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
Back to the Future Part II arrived in 1989 as Universal Pictures' answer to the demand for more Marty McFly, released just four years after the original became a cultural phenomenon. Directed by Robert Zemeckis and written with Bob Gale, the sequel pushed the time travel premise into bold new territory, sending its characters forward to 2015 and sideways into an alternate 1985. It remains a touchstone of the trilogy, prized for its ambition and its layered plotting.
This cell pairs Jennifer Parker with Marty McFly, the central couple whose relationship threads through the sequel's tangled timelines. Jennifer, played by Elisabeth Shue in this installment, becomes swept into the consequences of Marty's adventures, making scenes with her especially sought after by collectors tracing her expanded role. A 35mm cell showing these two together preserves a piece of the film's continuity, a physical fragment cut directly from the release print rather than a promotional reproduction.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm optical-track theatrical release print of Back to the Future Part II.
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three complete frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on each edge, evenly spaced, cleanly punched with no torn or deformed holes visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, appearing as a dual bilateral variable-area format.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read any key numbers or manufacturer text.
Base & colour
Base appears neutral to very slightly warm; dye image shows rich, saturated colour with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
Light vertical scratching is visible across the frame area, consistent with a print that has been projected.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, consistent with a release print of Back to the Future Part II.
Era check
The dual bilateral variable-area optical soundtrack and saturated Eastmancolor-type dye image are consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print from the late 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 000064119
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
