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 from Universal Pictures in 1989, the middle chapter of a trilogy that had become a defining Amblin production of the decade. Directed by Robert Zemeckis and written with Bob Gale, it pushed the time travel premise forward into a speculative future while doubling back on the original film's events, a structural gamble that expanded the mythology collectors and fans still debate today. Its ambition and technical craft cemented the franchise's place in blockbuster history.
This cell, called Marty and Doc, centers the series' core partnership: Marty McFly, the teenager thrown across decades, and Dr. Emmett Brown, the inventor whose time machine sets the whole saga in motion. Their pairing is the emotional and narrative spine of the trilogy, and a 35mm cell preserving them together holds particular value for collectors who prize the duo over any single hero shot. Such a piece functions as a tangible artifact of the partnership itself, a physical trace of the collaboration that defines the franchise's enduring appeal.
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; punched edges appear clean with no visible torn or deformed holes.
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
Edge print reads 'EASTMAN' along the top edge; additional key numbers or codes are not legible at this resolution.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight blue-cyan tint consistent with Eastman color print stock; dye image reads as warm and saturated with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
Light vertical scratches are visible running through the frame area, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
Picture
Positive color 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 Back to the Future Part II.
Era check
The dual-bilateral variable-area optical track, Eastman color print stock with blue-tinted base, and saturated dye image are all 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 000064273
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
