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, hot on the heels of a smash original and riding the era's appetite for high-concept blockbuster sequels. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, it pushed the franchise into a dizzying vision of the future, tangled timelines, and alternate 1985s, cementing the trilogy's place as a defining artifact of late-1980s studio filmmaking and effects-driven storytelling.
This 35mm cell preserves a frame of Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown, the eccentric inventor whose time-traveling DeLorean sets the entire saga in motion. Christopher Lloyd's portrayal made Doc one of cinema's most enduring mad scientists, and collectors prize material tied to him precisely because he anchors the franchise's sense of invention and consequence. A cell like this, drawn from the actual release print, offers a tangible link to a character whose presence in any scene signals the story's scientific stakes and forward momentum.
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; spacing appears even and the punched edges appear clean throughout the visible strip.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, appearing as a single-track analog optical stripe.
Edge print
Upper edge reads (mirrored): 'SAFE' and partial text consistent with 'SAFETY' followed by additional alphanumeric key numbers; lower edge shows further numeric coding, exact characters partially legible.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight blue-green tint typical of color print stock; the dye image reads as warm and saturated with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
No splices or cue marks are visible; faint longitudinal lines are present on at least one frame, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
Picture
Positive color image; all 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
The single variable-area analog optical track, color print stock with blue-green base tint, and SAFETY edge coding are all consistent with a late-1980s 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 000064204
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
