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 in 1989 from Universal Pictures, a rare sequel that dared to fracture its own timeline rather than simply repeat it. Directed by Robert Zemeckis and following the enormous success of the 1985 original, it pushed Marty McFly and Doc Brown forward into 2015 and sideways into a corrupted 1985, expanding the trilogy's mythology of time travel, alternate futures, and consequence. It remains a touchstone of late-eighties studio filmmaking, prized for its ambition and its lasting cultural footprint.
This cell carries the name Marty McFly, the character at the center of the entire saga, played by Michael J. Fox and instantly recognizable to generations of viewers. Collectors seek him out because he is the emotional anchor of the franchise, the ordinary teenager thrust into extraordinary circumstances across decades of story. A frame bearing his name alone, without further description, represents a fragment of that continuity, a physical piece of film history tied directly to the character who carries the audience through every twist the trilogy offers.
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 frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on each edge, evenly spaced, cleanly punched with no torn or deformed holes visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area.
Edge print
Text is visible along the top edge but is partially legible at this size; characters appear to read a key-number sequence though individual digits cannot be fully resolved.
Base & colour
Base appears neutral to very slightly cool; dye image shows strong, saturated colour with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
No splices, cue marks or prominent scratches are visible on these three frames.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot, consistent with a theatrical release print of Back to the Future Part II.
Era check
The variable-area optical soundtrack, saturated Eastmancolor-style dye image, and neutral safety base are all consistent with a 1989–early-1990s theatrical release print.
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 000064257
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
