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 from Universal Pictures, a rare sequel that expanded its predecessor's mythology rather than repeating it. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, it sent Marty McFly and Doc Brown forward to 2015, backward to 1955, and sideways into an alternate 1985, layering timelines with a confidence few blockbusters attempted. Its vision of hoverboards, video calls, and self-drying jackets became a cultural touchstone, endlessly revisited as the real 2015 approached.
This cell centers on Marty McFly Jr. and Griff's Gang, the future-set sequence where Michael J. Fox plays Marty's own descendant while Griff Tannen, grandson of the franchise's original bully, leads his crew: Data, Spike, Whitey, and Rafe. This ensemble represents the film's boldest generational twist, reworking the Tannen lineage's menace for a new decade. Collectors prize this grouping for its density of named characters in one composition, a snapshot of the sequel's most inventive detour from the original's small-town 1955.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Back to the Future Part II (1989).
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched edges appear clean with no visible torn or missing perforations.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along one edge; no Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks, DTS timecode stripe, or SDDS outer-edge data are discernible in this capture.
Edge print
Edge print reads, mirrored as captured: 'FUJI' and 'FC13' visible along the top edge.
Base & colour
Base tint is cool-neutral; colour dyes appear stable with no significant red shift or fading visible.
Projection history
Horizontal gate scratches are present across multiple frames, indicating prior projection use; no splices or cue marks are visible in this capture.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, and the visible set dressing and costuming are consistent with Back to the Future Part II.
Era check
Fuji FC13 stock, a variable-area optical soundtrack, and a positive colour print on safety base are all consistent with a theatrical release print from the late 1980s to early 1990s, matching the 1989 release date of the film on record.
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 000064136
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
