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
Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial arrived from Universal in the summer of 1982 and quickly became a defining event of that decade's popular cinema. Built on a small, personal premise, a stranded alien befriended by a lonely boy, it grew into one of the highest-grossing films of its time and a touchstone for a generation raised on VHS and Saturday matinees. Its blend of childhood wonder, suburban melancholy, and gentle science fiction set a template that studios chased for years afterward, and its imagery, from bicycles against the sky to a glowing fingertip, remains part of the culture's shared visual vocabulary.
This 35mm frame preserves the pairing of Elliott and E.T., the film's emotional core and the bond around which the entire story turns. Elliott is the boy whose isolation is answered by an unlikely companion, while E.T. represents the visitor whose presence reshapes an ordinary household into something extraordinary. A cell naming these two together points to the heart of the picture rather than a supporting beat, making it a natural centerpiece for anyone assembling a collection built around character and connection rather than spectacle alone.
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 two full frames and portions of adjacent frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on each edge; spacing appears even; perforation edges appear cleanly punched with no visible tearing.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical soundtrack track is visible running along the left edge beside the picture area, appearing as a single variable-area track.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read any key numbers or manufacturer text.
Base & colour
The base shows a cyan-tinted clear stock consistent with Eastman color print film; the dye image in the one legible picture frame appears warm and saturated with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
Light horizontal abrasion lines are visible across the frame area, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
Picture
Positive color image; the two central frames show a dark field with two bright purple-white diamond-shaped light forms; the one partial frame at left shows a warm interior scene; frames appear to be consecutive from a single release print consistent with E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
Era check
The single variable-area optical track, cyan-base Eastman color stock, and perforation style are all consistent with a 1982-era 35mm 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 000062706
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
