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 from Universal in the summer of 1982, directed by Steven Spielberg at the height of his early-eighties run. It became the highest-grossing film of its time and a defining piece of Amblin-era filmmaking, prized for its blend of childhood wonder and suburban intimacy. The story of a boy and a stranded alien resonated across generations, and the film remains a touchstone for how Hollywood could marry spectacle with genuine feeling, told through the eyes of a child rather than an adult hero.
This cell centers on Elliott, the young protagonist whose friendship with the alien anchors the entire film. As the character audiences follow into wonder, fear, and loyalty, Elliott is a natural focal point for collectors building a survey of the picture's emotional core. A 35mm frame bearing his name alone speaks to a moment of his personal presence in the story, a strip of the actual print rather than a reproduction, tying the collector directly to the release history of a film that shaped a generation's idea of what family cinema could be.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm optical-track colour release print of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982).
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame visible on the top edge; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on the visible top edge; spacing appears even and the punched holes appear cleanly formed with rounded corners.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical soundtrack track is visible running along the bottom edge beside the picture area, appearing as a dual variable-area (bilateral) optical track.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read any key numbers or manufacturer text.
Base & colour
The base shows a warm amber-brown tint consistent with a colour dye image; no obvious fading or red shift is apparent.
Projection history
Light vertical lines are visible across the frame area, consistent with projection wear on a previously screened print.
Picture
Positive colour image; all 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 bilateral variable-area optical soundtrack, warm colour dye base, and rounded KS-type perforations are all consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print from the early 1980s.
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 000062763
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
