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 follow-up to one of the defining hits of the decade. Directed by Robert Zemeckis and again starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd, the sequel pushed the franchise into 2015, imagining hoverboards, self-lacing shoes, and flying cars while deepening the time travel mechanics that made the trilogy a cultural touchstone. It expanded the mythology considerably, introducing generational doubles and alternate timelines, and remains a benchmark of late-eighties studio filmmaking and effects work.
This cell centers on Marty McFly and Marty McFly Jr., the future son played by Fox in dual role work that became a signature technical achievement of the production. Collectors prize material tied to this doubling, since it represents the film's central gimmick of one actor embodying both father and son within the same frame sequence. Owning a fragment connecting these two figures speaks directly to the film's legacy of blended identity and generational continuity, a favorite subject among franchise archivists and Fox collectors alike.
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 complete frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on each edge, evenly spaced; punched edges appear clean with no torn or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track runs along one edge; two bilateral variable-area stripes are visible, consistent with a standard analogue stereo optical release print of the era.
Edge print
The number '18' is visible printed along the top edge; the letter 'M' is visible along the bottom edge; no full key-number sequence is legible at this size.
Base & colour
Base is clear with a neutral to slightly warm tint; colour dyes appear fully intact and well-saturated.
Projection history
No splices, cue marks, or prominent scratches are visible in this capture.
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
A dual bilateral variable-area optical track and fully saturated Eastmancolor-type dye image are consistent with a 1989–early-1990s theatrical release print of a Universal Pictures feature.
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 000064143
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
