Back to the Future (1985)

Director:

Robert Zemeckis

Writers:

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

Release Date:

3 July 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Family | 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:

1955 | 1985 | Time Machine | Time Travel | High School

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 13 wins & 23 nominations

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:

According to the 'Making of... ', in the original script , Marty was sent back to the year 1985, with the radiation of a nuclear bomb. But the scripted sequence was too expensive for the budget so the idea was scrapped.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Marty is showing the tape to Doc in 1955, 1985 Doc (in the recording) says his line about the 1.21 gigawatts of electricity needed. When the Doc of 1955 says "what did I just say?", Doc in the recording is still talking, but when the tape was recorded, Marty is talking about plutonium immediately after the gigawatt line.

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 Knocked Up (2007)

Soundtrack:

JOHNNY B. GOODE

The Lost Blockbuster

Back to the Future is one of those rare, almost forgotten, pieces of pop culture that, surprisingly, draws little attention to itself. Unlike such notable gimmicks as Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Jaws, and Independence Day, there aren't any low-budget leeches trying to imitate off this work and cash-in on its success. This is due to the near flawless script. Why it didn't win an Oscar, you're guess is as good as mine. Making a time-travel storyline as in this movie that doesn't fall into plot holes the size of Terminator's is exceptionally difficult. I'd know.

The film starts slow, and gradually accelerates as it progresses. You could almost call it a Jerry Bruckheimer movie for kids with Spielberg's trademark nostalgia. The characters themselves are typical stereotypes for a movie like this and none of them, not even Marty himself, gel with potential. In some ways it's as if MAD magazine made the film in an attempt to be serious.

With such an automotive obsession as this film has, one must wonder if George Lucas was involved.

Overall, I have to praise this movie for its inventiveness and originality, even if it created most of our time-travel cliches. 4 out of 5 stars. Well worth your time.