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 American cinema, blending suburban childhood with genuine wonder and heartbreak. Its story of a stranded alien befriended by a lonely boy struck audiences worldwide, and the film held the box office record for over a decade. Blending practical effects with Spielberg's instinct for intimate family drama, it remains a touchstone of Amblin Entertainment's golden era and a film frequently cited as shaping a generation's sense of what movies could feel like.
This cell draws from the film's chase sequence, a pivotal stretch where Elliott and his companions, Michael, Tyler, Greg, and Steve, work together to help E.T. escape pursuit. It captures the camaraderie of the neighborhood kids banding together for their extraterrestrial friend, a moment collectors prize for its ensemble energy and narrative urgency. As a 35mm frame drawn directly from release prints, it represents a physical fragment of the era's original theatrical presentation, a tactile piece of a scene beloved for its blend of childhood adventure and sincere emotional stakes.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm optical-track theatrical release print of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame visible on both edges; the strip holds three frames
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, cleanly punched with rounded corners, no torn or deformed holes visible
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along one edge, appearing as a dual bilateral variable-area pattern consistent with a mono or stereo optical release print
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read manufacturer codes or key numbers
Base & colour
Base shows a warm amber-yellow tint typical of a color dye-coupler print; dye image appears intact with no obvious fading or red shift
Projection history
Fine longitudinal lines consistent with projector gate contact are visible across the frame area, indicating the print has been projected
Picture
Positive color 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
Era check
The dual bilateral variable-area optical soundtrack, warm Eastmancolor-type base tint, and perforation style 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 000062782
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
