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, following one of the most successful adventure comedies of the decade. Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale expanded their time travel premise into a darker, more ambitious sequel, sending Marty McFly forward into 2015 before doubling back through earlier chapters of the saga. The film's layered plotting and effects work made it a landmark in blockbuster sequel craft, and its vision of the future remains a touchstone in popular culture decades later.
This cell centers on Marty McFly alongside his son, Marty McFly Jr., a pairing that only exists within the film's glimpse of 2015. Michael J. Fox played both roles, a doubling that collectors prize for its technical achievement and its place in the story's family legacy theme. A 35mm cell capturing father and son together preserves a defining piece of the sequel's future timeline, the segment most closely associated with the film's imaginative reach beyond the original trilogy's 1985 setting.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Back to the Future Part II.
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.
Soundtrack
Two variable-area optical tracks visible along one edge, consistent with a stereo optical print.
Edge print
Text reading 'SAFETY FILM' is visible along the top edge; a single letter 'M' is visible along the bottom edge.
Base & colour
Base appears clear with a slight cool tint; dye image shows warm, saturated colour with no visible fading.
Projection history
Light horizontal scratching is visible across the frame area, consistent with a projected print.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot, and the content is consistent with a theatrical release print of Back to the Future Part II.
Era check
The dual variable-area optical soundtrack, safety base stock, and saturated Eastmancolor-style dye image are all consistent with a 1989 theatrical release print.
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 000064138
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
