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 run of populist filmmaking. It became a cultural touchstone almost overnight, its story of childhood wonder and quiet suburban longing resonating far beyond typical genre fare. The film's blend of warmth, restraint, and spectacle helped redefine what a family film could carry emotionally, and it remains one of the defining releases of the era, still cited as a benchmark for practical effects storytelling paired with sincere feeling.
This cell centers on Keys, the government investigator whose presence throughout the film represents the encroaching adult world of authority, science, and pursuit that shadows the children's secret. Collectors value Keys as a counterpoint figure, the adult who eventually softens into empathy, making this a piece tied to the film's turn toward reconciliation. A 35mm cell bearing this character reflects that narrative pivot, a physical fragment of the reel capturing the presence of a role often overlooked beside E.T. and Elliott, yet essential to the story's emotional arc.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982).
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on each edge; spacing appears even and the punched corners are rounded and cleanly cut.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along one edge, showing the characteristic waveform pattern of an analog optical mono or stereo track; no Dolby Digital data blocks, DTS timecode line, or SDDS strips are discernible.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read manufacturer codes or key numbers.
Base & colour
The base appears with a slight cyan-teal tint along the edges, consistent with an estar or acetate safety base; the dye image reads warm-amber with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
Fine longitudinal lines are visible across the frame area, consistent with projection wear; no splices or cue marks are seen.
Picture
Positive color image; the three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot, and the interior setting with a figure is consistent with the theatrical release of the film on record.
Era check
The analog variable-area optical soundtrack, warm dye image, and cyan-edged safety base are all consistent with a 1982-era theatrical release print of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
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 000062692
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
