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, riding the enormous success of its predecessor into one of the most ambitious sequels of its era. Directed by Robert Zemeckis and written with Bob Gale, the film pushed its time travel premise further, sending its heroes into a stylized future, an alternate 1985, and back to 1955 again. Its layered plotting and inventive production design cemented its place in science fiction cinema, expanding a beloved story into a genuine trilogy and deepening audience attachment to its central duo.
This cell centers on Marty McFly and Dr. Emmett Brown, known to fans simply as Doc, the pairing at the heart of the entire franchise. Their partnership, teenager and eccentric scientist bound by loyalty and invention, is the emotional engine collectors return to again and again. A frame carrying both names together speaks to that bond directly, a shared moment rather than a solo appearance. For collectors, cells built around Marty and Doc hold particular value as they represent the friendship that defines the series' identity across every timeline it visits.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Back to the Future Part II (1989).
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 torn or deformed holes.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical soundtrack track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area.
Edge print
Edge print reads 'VIETNA' (partial, likely 'VIETNAM' or similar Kodak stock designation) and the number '220' is visible on the lower edge; frame number '18' is visible in the inter-frame area.
Base & colour
Base appears clear with a slight warm tint; the dye image shows natural colour balance with no obvious red shift or significant fading.
Projection history
Light vertical scratching is visible running through the frames, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be from the same continuous shot with no visible cut between them; the framing and production design are consistent with a late-1980s Universal Pictures release print.
Era check
The variable-area optical soundtrack, Kodak stock edge coding style, and colour positive base are all consistent with a 1989 theatrical release print era, before DTS or SDDS formats were introduced.
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 000064186
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
