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 in 1982 through Universal Pictures, directed by Steven Spielberg at the height of his early run of blockbuster storytelling. It became one of the defining family films of its decade, prized for its emotional sincerity and its portrait of childhood wonder set against suburban ordinariness. The film's success reshaped how studios approached science fiction aimed at younger audiences, proving that spectacle could rest on tenderness rather than spectacle alone, and it remains a touchstone for collectors of Spielberg's era.
This cell centers on Elliott, the boy whose friendship with the visitor anchors the entire story. Collectors seek him out because he is the audience's entry point, the human heart of the picture, and any surviving frame connected to him carries that narrative weight. A cell bearing his name alone suggests a passage built around his presence, a quiet or pivotal beat carried by his character rather than shared with others. Such a piece stands as a direct link to the film's emotional core, valued for representing the boy at the center of one of cinema's most enduring bonds.
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 throughout the strip.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, appearing as a single-track analog stripe.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read manufacturer text or key numbers.
Base & colour
The base shows a slight warm-amber tint consistent with an aged acetate safety stock; the dye image retains colour without obvious fading.
Projection history
Fine longitudinal lines consistent with projection wear are visible across the frame area; no splices or cue marks are seen.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, consistent with a release print of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
Era check
The single variable-area optical soundtrack, warm acetate base tint, and colour dye structure 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 000062723
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
