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, the rare sequel released the same year audiences were still buzzing about the original. Directed by Robert Zemeckis and reuniting Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd, it pushed the time travel premise into 2015, exploring hoverboards, self-lacing shoes, and dystopian alternate timelines. It stands as a landmark in blockbuster sequel filmmaking, expanding the mythology while cementing the franchise's cultural footprint through sheer inventive ambition and technical craft for its era.
This DeLorean cell centers on the film's most iconic object, the modified time machine that anchors the entire trilogy. Collectors seek out DeLorean material because the car itself functions almost as a character, instantly recognizable and central to the plot's mechanics. A 35mm cell bearing this name preserves a piece of that vehicle's presence on screen, a physical fragment tied to the very engine of the story's science fiction premise and the visual signature audiences immediately associate with the series.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm colour 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 torn or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, appearing as two bilateral variable-density waveform lines.
Edge print
Edge reads 'SAFETY' (mirrored as 'YTƐƧAS') along the top edge; the numeral '12' (mirrored as '21') appears at the lower right corner.
Base & colour
Base appears clear with a slight cool-neutral tint; the dye image reads with natural colour balance showing no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
No visible splices, cue marks, or heavy scratching are apparent 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
The bilateral variable-area optical soundtrack, safety base stock, and colour positive print format are all consistent with a theatrical release print from 1989.
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 000064153
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
