National Film Vault

FILM NOTES

Universal Pictures released E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial in June 1982, with Steven Spielberg directing at the height of his commercial and creative powers. The film became the highest-grossing release of its time, displacing Star Wars, and remains a defining work of American cinema — a story of childhood, longing, and connection that resonated across generations and cultures.

This 35mm cell captures the film's title card, preserving the silhouetted image of Elliott and E.T. crossing the face of the moon on bicycle, with the E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial title text overlaid. It is among the most recognizable compositions in cinema history, distilled here into a single frame of original photographic film.