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 from Universal Pictures under Steven Spielberg's direction, becoming one of the defining releases of the decade and, for a time, the highest grossing film ever made. Its story of a stranded alien befriended by a suburban boy struck a rare balance of wonder and intimacy, earning lasting affection across generations and a permanent place in cinema history alongside Spielberg's other landmark works of the era.
This cell preserves the moment of E.T. and Elliott Flying, the image most associated with the film itself, tied directly to its most iconic sequence. Elliott, the boy who forms an unlikely bond with the visitor, and E.T., the gentle being he shelters and protects, are the two figures whose friendship carries the entire story. Collectors prize this pairing because it represents the emotional peak of the narrative, the union of childhood wonder and extraterrestrial mystery captured on a single strip of 35mm film history.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame on the visible edge, strip holds three frames
Perforations
Four per frame on the top edge; bottom edge perforations also visible; spacing appears even and punches appear clean
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along the bottom edge beside the picture area, appearing as a single variable-area stripe
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read alphanumeric codes
Base & colour
Base shows a slight cyan-green tint consistent with Eastman color print stock; dye image appears warm with no obvious fading
Projection history
Light vertical scratching is visible across the frame area, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate
Picture
Positive color image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot; subject matter is consistent with a location exterior scene from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Era check
The single variable-area optical soundtrack, cyan-base Eastman color stock, and absence of digital data blocks are all consistent with a 1982 theatrical release print predating Dolby Digital and DTS formats
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 000062737
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
