Universal Pictures Home Entertainment is celebrating the 35th anniversary of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial this fall--and fans of the Oscar-winning original soundtrack are in for an unexpected treat tastier than a bag of Reese's Pieces.

Steven Spielberg's masterpiece (and the author's unquestionable favorite film) will be released in several new packages on September 12, including a bow on the 4K Ultra HD format and a new deluxe gift set. Included in that set is a soundtrack release, which The Second Disc has confirmed is the original soundtrack album from 1982, newly remastered for this package.

This is a fantastic note for collectors in need of that classic LP on CD. Belatedly transferred to in the late 1980s, that album (certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America and winner of three Grammy Awards) has been effectively missing in action since 1996, when a new expanded soundtrack (featuring music from the scoring sessions to the film, as opposed to the concertized arrangements in a separate session which the album drew from) was released, both as part of a lavish laserdisc box set and then on its own. (That program was retouched and expanded for the film's 20th anniversary theatrical reissue in 2002; this pressing was also part of a box set celebrating the film's premiere on DVD.)

The original soundtrack was last issued anywhere on the format it first premiered, when a new vinyl pressing was issued by Geffen/UMe in 2015. While it is unknown if that pressing was given any significant remastering, Universal's specific call-out of the remastering on this new CD is good news indeed.

Additional E.T. 35th anniversary celebrations in September include two theatrical screenings from Turner Classic Movies and Fathom Events the week after the new Blu-ray release. Pre-order the gift set from Amazon U.S.!