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
Universal Pictures released Back to the Future Part II in 1989, reuniting director Robert Zemeckis with Michael J. Fox and the creative team behind the original blockbuster. As a direct sequel to one of the defining films of the decade, it carried enormous expectations and expanded the time travel mythology into the future and an alternate 1985, cementing the trilogy's place in popular culture. Its release was a major event, and the film remains a touchstone of late eighties studio filmmaking and franchise craftsmanship.
This cell centers on Marty McFly, the character whose journey anchors the entire trilogy and who collectors return to as the emotional and narrative core of the series. A 35mm cell bearing his name preserves a fragment of the physical film print itself, a tangible link to theatrical prints struck for release. For collectors, holding a piece of Marty's story from this particular chapter connects directly to the character's continued adventures, offering a physical artifact tied to one of cinema's most enduring adventurers.
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 complete frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on each edge; spacing appears even and the punched corners are rounded and cleanly cut with no torn edges visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, appearing as a dual-bilateral (two-track) waveform pattern.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read manufacturer codes or key numbers clearly.
Base & colour
The base shows a slight blue-green tint consistent with estar or acetate safety stock; the dye image reads warm with strong reds and neutral blacks, no visible fading.
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 interior cockpit-style setting is consistent with Back to the Future Part II.
Era check
The dual-bilateral variable-area optical track, warm Eastmancolor-type dye palette, and safety base are all consistent with a 1989–early-1990s theatrical release print of this title.
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 000064260
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
