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 from Universal Pictures in 1989, the immediate sequel to one of the defining blockbusters of the decade. Directed by Robert Zemeckis and reuniting Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd, it pushed the franchise into hoverboards, alternate timelines, and a vision of 2015 that has since become its own pop culture touchstone. The film matters as a rare sequel that expanded the mythology of its predecessor rather than simply repeating it, cementing the series as a landmark of effects-driven studio filmmaking at the close of the 1980s.
This cell brings together Marty McFly and Doc Brown, the inseparable partnership at the heart of the trilogy, alongside Doc's fuller identity as Dr. Emmett Brown, the inventor whose time-traveling DeLorean sets every plot in motion. Collectors prize frames pairing these two because their dynamic, mentor and protege bound by loyalty and invention, is the emotional engine of the entire saga. A cell simply marked with their names preserves a moment of shared presence on screen, a fragment of celluloid tied directly to the partnership fans return to again and again.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Back to the Future Part II (1989).
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on each edge, 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 dual variable-area (stereo) format.
Edge print
Edge print reads 'EASTMAN' along the top edge (appearing reversed, indicating emulsion-up orientation); frame numbers visible reading '220' within the frame border area.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight warm-neutral tint; dye image shows good colour saturation with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
No visible splices; faint longitudinal lines consistent with projection wear are present but minor.
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 (1989).
Era check
The Eastman stock, dual variable-area optical soundtrack, and positive colour print format are all consistent with a 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 000064129
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
