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, riding the massive success of the 1985 original into a darker, more ambitious sequel. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, it sent Marty McFly and Doc Brown forward to 2015 and sideways into a corrupted alternate 1985, cementing the franchise's reputation for time travel logic and pop culture prophecy. The film remains a touchstone of late eighties studio filmmaking, blending effects work with sharp writing.
This cell centers on the DeLorean, the modified car that serves as the film's time machine and its most enduring visual icon. Collectors seek out DeLorean cells because the vehicle functions almost as a third lead character, instantly recognizable and inseparable from the franchise's identity. A 35mm cell bearing this name preserves a piece of that vehicle's presence on screen, a fragment of the mechanism that drives the entire story forward and backward through time.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Back to the Future Part II.
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced; punched edges appear clean with no visible tearing or distortion.
Soundtrack
Two variable-area optical tracks visible as a dense waveform band running along one edge beside the picture area.
Edge print
Number '18' visible at upper left edge; letter 'M' visible at lower edge; partial characters readable as 'T+X' and what appears to be additional alphanumeric codes on the upper strip border.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight cool-blue tint consistent with a colour print stock; dye image reads as warm-toned with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
Light vertical lines consistent with projection wear are visible across the frame area; no splices or cue marks seen.
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 dual variable-area optical soundtrack, colour positive print stock with cool base tint, and perforation layout are all consistent with a theatrical release print from the late 1980s to early 1990s.
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 000064165
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
