National Film Vault

FILM NOTES

Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment released Back to the Future Part II in November 1989, reuniting director Robert Zemeckis and writer Bob Gale with the cast of their 1985 blockbuster. The sequel expanded the franchise's ambitions considerably, sending its characters into a then-distant 2015 before pivoting to an alternate 1985 and a climax set in 1955. Photographed by Dean Cundey on 35mm, the film remains a landmark of late-eighties studio filmmaking and a touchstone of American science fiction cinema.

This cell captures Marty McFly in an outdoor suburban setting, consistent with the film's sequences grounded in recognizable neighborhood environments. A second figure is visible in the background, lending depth to the composition. The frame was oriented sideways on the original strip, a common artifact of how certain shots were staged and printed, and all three frames represent the same continuous moment, offering a rare look at a single sustained beat of Marty's screen presence.