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 the summer of 1982, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial became a defining moment for Steven Spielberg and for the science fiction genre at large. It told a story of friendship between a stranded alien and a suburban family, quietly reshaping what a summer blockbuster could be by favoring wonder and emotional intimacy over spectacle. The film's box office success and cultural staying power cemented it as one of the most beloved family films of its decade, influencing generations of filmmakers and setting a new standard for how genuine feeling could anchor a mainstream release.
This cell, E.T., Elliott and Gertie, draws its value from bringing together the film's emotional core: Elliott, the boy who becomes E.T.'s closest companion, and Gertie, his younger sister, whose bond with the creature offers some of the story's tenderest beats. Michael's presence rounds out the family unit central to the narrative. For collectors, a frame featuring this grouping represents the heart of the film's household dynamic, the everyday domestic world into which an extraordinary visitor arrives and is quietly folded into family life.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982).
Gauge
35mm; the strip holds three frames, each with four perforations visible on both edges.
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 along one edge, with what appears to be a second narrower track beside it, consistent with a two-track variable-area stereo optical arrangement; Dolby Digital, DTS, or SDDS elements are not distinguishable at this capture resolution.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to quote any text or key numbers.
Base & colour
The base shows a warm amber-to-yellow cast across the image area; the dye image reads as a positive colour print with no obvious severe fading or strong red shift.
Projection history
Light vertical lines consistent with projection wear are visible across the frames; no splices or cue marks are seen.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, and the content is consistent with an interior scene from the film on record.
Era check
A two-track variable-area optical soundtrack on 35mm colour positive stock with a warm dye image is consistent with a theatrical release print from the early 1980s, the period of the film on record.
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 000062734
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
