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 expanded rather than repeated its predecessor's success. Directed by Robert Zemeckis and released amid enormous anticipation following the 1985 original, it pushed Marty McFly and Doc Brown into 2015, a future imagined with hoverboards, self-drying jackets, and flying cars. The film's ambition, splitting its narrative across three time periods and revisiting earlier footage from new angles, made it a technical achievement of its era and a defining piece of late-eighties blockbuster filmmaking, cementing the trilogy's place in popular culture.
This cell preserves a strip of 35mm film carrying Marty McFly himself, the character whose journey anchors the entire trilogy and whose likeness remains one of the most collected figures from the franchise. Marty is the audience's guide through the film's disorienting future setting, and any surviving frame of him from this production holds appeal simply for his presence within the story's most visually inventive chapter. Collectors prize film strips like this one for their direct link to the physical printing history of a picture that shaped how time travel and legacy sequels were approached in Hollywood.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Fuji colour 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, evenly spaced, cleanly punched with no torn or deformed holes visible
Soundtrack
Not visible in this capture; the area beside the picture frames is cropped or obscured
Edge print
Top edge reads 'FUJI FC13' (mirrored as seen); bottom edge reads 'M3 28 68' (mirrored as seen); 'SAFETY FILM' text visible between edges
Base & colour
Base appears clear with a slight cool-neutral tint; dye image shows warm, saturated colour with no visible fading or red shift
Projection history
No visible scratches, splice marks or cue marks seen in this capture
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be the same or near-identical consecutive frames from a single shot, consistent with a release print
Era check
Fuji FC13 colour print stock and the clean clear safety base are 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 000064261
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
