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 the summer of 1982 through Universal Pictures, directed by Steven Spielberg at the height of his early mastery of suburban wonder. It became one of the highest grossing films of its decade and, for a long stretch, of all time, cementing itself as a touchstone of American childhood and a defining work of Amblin Entertainment. Its blend of warmth, longing, and gentle science fiction reshaped what a family film could be, influencing decades of storytelling that followed.
This cell centers on E.T. himself, the film's title character and one of cinema's most recognizable creations, a figure whose design and presence collectors have long sought out on film. A frame built around him alone speaks to his singular pull as an icon, separate from the human cast that surrounds him in the story. Such a piece functions as a pure character study, a single strip preserving the extraterrestrial visitor whose bond with a child became the emotional heart of the picture, and whose likeness remains instantly known across generations of viewers.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm colour optical release print of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982).
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame visible on the top edge; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on the top edge; bottom edge perforations are partially obscured by the soundtrack area but appear present; spacing looks even and punches appear clean.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along the bottom edge beside the perforations, consistent with a mono or stereo optical release print.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read any key numbers or manufacturer text.
Base & colour
Base shows a cyan-tinted clear stock; dye image appears warm with slight amber shift, consistent with aged colour print stock.
Projection history
Light vertical scratching is visible across the frame area, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot, consistent with a release print of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982).
Era check
The variable-area optical soundtrack, cyan-base colour print stock, and warm dye shift are all consistent with a 1982 theatrical release print era.
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 000062725
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
