E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

"He is afraid. He is totally alone. He is 3,000,000 light years from home."

1982 1h 55m EN

🙌

7.5

BANGER

★7.5TMDB · 12,315

AdventureScience FictionFamily

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

An alien is left behind on Earth and saved by the 10-year-old Elliott who decides to keep him hidden in his home. While a task force hunts for the extra-terrestrial, Elliott, his brother, and his little sister Gertie form an emotional bond with their new friend, and try to help him find his way home.

“He is afraid. He is totally alone. He is 3,000,000 light years from home.”

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Cast

Henry Thomas
Elliott
Drew Barrymore
Gertie
Robert MacNaughton
Michael
Peter Coyote
Keys
Dee Wallace
Mary
Erika Eleniak
Pretty Girl
K.C. Martel
Greg
C. Thomas Howell
Tyler

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Steven Spielberg
Writers: Melissa Mathison
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $797M — a 75.9× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

44 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Steven Spielberg, shot by Allen Daviau. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by John Williams. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Carol Littleton shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Henry Thomas and Drew Barrymore and Robert MacNaughton carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "He is afraid. He is totally alone. He is 3,000,000 light years from home.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0083866 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Steven Spielberg directs. Allen Daviau behind the camera. John Williams scores. Carol Littleton cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Grossed $797M — a 75.9× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
244 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Directed by Steven Spielberg, shot by Allen Daviau. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by John Williams. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Carol Littleton shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Henry Thomas and Drew Barrymore and Robert MacNaughton carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "He is afraid. He is totally alone. He is 3,000,000 light years from home.".
8IMDB entry: tt0083866 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
912,315 TMDB user ratings logged — serious cultural footprint.
10Classified under 18 themes, including "farewell", "california", "space marine", "operation".
11Released under 26 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Allen Daviau
Original score: John Williams
Editing: Carol Littleton
Production design: James D. Bissell
Makeup / hair: Robert Sidell
VFX supervisor: Dennis Muren
Sound: Don Digirolamo
Stunt coordinator: Glenn Randall Jr.
Runtime: 115 min · 1h 55m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $10,500,000
Box office: $797,307,407
Return: 7593% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

Awards

Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media
David di Donatello for Best Foreign Director
National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
Saturn Award for Best Music
Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film
Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama
Saturn Award for Best Writing
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Film
Academy Award for Best Sound
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Steven Spielberg

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

jeremiah2018-10-27
★ 8/10
Watched with my wife, the 7th grader, and the kindergartner. I only kind of half watched... It's been a long week. I really wanted to check out my youngest's reactions. Watching this with my 5 y.o. involved answering a lot of questions, but she LOVED it: wide eyed amazement, tears at the appropriate places, and shouts of "YEAH!!!" during the bike scenes. Some of the animatronics are definitely dated, but it's weird seeing these older movies with kids so used to everything being CGI... Even my 7th grader said that some scenes seemed really realistic, which surprised me.
John Chard2020-04-13
★ 9/10
Dream work indeed. An alien is stranded on Earth and a bunch of suburban kids attempt to help him get home. It's amazing to think that such a simple and standard story would go on to become a global phenomenon. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, directed by Steven Spielberg, blasted its way into pop culture and simultaneously became one of the most cherished films of all time. It's not hard to see why, for E.T. appeals to every member of the family, from the joyous set ups as E.T. stumbles around middle America suburbia, to the doses of magic so gleefully constructed by Spielberg's inner child. Those wishing to scratch away at the surface (and there are many who have previously) will find Spielberg affecting his picture with divorce subtexts (his parents divorce was known to upset him deeply), whilst the government "villains" show an astute aside to paranoia of the times and suspicions of political operatives. Dee Wallace, Henry Thomas, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore and Peter Coyote star. The score, now famous and likely to bring about goose bumps with at the opening bars, is from John Williams, with cinematography coming from Allen Daviau. Shown in the main from a child's perspective, the film is still a wonder that charms and informs on repeat viewings. So much so that as it approaches its 40th birthday, its longevity and all encompassing appeal shows no sign of abating. Something that Spielberg and his crew can rightly feel very proud about. 9/10
MovieDudeFiend562142023-04-13
★ 10/10
A RARE MAGICAL GEM E.T. The Extraterrestrial is a rare, unique once-in-a-lifetime experience you'll never forget. It will be one of those movies that will stick with you forever. Spielberg's direction, the cinematography, the visual effects, the acting, and last but not least John William's sweeping score when all combined conjure magic and strong feelings deep inside. You won't want to miss this masterpiece. So, watch this movie immediately if you haven't seen it or put this movie in your watchlist and see it ASAP!!!