams' score, and its enduring cultural presence.
This cell centers on E.T. and Elliott, the film's central pairing and the emotional core of the entire story. Elliott, played by Henry Thomas, is the boy who discovers and shelters the alien, while E.T. himself remains the most recognizable creature design of the era, instantly tied to the film's identity. A 35mm cell bearing both names together captures a piece of the bond that drives the narrative forward, a physical fragment from the reel that carried their shared journey to audiences in theaters upon release.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm colour release print of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, though likely a post-1992 reissue.
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced; punched edges appear clean with no visible tearing or distortion.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along one edge, appearing as a single bilateral variable-area track; a dense digital data block consistent with Dolby Digital is visible in the perforation inter-gap area on the same edge.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to quote characters reliably.
Base & colour
Base carries a faint cyan-teal tint consistent with a colour print stock; dye image appears warm with strong amber and orange tones, no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
Fine longitudinal lines consistent with projection are visible across the frame area; no splices or cue marks seen.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be from the same continuous shot, consistent with a theatrical release print of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982).
Era check
The combination of a bilateral variable-area optical track, Dolby Digital data blocks between perforations, and cyan-base colour print stock is consistent with a post-1992 reissue or later release print, as Dolby Digital was not introduced until 1992; a 1982 original release print would not carry this track type.
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 000062686
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
