British Academy Film Awards — 2 wins, 1 nominationAcademy Awards — 1 nominationKids' Choice Award — 1 nominationSaturn Award — 1 nominationAll 2 wins · 4 nominations on record
British Academy Film Awards: Best Special Visual Effects
Scholarship
Named in the title of 1 peer-reviewed work
Examples
Sources: Wikidata · OpenAlex · Library of Congress. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Released by Universal Pictures in 1989 as the immediate sequel to the 1985 blockbuster, Back to the Future Part II pushed Robert Zemeckis's time-travel saga into stranger territory, sending Marty McFly and Doc Brown forward to 2015 and sideways into a dystopian alternate 1985. Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd returned alongside a returning creative team, and the film's ambitious effects, dual roles, and hoverboard imagery cemented its place as a defining piece of late-1980s studio filmmaking, expanding a beloved property into something darker and more structurally daring than its predecessor.
This piece preserves a title card, the film's opening identification frame that establishes the picture before any story unfolds. Title card cells are prized by collectors for marking a movie's formal beginning, the moment audiences first see the film announce itself. As a physical strip from the 35mm print, it represents a piece of the actual theatrical presentation rather than promotional material, making it a foundational artifact for anyone assembling a complete record of how this sequel introduced itself to 1989 audiences.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm color theatrical release print of Back to the Future Part II.
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced; punched edges appear clean with no visible tearing or distortion.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, appearing as a single-track analog stripe.
Edge print
Top edge reads 'YFFAS' and partial numeric code; bottom edge reads 'EX61MVM' (mirrored as read); 'SAFETY FILM' not legible in this capture.
Base & colour
Base shows a slight cool-grey tint consistent with acetate safety stock; dye image appears warm amber-orange in the picture area, indicating color dye layers are present.
Projection history
Faint longitudinal lines visible across the frame area, consistent with projection wear; no splices or cue marks visible.
Picture
Negative image; frames run consecutively as a single continuous shot; subject matter is consistent with a theatrical release print of the film on record.
Era check
The single variable-area optical soundtrack, acetate base tint, and color dye structure are all consistent with a 1989–early 1990s theatrical release print era.
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 000064113
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
