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 blockbusters of its decade and briefly the highest grossing film ever made. Its story of a stranded alien befriended by a suburban boy struck a chord across generations, blending wonder, warmth, and melancholy in a way few family films had managed before. The picture's cultural reach extended well beyond box office numbers, shaping how Hollywood approached family storytelling for years afterward and cementing Spielberg's reputation as a master of popular cinema.
This cell preserves the moment tied to Elliott and E.T. flying together, one of the most beloved images in American film. Elliott, the boy who forms an unlikely bond with the visitor, becomes the audience's surrogate for friendship and loss, while E.T. himself remains one of cinema's most enduring creations. Together their flight sequence stands as the emotional and visual peak of the story, symbolizing freedom, connection, and escape. For collectors, a 35mm cell from this scene represents the heart of the film itself, a fragment of the exact frames that carried its most celebrated moment into theaters worldwide.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Eastmancolor 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 with no torn or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical soundtrack track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, appearing as a single bilateral variable-area track.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read any key numbers or manufacturer text clearly.
Base & colour
The base shows a slight cyan-teal tint consistent with an estar or acetate safety base; the dye image reads warm-amber, typical of a Technicolor or Eastmancolor release print of the early 1980s.
Projection history
Visible horizontal scratching and abrasion lines run along the length of the strip, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate multiple times.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, consistent with a release print of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982).
Era check
The single bilateral variable-area optical track, warm Eastmancolor dye image, and cyan-tinted safety base are all consistent with a 1982 theatrical release print from that period.
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 000062739
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
