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 1982, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial became one of the defining blockbusters of its decade, directed by Steven Spielberg at the height of his early career ascent. The story of a stranded alien befriended by a suburban boy struck a chord with audiences worldwide, blending science fiction with genuine emotional warmth. It held the record for highest grossing film for over a decade and remains a touchstone of 1980s family filmmaking, praised for its practical effects, John Williams' score, and its tender, character driven approach to spectacle.
This piece marks the picture's opening credits sequence, the moment where the film announces itself before the story unfolds. Elliott and E.T. stand as the emotional core of the entire work, their bond driving every scene that follows, which makes any cell tied to them a natural focal point for collectors. A card of this kind captures the anticipation built into the very start of the viewing experience, the threshold between anonymity and story, where the names of these two figures already promise the friendship at the heart of the film.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
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 appear clean with no torn or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
A single variable-area optical soundtrack track is visible along one edge of the strip, consistent with a standard mono or Dolby analogue optical release print.
Edge print
Text reading 'THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL' is visible printed vertically along the edge of each frame; additional key-number or stock codes are not legible at this size.
Base & colour
The base shows a slight cyan-green tint consistent with a colour print stock; the dye image appears neutral with no obvious red shift or fading.
Projection history
Faint vertical lines are visible running through the frame area, consistent with projection wear on a release print.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, and the title card imagery is consistent with E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
Era check
The single variable-area optical track, cyan-base colour stock, and 35mm four-perforation format 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 000062747
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
