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 Pictures in the summer of 1982, directed by Steven Spielberg at the height of his early command of populist filmmaking. It became the highest-grossing film of its decade, a cultural touchstone that redefined family science fiction with its blend of wonder, suburban intimacy, and genuine emotion. Its legacy endures across generations, making original 35mm material from the production especially prized among collectors of classic Hollywood cinema.
This cell centers on Keys, the government investigator whose presence threads through the film as both pursuer and, eventually, quiet ally to the children and their otherworldly friend. Collectors seek out material tied to Keys because the character represents the adult world's slow turn from suspicion toward empathy, a shift that mirrors the film's larger emotional arc. A frame carrying his name alone speaks to that narrative weight, offering a tangible link to one of the story's more understated but pivotal figures.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm analog optical release print of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982).
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, cleanly punched with no torn or deformed holes visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, appearing as a dual-band analog waveform.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read manufacturer text or key numbers clearly.
Base & colour
Base shows a slight cyan-green tint consistent with Eastman color print stock; dye image appears warm with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
Light vertical scratches are visible across the frame area, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
Picture
Positive color image; the first two frames appear to be consecutive frames of the same shot, the third frame is a distinctly different scene, all consistent with E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
Era check
The dual variable-area analog optical track, cyan-base Eastman color stock, and absence of Dolby Digital or DTS timecode are all consistent with a 1982 theatrical release print.
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 000062693
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
