E.T.
It's from 1982, before you were born.
- Director
- Steven Spielberg
- Genre
- Sci-fi / family
- Studio
- Universal Pictures
- Released
- 1982
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About
As of 2026, it's 44 years old.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial stranded a wrinkly little alien in the suburbs in 1982 and proceeded to make the entire planet sob over a creature who mostly wanted to phone home and eat Reese's Pieces. Spielberg turned a story about a lost alien into the highest-grossing film of its time and a permanent lump in the collective throat.
The silhouette of a bike soaring across the moon became one of cinema's defining images, and 'E.T. phone home' entered the language for good.
Tender, magical, and ruthlessly effective at making grown adults weep, E.T. is the film that proved the most powerful special effect is genuine heart.
