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 Pictures in 1982, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial became one of Steven Spielberg's defining achievements, a Reagan-era blockbuster that briefly overtook Star Wars as the highest-grossing film of all time. Its story of a stranded alien befriended by a suburban child captured a generation's imagination and helped cement Spielberg's reputation for blending wonder with intimate family drama. The film's cultural footprint extended well beyond theaters, shaping merchandising, home video collecting, and the broader science-fiction genre for decades.
This cell centers on Elliott, the boy whose friendship with E.T. anchors the entire narrative, alongside his younger sister Gertie, whose presence adds warmth to the household dynamic. Frames pairing the extraterrestrial with Elliott hold particular value for collectors, as they represent the emotional core of the film, the bond between two unlikely companions. Gertie's inclusion broadens the domestic setting that grounds the story. A 35mm cell like this preserves a physical fragment of that connection, offering a tangible link to a moment audiences have cherished since 1982.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical 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; spacing appears even and the punched edges look clean with no torn or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
A single variable-area optical track is visible along one edge, with a clearly modulated waveform; no Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks, DTS timecode stripe, or SDDS outer-edge tracks are visible.
Edge print
Edge codes read: 83 648 255 1 30 KOD AK 28 20 01 H
Base & colour
Base shows a light cyan-blue tint characteristic of Kodak color print stock; dye image is warm-toned with no apparent fading.
Projection history
Longitudinal scratches run along the strip length, indicating prior projection use; no splices or cue marks are visible.
Picture
Positive color frames, three consecutive frames from one shot, image content consistent with a domestic interior scene from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
Era check
The single variable-area optical track, Kodak color print stock coding, and cyan-base stock are all consistent with a 1982-era 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 000062704
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
