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
Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial arrived from Universal Pictures in the summer of 1982 and quickly became a defining event of the era, a family film built on wonder rather than spectacle in the traditional sense. Its story of a stranded alien and the suburban children who shelter him struck a chord across generations, and the picture's blend of warmth, humor, and heartbreak set a new benchmark for what mainstream cinema could achieve emotionally. It remains one of the most beloved and commercially significant films of its decade, still studied for its craftsmanship in balancing intimacy with wide appeal.
This cell centers on Gertie and Michael, the younger siblings whose household becomes the alien's hiding place. Gertie brings the film's innocence and playfulness, while Michael carries the weight of being the eldest child pulled into responsibility beyond his years. A 35mm cell pairing them together captures a sibling dynamic collectors prize for its authenticity, a quieter counterpoint to the film's more famous set pieces. Such frames preserve the domestic heart of the story, the everyday interactions that ground the fantastical elements in something recognizably human.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on each edge; spacing appears even and the punched corners are rounded and clean.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical soundtrack track is visible running along one edge, with what appears to be a second track beside it, consistent with a dual bilateral or stereo variable-area configuration; Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks are also visible between the perforations on the same edge.
Edge print
Not fully legible in this capture; partial alphanumeric key numbers are visible along the edge but cannot be quoted with certainty.
Base & colour
The base shows a slight warm-amber tint; the dye image reads as warm-toned with no obvious red shift or significant fading.
Projection history
Light longitudinal lines consistent with projection are visible across the frames; no splices or cue marks are seen.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot and the warm interior lighting and character staging are consistent with E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
Era check
The combination of a variable-area stereo optical track with Dolby Digital data blocks between perforations is consistent with a post-1992 release or re-release print, which aligns with known re-release prints of the 1982 film.
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 000062767
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
