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 as Universal's ambitious sequel to one of the defining hits of the decade, sending Marty McFly and Doc Brown forward to 2015 and back into an alternate 1985 twisted by Biff Tannen's greed. Directed by Robert Zemeckis and written with Bob Gale, it pushed special effects and dual timelines further than most sequels of its time dared, cementing the trilogy's place in popular culture and expanding the mythology fans still return to today.
This cell carries the name Mr. Strickland, the perpetually stern Hill Valley High School principal played by James Tolkan across all three films. Strickland exists as one of the trilogy's steady comic anchors, a figure of institutional authority whose warnings to Marty about his family's future became a running joke and a fan favorite line. A cell bearing only his name likely comes from a school scene, credits sequence, or promotional strip built around his recurring presence, valued by collectors as a piece tied to the character's continuity through the franchise's shifting decades.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital 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 variable-area pattern; Dolby Digital data blocks are visible in the inter-perforation gaps on the same edge, consistent with a Dolby SR/Digital combined track.
Edge print
Edge print reads mirrored as photographed; corrected text reads: FUJI FC13, and EASTMAN is visible on the opposing edge strip.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight blue-cyan tint consistent with modern safety stock; dye image appears neutral with no visible red shift or fading.
Projection history
No visible splices, cue marks, or heavy scratching are apparent; faint longitudinal lines are present suggesting the print has been projected.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, and the subject matter is consistent with a production of the film on record.
Era check
The Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks combined with a variable-area optical track and Fuji safety stock are consistent with a theatrical release print from the early-to-mid 1990s, matching the release window of Back to the Future Part II.
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 000064283
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
