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 as a Universal Pictures release directed by Steven Spielberg, becoming one of the defining blockbusters of its decade and a benchmark for family filmmaking that balanced wonder with genuine emotional stakes. Its story of a stranded alien and the suburban boy who befriends him struck a universal chord, and the film's cultural footprint, from its score to its imagery, has only deepened with time. It stands as a touchstone of early 1980s cinema, discussed alongside Spielberg's other era-defining work.
This cell centers on Elliott, the young protagonist whose bond with E.T. anchors the entire narrative and gives the film its emotional core. Collectors seek out Elliott material because he represents the human half of one of cinema's most enduring friendships, the audience's entry point into the story. A 35mm cell bearing his name preserves a piece of that original theatrical presentation, a tangible link to the physical film stock that carried this character's journey into movie houses in 1982 and helped make him instantly recognizable to generations of viewers.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm analog optical 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; punched edges look clean with no visible tearing.
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 codes or key numbers.
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
Faint horizontal lines are visible across the frame area, consistent with projection wear; no splices or cue marks seen.
Picture
Positive color 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 single variable-area analog optical track, Eastman-type cyan-base color stock, and absence of digital soundtrack formats are consistent with an early-1980s 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 000062744
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
