Back to the Future (1985)

User Rating:

8.3/10   

Director:

Robert Zemeckis

Writers:

Robert Zemeckis (written by) &
Bob Gale (written by)

Release Date:

3 July 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

He's the only kid ever to get into trouble before he was born. [UK]

Plot:

In 1985, Doc Brown invents time travel; in 1955, Marty McFly accidentally prevents his parents from meeting, putting his own existence at stake.

Plot Keywords:

Time Machine | High School | Time Travel | Malt Shop | Diner

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 12 wins & 23 nominations

US Showtimes:

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Cast

Michael J. Fox	...	Marty McFly
Christopher Lloyd	...	Dr. Emmett Brown
Lea Thompson	...	Lorraine Baines McFly
Crispin Glover	...	George McFly
Thomas F. Wilson	...	Biff Tannen
Claudia Wells	...	Jennifer Parker
Marc McClure	...	Dave McFly
Wendie Jo Sperber	...	Linda McFly
George DiCenzo	...	Sam Baines
Frances Lee McCain	...	Stella Baines
James Tolkan	...	Mr. Strickland
J.J. Cohen	...	Skinhead (as Jeffrey Jay Cohen)
Casey Siemaszko	...	3-D
Billy Zane	...	Match
Harry Waters Jr.	...	Marvin Berry

Also Known As:

Retour vers le futur (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Volver al futuro (Argentina) (dubbed version) (Mexico) [es]
мЮГЮД б аСДСЫЕЕ (Soviet Union: Russian title) [ru]
Aftur til framtíðar (Iceland) [is]
Behazara La'Ateed (Israel: Hebrew title) [iw]
De Volta para o Futuro (Brazil) [pt]
Epistrofi sto mellon (Greece) [el]
Gelecege dönüs (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Návrat do budúcnosti (Czechoslovakia: Slovak title) [sk]
Návrat do budoucnosti (Czechoslovakia: Czech title) [cs]
Paluu tulevaisuuteen (Finland) [fi]
Povratak u buducnost (Serbia) [sr]
Powrót do przyszlosci (Poland) [pl]
Regreso al futuro (Spain) [es]
Regresso ao Futuro (Portugal) [pt]
Retorn al futur (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
Ritorno al futuro (Italy) [it]
Tilbage til fremtiden (Denmark) [da]
Tilbake til fremtiden (Norway) [no]
Tillbaka till framtiden (Sweden) [sv]
Vissza a jövöbe (Hungary) [hu]
Zurück in die Zukunft (West Germany) [de]

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Ireland:PG | USA:PG | Netherlands:MG6 (DVD rating) | Australia:M (TV rating) | Portugal:M/6 | Australia:M | South Korea:12 | Brazil:Livre | Spain:T | Canada:G (Quebec) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Canada:PG | Chile:TE | Finland:K-10 | Iceland:L | Italy:T | Netherlands:AL | Norway:11 | Peru:PT | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG (certificate #27831) | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

1711 Bushnell Avenue, South Pasadena, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The sound effect used for the wind-up toy car in Doc's demonstration to Marty was the same sound effect used for the time machine in the movie The Time Machine (1960).

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In 1955 when the camera pans past the record store, there is an album in the window by Eydie Gorme -- the album is entitled 'Eydie In Dixieland.' This album was not released until 1959.

Quotes:

[first lines]
1985 radio announcer: October is inventory time, so right now, Statler Toyota is making the best deals of the year on all 1985 model Toyotas. You won't find a better car at a better price with better service anywhere in Hill Valley...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Haunted Lighthouse (2003)

Soundtrack:

NIGHT TRAIN

A Time -Travelling Classic

Zemeckis's 'Back To The Future' trilogy has been a childhood favourite for a long time. Having revisited it today, brought me to a nostalgic state. The 80's saw a lot of excellent original fun 'young' films like 'Back To The Future' (of course), 'Better Off Dead', 'Heathers', 'The Breakfast Club' etc. What really made these films immensely enjoyable then, and classics today, is that they really reflected what it was like being a young person in the 80s. The movies themselves were well written, well executed, well acted and they cut straight to the point.

Back to 'Back To The Future'. This one is sheer fun, even today. There's an incredible energy about it but it still manages to stay an 'innocent' film. The music is very effective. It's slick and follows a steady pace. The special effects are decent. Though people might pick on the plausibility of the time travelling, I think this is really a very minor flaw because it is overall a well written movie and the point was to entertain. Yet, this is not to say that it's brainless entertainment. I think it cleverly brings forth some interesting themes and I liked how they funnily used some ideas of Oedipus Rex's story.

The acting is superb overall. Christopher Lloyd as the over-the-top mad scientist is a laugh riot. Michael J. Fox totally owns Marty McFly with his natural charisma, raw energy and brilliant dialogue delivery. Lea Thompson is cute and vivacious and Crispin Glover is good.

'Back To The Future' is one of the most enjoyable time-travelling classics. It's over 23 years old and it still hasn't gotten old. Sadly, they don't make it like this these days but then again we always can revisit them. That's why they're classics.