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
FILM NOTES
Released by Universal in the summer of 1982, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial arrived as Steven Spielberg's follow-up to a string of blockbusters, and it surpassed them all, becoming the highest-grossing film of its era. Built around a suburban family and the visitor Elliott brings into their home, it became a defining work of the decade, prized for its warmth and restraint rather than spectacle. The film's success reshaped how studios approached family-oriented storytelling, and its imagery has remained part of the culture ever since, making original 35mm material from the production a lasting point of interest for collectors of classic Hollywood.
This cell centers on Elliott, the boy at the heart of the story, whose bond with the visitor drives the entire narrative. Mary, his mother, appears here as well, grounding the household in the ordinary world that the film disrupts so gently. A frame naming Elliott speaks to the emotional core of the picture, the perspective through which audiences experience wonder and loss alike. For collectors, Elliott material is foundational, tying directly to the film's most recognizable relationships and its enduring reputation as a story about family, trust, and connection across worlds.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Eastman color 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 and the punched edges look clean with no torn or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical soundtrack track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, appearing as a single bilateral variable-area track.
Edge print
Bottom edge reads: '383 648 2 55 1 30 KOD AK 28 2001 H'; top edge text is partially visible but not fully legible in this capture.
Base & colour
Base shows a light cyan-blue tint consistent with Eastman color print stock; dye image appears warm with no obvious red shift or significant fading.
Projection history
A band of heavy emulsion abrasion or dirt is visible across the full width of the strip between the picture area and the lower perforation row, consistent with a projected print.
Picture
Positive color image; the first two frames appear to be consecutive frames of the same shot, the third frame shows a different shot; image content is consistent with a live-action feature matching the film on record.
Era check
The single bilateral variable-area optical track, Eastman color base with cyan tint, and Kodak edge coding beginning 'KOD AK' are all consistent with a 1982-era 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 000062765
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
