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
FILM NOTES
Back to the Future Part II arrived from Universal Pictures in 1989, the immediate sequel to one of the defining hits of the decade. Robert Zemeckis returned to expand the trilogy's scope, sending its heroes forward into 2015 and back into an alternate 1985, layering paradox upon paradox with an ambition rare for a studio follow-up. The film's inventive vision of the future, its hoverboards and self-drying jackets, became part of popular culture in its own right, and its box office success cemented the franchise's place among the era's most beloved science fiction adventures.
This 35mm cell preserves a frame of Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown, the eccentric scientist and inventor whose time-traveling DeLorean set the entire saga in motion. Doc remains one of the most collected figures from the series, prized for his singular mix of manic intellect and warmth. A frame bearing his likeness offers a physical trace of the film's original theatrical prints, a small fragment of celluloid connecting the collector directly to the production itself.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm colour optical theatrical 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 both edges, evenly spaced; punched edges appear clean with no visible tearing or distortion.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, appearing as a dual-band waveform consistent with a stereo optical print.
Edge print
Partial alphanumeric codes are visible along the top edge but are not fully legible at this size; no clear manufacturer name or SAFETY FILM legend can be read.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight warm-amber tint; dye image reads as a colour positive with no obvious fading or strong colour shift.
Projection history
Light vertical scratching is visible across the frame area, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, and the subject matter is consistent with a theatrical release print of Back to the Future Part II.
Era check
The dual variable-area optical soundtrack, colour positive base, and perforation layout are all consistent with a 35mm 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 000064207
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
