National Film Vault

FILM NOTES

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was released by Universal Pictures in June 1982, directed by Steven Spielberg. It became the highest-grossing film of its time and remains a defining work of American cinema, blending science fiction with an intimate story of childhood friendship and loss. Shot by Allen Daviau, the film's warm, shadow-rich photography gave it an emotional texture that set it apart from the blockbusters of its era.

This cell captures E.T. and Elliott together in a darkened interior, the warm practical lighting characteristic of their quiet shared moments at home. Three consecutive frames from the same shot, the strip preserves a single sustained instant between the two figures — a rare, unbroken sliver of the film's most tender relationship.