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 middle chapter of Robert Zemeckis's trilogy and one of the most ambitious sequels of its decade. Following the phenomenon of the 1985 original, it pushed the saga into 2015 and into an alternate 1985, doubling down on time travel paradoxes and dazzling audiences with its vision of the future. Its box office success and cultural footprint, from hoverboards to self-lacing shoes, cemented the franchise's place in American film history.
This cell carries Lorraine Baines in her two identities, Baines-Tannen and Baines-McFly, marking her as a character defined by divergent timelines. Lorraine sits at the emotional center of the series, the mother whose fate shifts with every alteration to history, and collectors prize her for that duality. A cell naming both surnames together speaks to the film's core theme of parallel lives and consequence, making it a compact symbol of the story's time travel logic rather than a single scene lifted from the reel.
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 both edges, evenly spaced, cleanly punched with no visible torn or deformed holes.
Soundtrack
Two variable-area optical tracks visible as a dual bilateral strip running along one edge beside the picture area.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read manufacturer text or key numbers.
Base & colour
Base appears neutral to very slightly warm; dye image shows rich colour saturation with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
No splices, cue marks or significant scratches visible; surface appears consistent with a projected release print.
Picture
Positive colour image; three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, consistent with a theatrical release print of Back to the Future Part II.
Era check
Dual bilateral variable-area optical soundtrack and neutral safety base are consistent with a late-1980s to early-1990s theatrical release print, matching the 1989 production date 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 000064169
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
