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, the immediate sequel to one of the defining blockbusters of the decade. Directed by Robert Zemeckis and reuniting Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd, it pushed the trilogy's time travel premise forward into 2015 and sideways into an alternate 1985, expanding the mythology with hoverboards, self-drying jackets, and a darker vision of Hill Valley. The film cemented the franchise's place in popular culture and remains a touchstone for collectors of late-80s studio filmmaking.
This cell isolates Dr. Emmett Brown, the eccentric scientist whose invention drives the entire trilogy. Doc Brown is the franchise's most enduring figure after Marty McFly himself, a character collectors seek out for his singular presence and his role as the series' moral and intellectual engine. A single-figure cell like this one offers a clean, focused artifact built around the man behind the DeLorean, valuable to anyone assembling a set centered on character rather than shared scenes or ensemble moments.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Back to the Future Part II.
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, cleanly punched with no torn or deformed holes visible.
Soundtrack
A dual variable-area optical track runs along one edge beside the picture area, consistent with an analog stereo optical print.
Edge print
Edge text reads mirrored as 'FUJI' and 'FC13' on one edge, and 'EASTMAN' on the opposite edge, indicating two different stock labels are visible.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight cool-neutral tint; dye image shows warm colour rendering with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
Light vertical scratching is visible running through 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 content is consistent with a theatrical release print of the film on record.
Era check
The dual variable-area optical soundtrack, Fuji and Eastman colour print stocks, and positive colour image are all consistent with a late-1980s to early-1990s theatrical release print matching the 1989 production date.
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 000064268
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
