National Film Vault

FILM NOTES

Universal Pictures released E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial in June 1982, directed by Steven Spielberg at the height of his commercial and artistic power. The film became the highest-grossing release of its time and remains a defining work of American cinema, blending suburban childhood with science fiction in a way that felt entirely new. John Williams's score and Spielberg's ground-level camera perspective gave the picture an emotional weight that has only grown over the decades.

This cell, titled Elliott and Friends Chase Scene, captures the film's most celebrated sequence, with Elliott, played by Henry Thomas, and Michael, played by Robert MacNaughton, riding alongside E.T. in the outdoor escape. E.T. was voiced by Pat Welsh and physically realized in part by Pat Bilon, and the presence of all three figures across these frames makes this a particularly resonant piece of the film's legacy.