National Film Vault

FILM NOTES

Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment released Back to the Future Part II in November 1989, following the massive success of the original film. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, the sequel pushed practical and visual effects into ambitious new territory while expanding the franchise's mythology across multiple timelines. It remains a defining artifact of late-1980s blockbuster filmmaking and a touchstone of American popular science fiction.

This cell, titled Marty and Griff, captures a charged moment from one of the film's central confrontations. Across three consecutive frames, Marty McFly stands his ground as Griff Tannen looms close, the tension between them held in tight, nearly identical compositions. The repetition across frames gives the cell a cinematic rhythm, preserving a single volatile exchange in the Hill Valley of 2015.