The basic story is
simple enough; a high school kid is friends with an eccentric old
kook, a scientist who likes to tinker, but hasn't had any success.
The kid has a girl, his family are losers and he has a dream of being
a rock star. Then... it all changes. There's been plenty of time
travel stories, but Back to the Future was
the biggest grossing movie of 1985, continuing the smash comedy boom
of Ghostbusters the
year before. Both had sequels – so far one for the latter and, of
course two for Back to the Future. Never
intended for continuation, the plot goes like this; Marty McFly
agrees to meet Doc Brown for a late night experiment, involving a
time-machine built into a DeLorean sports car. Marty's Mum is a
drunk, his siblings wasters and his Dad a likeable enough weakling
constantly bullied by the overbearing Biff Tannen. Marty ends up
travelling back to 1955 and can't get back to 1985. Enlisting the
younger Doc Brown, he finds a way, but ends up interfering with the
space-time continuum (You know; go back, shoot your grandmother and
you never exist, causing the mind-rending quandary of how you got to
go anywhere as you didn't exist) endangering his own existence. The
bulk of the film deals with Marty's efforts to get his parents
together to create him, his Mum falling for him and the ever-menacing
Tannen. It all wraps with the Bully tamed, Marty's family are
successful and happy and he gets the girl. That would have been that,
save for a jokey ending that has Doc suddenly appear from the future
in a flying DeLorean desperate to save Marty and his girl from some
future disaster.
Below: a Timeline explaining BTTF. Hopefully.
As BTTF raked in $383.87 million, a sequel was inevitable; a trilogy was planned, but the second and third parts were shot back to back. Many of the original crew were hired, partly to help recreate certain scenes from a different perspective as Marty goes back again so that there are two of him in 1955. During the sequels there are plenty of hints and reminders, usually from Doc Brown to jog our memories and help keep the viewer 'up to speed' with events. The plots aren't that complex, but writing a timeline quickly becomes frustrating, like knitting spaghetti. Here's my take on the first film.
Looking
Back
To The Future
Doc Brown's Garage/Lab. Any number
of clocks are ticking, tocking away. Does this reveal an obsession?.
The Doc clearly sees automation as a boon, though there's no jug on
the coffee maker the tv
flicks on without viewers and the canned
dog food that is plopped from the robot arm just hits a festering
pile of same. No-one is home; not man nor beast. The
news – conveniently – is about a theft of Plutonium. High
School kid Marty McFly breezes
in, kicking his skateboard under the single cot bed, where it comes
to rest against a case marked 'PLUTONIUM HANDLE WITH CARE'. What are
the odds, eh?.
With lots of switches and dials to
be flipped and twiddled, the kid fires up a BIG amplifier; this thing
is the size of a garage door
and hums like the Death Star warming up. This doesn't bother Marty,
who plugs in a mini-electric guitar and stands, plectrum in hand,
poised to hit the first note... which hits him... blowing
him off his feet and into the shelves behind him.
The amp's wrecked, but he's impressed. The phone; a call from Doc, asking him if he can meet up at Twin Pines Mall at 1:15 in the morning. It's important. Just then, every alarm clock in the garage goes off showing 8 o'clock – Doc's experiment worked!, they're all slow and Marty's late for school...
The amp's wrecked, but he's impressed. The phone; a call from Doc, asking him if he can meet up at Twin Pines Mall at 1:15 in the morning. It's important. Just then, every alarm clock in the garage goes off showing 8 o'clock – Doc's experiment worked!, they're all slow and Marty's late for school...
Marty
travels by board, riding the backs of cars around the town centre of
Hill Valley, California. He's met at the school steps by Jennifer,
his girl. Dean Strickland's on the warpath, looking to hand out tardy
slips, so they go in the back
way, where (of course) Strickland is hovering and he hands out the
slips, along with a dig at
Marty's Dad.
Above: Michael J.Fox with Huey Lewis
The Auditions for the Battle of the
Bands next and Marty's band takes the stage. They play a rock version
of the 'Power of Love' and are turned down for being too loud (In a
neat touch, by Huey Lewis himself). Disheartened,
Marty wonders if the music business is for him and talk turns to
tomorrow night when he plans to take Jennifer to the lake for a
romantic excursion.
Above: Claudia Wells plays Jennifer Parker, Marty's girlfriend
A seemingly inconsequential intrusion from a
fund-raiser hoping to save the clock tower. Hit by lightning thirty
years ago, the clock hasn't run since. Marty gives
a quarter and takes a flyer
before boarding home to the
slightly rundown Lyon Estates. Disaster!; his dad's car is
totalled... no lake for Marty. George McFly is being berated in his
own home by Biff Tannen, a swaggering bully who crashed his car while
drinking.
Above: Crispin Glover plays George Mcfly, Marty's Dad.
George is a bookish wimp and easily cowed. Tannen even gets
him to do his own work reports. Basically an Asshole, Tannen
is loud, brash and in your face unpleasant. We
meet Marty's brother Dave, a fast-food employee, his sister Linda and
his sozzled mother, Lorraine. Uncle Joey didn't make parole, so
they'll be eating the welcome-home cake she baked. The
gist is, the family are all likeable, but failures. Lorraine
tells the story of how she met George, Grandpa ran him over, brought
him in and Lorraine agreed to go to the Enchantment under the Sea
dance, which is when they first kissed.
Its gone midnight. Doc wakes Marty
with a call to ask him to bring his video camera to the mall. Once
there, he sees Doc's step van and Einstein, Doc's dog faithfully
waiting. The ramp to the van comes down with a throaty roar and a
cloud of vapour as Doc backs
a vehicle down to the asphalt. But what a vehicle!; a DeLorean sports
car, all brushed stainless panels and low, seventies-forward styling.
The car is covered with strange accessories; vents, wires, piping
and cables run riot across the rear of the vehicle, a strange
assembly of parts... but to what purpose?. We
soon find out, as we meet Doc; a crazy wild-haired mad scientist
exactly as you'd hope for in a fun science movie.
With
Marty filming for posterity, Doc puts Einstein into the DeLorean and
explains that the watch around the dog's neck is synchronised with
his own control watch. Doc's hooked the car up to a remote control
which he uses to send Einstein skidding around the carpark, holding
the brakes on to set the drive wheels squealing and smoking.
If Doc's worked this out, when the DeLorean hits 88 mph – it'll all happen. Releasing the brakes, Doc sends the sports car screaming forward across the parking lot, straight at scientist and cameraman!. Sure enough, as the car approaches 88, there's a full-on ILM son et lumiere show going on, sparking and flashing into... thin air!; the car has vanished, leaving only twin firetrails from the tyres and a spinning number plate.
If Doc's worked this out, when the DeLorean hits 88 mph – it'll all happen. Releasing the brakes, Doc sends the sports car screaming forward across the parking lot, straight at scientist and cameraman!. Sure enough, as the car approaches 88, there's a full-on ILM son et lumiere show going on, sparking and flashing into... thin air!; the car has vanished, leaving only twin firetrails from the tyres and a spinning number plate.
Above, Below: Michael J.Fox with Christopher Lloyd
The DeLorean is intact, but frozen, as if dipped in liquid nitrogen.
Einstein is a dog-sicle, frozen solid. Just kidding; he's fine, as if nothing
dramatic had happened at all. Helpfully, Doc explains how the machine
works; time circuits on, how to input the destination date and time
etc. as example, he taps in Novmber 5th, 1955; the very
day he invented time travel. He was hanging a clock above his toilet,
slipped, banged his head and had a vision of the Flux capacitor; the
Y-shaped gizmet that makes it all possible. The machine works on
plutonium, a nuclear reaction needed to generate the 1.21 Gigawatts
of juice that each trip requires (This scene has caused confusion, as
the car runs on gasoline,
it's just the time-machine element that is nuclear). Doc ripped off
some Libyan Nationalists that wanted him to make them a nuke. Might
have been an idea to call that one
in...
You built a time machine... out of a DeLorean?
Clad in radiation suits, Doc loads
the reactor with plutonium as Marty continues filming. The Doc
intends to travel 25 years into the future to see the progress of
mankind (Basically, everyone walks around staring at their hands and
the music stinks). Doc makes
a speech, then remembers he's forgotten to load the case of plutonium
for the return trip. Just then, the Libyans rock up, in a VW camper
with sunroof, optional
AK-47's and Rocket Propelled Grenades, shooting
up the place. Doc makes a gallant stand with a western-style
revolver, but it doesn't fire and he tosses it, hands up. He's gunned
down in a hail of bullets and Marty screams out in helpless rage,
drawing their fire. Luckily, the AK jams and Marty dives into the
DeLorean, gunning it across the parking lot to try to escape the
chasing van. He accidentally
knocks the time-circuits on. Fishtailing
around the rain-slick lot, its all he can do to get away, but
stamping on it on the straight, he's ahead. The terrorist in the
sunroof has got hold of an RPG and even a schoolkid knows those make
a dent in a car. Slamming the car into top gear, Marty
takes her up into the eighties, but he's running out of space,
heading straight for a kiosk... and flash/whoom! He's bouncing over a
ploughed field through a scarecrow and into a barn!...
The sun is coming up as Marty tries
to convince himself he's in an intense dream. It gets intenser; he
slams the brakes on to see the stone gateway to the Lyon Estates,
brand new, free of graffiti, the yet-to-be developed site an empty
field in the middle of
nowhere. What better time for the car to refuse to start?. Marty –
somehow – pushes the DeLorean behind a billboard and takes a long
walk into town.
Hill
Valley 1955. The town square looks as if it was built yesterday; no
graffiti, trash or porno theatres. The cinema is showing a Ronald
Reagan flick, the shops are wholesome as are the people and the cars
are all curves and chrome. A
campaign car urges people to re-elect Mayor Red Thomas. Most
shocking of all, the clock strikes the half hour, a sound Marty has
never heard in his own town.
Above: Marty finds himself in 1955.
Going into the diner
to find a phone, he's taken for a sailor because of his 80's body
warmer. The phone's in the back and he finds the listing for 'Brown
Emmet L Scientist and an address, but there's no answer. Marty tries
to order a Tab, but back then that was the bill and a Pepsi Free?; if
he wants a Pepsi he's got to pay... (All the Pepsi references don't
bother me as much as some; Fox was sponsored by Pepsi in the
eighties) Then, we get the
first of the 'Biff tells McFly not to come into 'his' joint' scenes.
The young Biff Tannen is here, with a gang (Look for Billy Zane's
screen debut) and suddenly we realise the kid next to Marty is
actually George McFly. Same shit, different year; Biff wants George
to do his homework and bring it over. After Biff and co leave, Marty
can't help, but stare at his young future-father. The black guy
working at the diner turns out to be called Goldie and Marty,
realising this is the same Mayor Goldie Wilson from 1985,
inadvertently puts the idea into his head to run for Mayor. While
Marty is distracted, George has ridden off on his bike.
Above: Thomas.F.Wilson is Biff, the McFly nemesis.
Marty catches up with George's bike,
left against a tree in a leafy road. Where's George?, well, 'Dad' is
up the tree perving on a woman with binoculars. Not a woman with
binoculars!; oh, do keep up!.
Just then, George slips and
falls from the tree, just as a car approaches. In the very nick,
Marty
pushes him clear, but is knocked down and out.
Mom?, is that you?; this scene will
become very familiar,
as Marty comes round to find his mother anxiously watching over him.
She's 17, rather breathless
and not yet his mother, but
these are details!. Seeing he wears Calvins, she thinks his name must
be Calvin Klein.
Above: Lea Thompson is Marty's Mom, Lorraine. Here, he wakes in her room to find she's 17!.
Time for
dinner with the family; Marty meets his Grandparents and future
family, including baby Joey, who hates being out of his playpen. This
being Uncle Joey, the joke is he's only happy behind bars. Grandpa
wheels over the tv so they can watch Jackie Gleason while they eat.
Confusion as Marty recognises the old show, which he's seen in
re-runs; the show's brand new. He gets directions to Doc's place and
leaves, partly because Lorraine squeezes his knee. She does seem keen
on this strange young
lad...
The
Brown residence. Marty recognises the garage from 1985 and approaches
the Mansion. Sure enough, a younger version of Doc opens the door, a
fresh dressing and a weird
gadget perched on his head. Without allowing his visitor to speak,
Doc hustles him in and slaps a suction probe onto his head before
attempting to read his thoughts with the odd headpiece. The
Doc doesn't believe Marty is from the future; laughing
at his driving licence and family photo. Marty is stuck,
until he remembers how Doc got the bump to the head and recounts the
story he was/will be told in 1985. In
Doc's Packard they drive out
to the Lyon Estates site where Marty hid the DeLorean. When Doc fell
from his toilet, he drew a rough diagram, which he shows Marty; the
Flux Capacitor. When Marty shows Doc his completed work he's
ecstatic, finally he invents something which works!. Back
at the garage-lab, Marty plugs in the videocamera and plays back
Doc's briefing from the mall.
When
he hears himself mention the 1.21 Gigawatts he reacts badly, how can
he generate such an amount?, plutonium is even harder to get hold of
than in '85, only a bolt of lightning can do it and you never know
when... wait!, Marty's leaflet! - the clock tower!. Now they know
when and where lightning will strike; 10:04 pm next Saturday night.
Between then and now, Doc has
to figure out how to channel a lightning strike into the Flux
Capacitor. Doc
cautions Marty against interacting with anybody; he tells Doc he
already ran into his Dad. Checking Marty's family photo, his
brother's head has vanished. As
if he's being erased from history!.
The next day at Hill Valley High,
Doc and Marty discuss the
problem. As Marty's interfered with his parents' meeting, he's
accidentally prevented the birth of their children!. They
spot George, being bullied with the old 'Kick Me' gag. Marty tries
introducing Lorraine to George, but she's more interested in him!.
Doc notices a poster for the 'Enchantment under the Sea' dance and
Marty remembers this is where they will have their first kiss.
Catching up with George at
lunch, Marty is surprised to find his prospective father writes
science-fiction stories. He tries to persuade him to ask Lorraine
out, but George is his son's father (?), as afraid of rejection as
Marty is over his music. Lorraine
is being pawed by Biff, who leers and mauls her. Marty fronts him
out, but the guy's twice his size and only the arrival of Strickland
prevents bloodshed. Following George home, Marty pleads with him, but
he'll miss his favourite show Science Fiction Theater if he goes to
the dance and refuses. A
glance at the family photo – older brother is now just a pair of
legs – convinces Marty to up his game.
The middle of night, and the space creature places some sort of
device over the ears of the sleeping George McFly. Loading a machine
with a cassette marked 'Edward Van Halen', the beast presses a
button. Instantaneously, George is blasted into consciousness by the
unearthly din of the Walkman. Disguised in his rad-suit, Marty claims
to be Darth Vader from the planet Vulcan...
The next day George oversleeps, but catches up with Marty in the town
square outside the Diner. He has to ask Lorraine out, but needs help;
Darth told him he'd melt his brain if he didn't come through. Marty
gives him a few lines from the eighties about destiny and George goes
to work, with a chocolate milk for courage. After telling the poor
girl he's her density, he gets it right and she smiles, but the
arrival of Biff and stooges ruins the moment. He goes to shake George
down for money and Marty trips him. Biff looms over Marty, but the
kid tricks him with the old 'what's that?' gag and smacks him one
before legging it outside. Lorraine is even more smitten
with Marty, who grabs a soapbox
scooter off a kid and breaks the box off, creating a basic
skateboard.
Back at the lab, Marty finds Doc
watching the end of the videotape where the Libyans turned up. Marty
tries to warn his friend, but the Doc is having none of it; if he
knows too much about his destiny, he might endanger his future too.
With the aid of a model of the town square, Doc explains the plan; by
running high voltage cable down from the clock-tower flagpole across
the street, the DeLorean has been rigged with a hook and cable into
the Flux Capacitor. If cable meets hook at the right moment, if the
car is doing 88, it should work. Sounds like a stretch even without
the toy car Doc uses for the demo catching fire. Doc
asks Marty how it went with George, he finds out as Lorraine shows up
having followed Marty. All
coquettish and breathless, Lorraine asks Marty to ask her out to the
dance. What about George?; she finds him cute, but a man should be
strong, able to protect the woman he loves... over to Plan B.
At the McFly house, Marty tries to sell George on the new plan. At
8:55 George will be at the dance, Marty will be in the car with
Lorraine and pretend to take advantage. The fiend!; enter her George
in shining hair-creme to tell the cad to unhand her, thump Marty in
the guts and live happy ever after.
Saturday evening. Doc works on his
end, a high-voltage cable dangling from the clock tower. Doc looks
forward to the future, which saddens Marty enough to write a letter
warning him of his death in 1985 and
slip it into Doc's pocket while he's distracted by a cop on the make.
The dance, meanwhile is underway, with Marvin Berry and the
Starlighters playing to a packed gym hall. Marty pulls up with
Lorraine in Doc's car and tries to seem sleazy in an attempt to
offend her morals, by asking if she wants to 'park'. She's fine with
it and he's shocked,
especially as 1980's-Mom always seems so prudish!. When she takes a
pull from a liquor flask he tries to warn her of the evils of drink
and then she lights a cigarette. In a neat gag she accuses him of
sounding just like her mother!. By now, wallflower George has
realised he'll be late for Plan B and heads out to the parking lot.
Lorraine makes a pass at Marty, who whimpers like a pup. Luckily,
something feels wrong to her – when she kisses him, it feels like
she's kissing her brother. Close family?.
Right on time, Marty is hauled out
of the car... by Biff, furious at being covered in road apples.
Throwing Marty to his thugs, Biff then gets rapey with Lorraine. His
followers toss marty in the trunk of the band's car, but five black
guys are more than enough to frighten the bullies. The keys were in
the trunk and Marty is stuck as George strides up to Doc's car
preparing for his action scene, totally unaware its now for real.
Biff tells him where to go,
but summoning up all his courage, George makes a stand, but is put
into an armlock in next to no time. Meantime, the guitar player frees
Marty, gashing his hand in the process. Marty races back to the lot,
as Biff pushes Lorraine over. The sight of this asshole laughing at
the girl he likes enrages George, who balls a fist and knocks Biff
clean out with a sizzling left. Gallantly, George asks if Lorraine is
ok and she takes his hand, enamoured of him at last. Marty
checks the photo, but his sister is half gone!. It's not fixed yet!.
Frantic, Marty runs up to ask the band to play, but Marvin's hand
means there'll be no more dance – unless, that is, Marty knows
anyone who can play...
Sure enough, Marty takes the stage
with the Starlighters as they play 'Earth Angel', George and Lorraine
take their first dance together. With the photo on the neck of the
guitar, Marty can see Linda has totally vanished, leaving him alone
in the picture. Lorraine asks George if he'll kiss her, but bashful
George is cut out by another student and Marty's playing goes to
pieces as his conception now seems impossible. The photo of Marty is
fading, vanishing as his whole existence begins to disappear.
Seriously unwell, Marty holds his hand up in front of his face, only
to see it become transparent!. He collapses. At the last possible
moment, however, George plucks up the nerve to cut back in and takes
charge of his destiny, kissing Lorraine. At once, Marty's back up
playing, watching in relief as he,
then his sister
and brother reappear on the photo. The job done, Marty makes to go,
but Marvin insists he stay for another song. Spotting his chance to
finally play on the school stage, Marty gives them 'Johnny B.Goode',
giving the band their cues and launching into the Chuck Berry tune.
No-one's ever heard this and it's like nothing they have
heard. The kids love it and go
wild, Marvin gets on the phone backstage and calls his cousin Chuck,
getting him to listen to this wild new sound.
Marty invents Rock
n'Roll?. (This caused controversy, especially among black musicians
who felt their achievements in moving music from the stone ages had
been cheapened by what can only be seen as a jokey scene in a film.)
Predictably,
it goes to the kid's head and Marty starts doing a Berry
Duck Walk, a Pete Townshend
(arm
windmill and all)
before giving it the Hendrix, playing behind his head, finally losing
it totally with an Angus Young 'spasm'
on his back onstage. By this time the whole hall is silent, not
knowing what's going on. Embarrassed, Marty tells the crowd their
kids will love it and leaves the stage.
Back
of house, Marty runs into George and Lorraine, definitely now an
item. He's pleased for them (for obvious reasons) and they exchange
farewells, but not before he tells them that, should they have kids
and one of them, when he's eight accidentally sets fire to the living
room rug?... go easy on him. Lorraine remarks that Marty is a nice
name...
It's almost nine and Doc is
fretting!; where is that
kid?. Marty finally gets there, having changed into 1985 clothes,
telling Doc what happened; George had never stood up to Biff before,
which Doc notes with a frown, but time is short, so there's no chance
to air any doubts. Doc sets the time circuits for the same time as
Marty left, he's painted a white line along the street which is the
start line and places an alarm clock on the dash; when it goes off,
Marty hits the gas and everything should be fine. Marty hugs Doc,
slipping the warning note into his coat pocket, but the Doc discovers
it and rips it up, the consequences of knowing the future could be
disastrous. Marty goes to tell him as the storm hits and the cable
connector joining the wire to the clocktower fails.
With lightning flashing all around the sky above, Doc goes into the courthouse building to get to the tower, emerging from an access hatch to drop rope down to Marty to haul the cable back up. Marty tries calling up to warn Doc of his grim fate, but no no avail. The Bell ringing nine deafens Doc further and Marty has no choice, but to jump in the DeLorean and head for his mark, extending the pole ready for his run. Gingerly, Doc clambers across a gargoyle to try to reach the connector hanging tantalisingly out of reach from the pole above.
With lightning flashing all around the sky above, Doc goes into the courthouse building to get to the tower, emerging from an access hatch to drop rope down to Marty to haul the cable back up. Marty tries calling up to warn Doc of his grim fate, but no no avail. The Bell ringing nine deafens Doc further and Marty has no choice, but to jump in the DeLorean and head for his mark, extending the pole ready for his run. Gingerly, Doc clambers across a gargoyle to try to reach the connector hanging tantalisingly out of reach from the pole above.
Despairingly, Marty wishes he had more time to warn the Doc, then
spots the obvious; by going back ten minutes early, he'll have that
time. He punches in the time on the keypad. Alls set, but suddenly,
the engine dies and won't start. As if that's not enough, the ledge
gives way under Doc and he's left clinging onto the clock hands
Harold Lloyd style, the connector snagged on his trouser leg. The
alarm clock rings! exasperated, Marty head-butts the steering wheel
and the DeLorean roars into life, towards the town square.
Doc has recovered the dangling connector and goes to plug it into its
mate, but a falling tree has dropped over the wire to the street
lamps and yanking the cable unplugs another connector down below.
The DeLorean hits 61, accelerating hard.
The clouds above Doc coalesce with energy as the storm prepares to
release a massive bolt of lightning.
Looping the cable around the minute hand, Doc uses it as a zip-line
down to the street.
88! Marty spots Doc on the ground struggling with the cables. He
shuts his eyes as the DeLorean screams towards the movie theater.
The minute hand reaches four past. The lightning bolt hits the clock
tower pole and electricity explodes down the cables blowing Doc
backwards as he finally completes the connection. The DeLorean hits
the cable and zaps out of 1955, leaving only the twin fire trails as
evidence of it's passing. Doc gradually realises that he's succeeded
in sending Marty Back to the Future and does a victory jig.
1985. The present. Red Thomas, now a homeless bum, wakes up from his
bench in the trash-strewn town square to see a DeLorean backing out
of the smashed hoardings in front of the old theater. Delighted,
Marty takes a look around, it's 1:24 so he still has time to get to
the Doc. Of course, the DeLorean dies again and won't start, just as
the VW Camper with the Libyans races past. On foot, Marty has no
chance of beating them and it's 1:33 when he makes it, exhausted, to
Lone Pine Mall. (Wasn't it Twin Pines before?). Too late, he sees Doc
gunned down and then, to his shock himself diving
into the DeLorean!. As the Marty of a week ago races off with the
terrorists in pursuit, Marty tumbles down the slope to see the time
machine make it's fateful exit for 1955 and the Libyans wipe out into
a photo kiosk. Anguished, Marty throws himself over Doc's prostrate
body. But he's alive!. Doc
sits up, revealing a bullet-proof vest under his boiler suit. How
could he have known?; he produces the letter Marty wrote, taped back
together, faded and dog eared with age. What about the space-time
continuum? - Doc figured 'what the hell...'
The DeLorean drops Marty off at his
house and Doc leaves for the future. He's going 30 years ahead and
promises to look up the 47 year old Marty when he gets there. As
the DeLorean makes the jump, Marty goes to bed.
Late next morning and a sleepy Marty
wakes, heading for the kitchen. Suddenly, he does a double-take; the
lounge is completely different!. Gone are the worn family fitments,
replaced by brand new luxury sofas, works of art on the walls and
expensive lighting. Whats
more, Linda now apparently works at a boutique and is popular with
boys, where Dave is a Forbes-reading executive in a suit. When George
and Lorraine arrive, expensively and fashionably dressed, from a
tennis match, Marty nearly faints. Marty's Mom asks him about the
date at the lake and when he protests the car's wrecked, they bustle
outside to where none other than Biff is busy waxing the undamaged
BMW, a battered truck behind him pronouncing itself to be 'Biff's
automotive detailing'. Further, he's all wimpy, with no trace of the
swaggering bully of old. Next, feeble-Biff brings in a newly-arrived
parcel; it's a copy of George's new book 'A Match made in Space', his
first novel!. Even better, Biff hands Marty some keys. Keys?; a
brand-new Toyota Truck pickup is sitting in the garage.
Jennifer arrives and doesn't know
why Marty is so glad to see her. Everything's great and they go to
kiss... Flash-Crash-Bang! The
DeLorean appears and a manic Doc, clad in weird futuristic clothes
with metallic wrap-around
shades gets out. He wants
Marty to come back to the future, rummaging through the garbage to
load some of it into a device that looks like a coffee grinder
mounted on the back of the time machine. The label 'Mr.Fusion Home
Energy Reactor' giving the
only hint at it's purpose; Doc
needs fuel!. Something has got to
be done about Jennifer and Marty's kids!. With all three crammed in,
the DeLorean backs up. Marty points out they don't have enough road
to hit 88, but where they're going, they don't need roads!.
The DeLorean's wheels rotate, the car hovers and takes off, spinning
around and zooming at the screen to disappear into the Space-Time
continuum...
DREW
STRUZAN Concepts for posters; Struzan created the final posters for the
trilogy, though his unused works are fantastic in themselves.
The Plutonium refuelling cyclinder
Jennifer's note to Marty on the Clock Tower flyer
3-D Glasses worn by Casey Seimaszko
Phone Directory page for Doc Brown, 1955
George McFly novel dustsheet
The Comic Sherman Peabody carries in 1955
Doc's Model car, singed from screen use
Below: Letterheaded paper from the Production office
Below: Various ways to embarrass yourself were available
Above, below: John Delorean with the prototype of his revolutionary sports car
and a production model
Above: The DeLorean factory in Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1981
Above: Concept art for the car. What better car for a scientist to make into a Time Machine?
Above: Blueprints for a time machine
Above: Concept art for the time machine by Ron Cobb (Top Left/Bottom Right) and Andrew Probert
Below: The finished thing (Some of these are replica cars, I have no clue which)
Below, above: The Gamble House was used for Doc Brown's 1955 residence
Why does the Brown Mansion still burn down?. It must be clear to
Marty that the Brown Mansion is destroyed, so why doesn't he mention
this to 1955 Doc so he can take precautions?.
At the Mall, Doc drives the DeLorean from his van. As it's a
gull-wing design, the only way he could have one it is drive into
the van, raise then lower the
ramp and reverse back out. It's a great reveal, but a lot of work
just to impress a kid and a dog.
Possible goof; Plutonium
isn't red; its silver in colour, while
the vial doc drops into the reactor is red, perhaps that's a
stabilising medium or somesuch and the actual pellet of plutonium
isn't easily visible. (My money?; its a goof-ette)
When
Einstein trots into the Van, he's naked; just fur. When he barks to
warn Doc of the Libyans, he's in a cute doggy rad-suit. This might be
a goof or simply that Doc put him in the suit off-camera.
Doc loads the DeLorean's reactor
with plutonium, removes his headgear explaining everything's safe;
it's lead-lined. Then he kicks open the case of plutonium to replace
the empty container, presumably irradiating himself. (This
one might be erroneous; radiation suits offer no barrier to
radiation, just a physical barrier to contaminants that can be washed
off and therefore prevent long-term exposure to fallout etc)
In some shots you can clearly see the DeLorean being driven by a
stunt driver in a dog suit. (Think of the fun you could have at the
drive-thru.)
Marty goes through time into Old Man Peabody's farm; first he hits
the same scarecrow twice, then crashes into the barn. When Peabody
and his son Sherman (In itself a joke about the time-travelling
cartoon Peabody & Sherman) arrive at the barn, the Delorean is
facing outwards.
Watch closely when Biff tries to blame George for the car crash; are there 2 or 3 pens in that pocket?.
When Marty dresses up as 'Darth Vader' to scare George, a hairdryer
in his belt disappears and reappears between shots. This is due to
editing as the scene was originally longer.
When Doc remotely-controls the DeLorean, the power gauge on the
remote is in the red; no power.
Marty goes through time, helps subdue Biff from a bully to a wimp,
inspires his Dad to become a successful author and returns to an
altered timeline; how come it's taken George McFly so long to get his
first book published? - Lorraine McFly doesn't drink, presumably the
catalyst for her sobriety being her husband's success. Also, is it
remotely likely Marty's brother Dave would still live at home
considering he's become a yuppie?.
BTTF II
When
Griff's gang crashes into the courthouse on their hoverboards, you
can clearly see the wire rig reflected in the glass between the
columns. Also, stuntwoman Cheryl Wheeler was badly injured
filming this scene, when her harness release was initiated too soon,
sending her crashing down onto solid concrete rather than through the
glass to the airbag as intended.
In 1955, Marty
sneaks into Strickland's office. The miniature flags on his desk jump
from being together to wide apart.
As Marty, on the
hoverboard, goes from the hovering DeLorean to Biff's car, look
carefully for the small trolley-style wheels the 'hovering' DeLorean
actually rolls on.
BTTF III
In 1885, the DeLorean is out of gas due to a ruptured fuel line. Doc
points out there's no gas stations in the area until the next
century. He ends up blowing the manifold by using some alcohol. Why
doesn't he just buy some kerosene and refine it?. Or leave another
note with Western Union for Marty, you know; bring some extra fuel
and some parts?.
As Marty runs away from Buford Tannen and his cronies, keep a sharp
lookout to the left of the frame; there's a crew member in white
t-shirt and blue shorts running along pushing another camera.
When Buford is calling Marty out, Marty says “What?, what if I
don't go out there?” Clearly visible by the window to the left is a
movie light on a stand.
Look for the flag during the shootout scene; that's the modern
California state flag – it hadn't been invented in 1885.
At approximately 1:31 on the DVD, as Doc reaches for the train, a
white Off-road vehicle is briefly visible on the top-left of the
frame.
As Doc and Marty run along the top of the train, look carefully at
the carriages below them; they appear to be no more than a few feet
high, probably to reduce the risk to the actors.
As Doc and Clara perch perilously on the side of the Locomotive,
Clara hangs by her dress. If you look carefully, the cable holding
the stunt-woman is clearly visible.
Although Michael J.Fox was the first choice to play Marty, his
commitment to the tv show Family Ties meant
he was originally unavailable. Eric Stoltz was brought in and filmed
several scenes before, by mutual agreement he was replaced... by Fox,
who shot his scenes in between work
on the tv show. Stoltz's performance was deemed too dramatic for the
role, whereas Marty's carefree, fun-loving character fitted that of
Fox's real-life persona.
In BTTF II, the blonde Policewoman who takes Jennifer to her future home is Mary Ellen Trainor, the then-wife of Robert Zemeckis.
Its
a bit convoluted, but in BTTF III Doc meets a salesman peddling
barbed wire. At
the time this was highly controversial and it was yet to come into
widespread usage. The salesman character is believed to represent
John Warne Gates, a businessman who became President of the Texas
Company, later known as Texaco. Texaco is featured in the first two
films. So what?, well, Christopher Lloyd's Maternal Grandfather was
one of the founders of Texaco. Told you it was involved...
In BTTF II, Marty
goes into the Cafe '80s, he
spots two kids trying to work out how to play Wild Gunman.
One of these is the young Elijah Wood.
The
character Needles is played by Red Hot Chili Peppers
bassist Flea.
Cameo;
The judge who turns Marty down in Back to the Future is
Huey Lewis, who provided 'The Power of Love' and 'Back in Time' for
the soundtrack.
Originally,
the time machine was built into a fridge, with the power provided by
a nuclear explosion. Obviously, the producers were worried kids would
try to copy this and risk suffocation. Steven Spielberg eventually
used the idea in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the
Crystal Skull.
In BTTF III, the photographer taking Doc and Marty's Pictures is Dean Cundy, Director of Photography.
Johnny
Depp auctioned for the role of Marty.
In
BTTF, watch closely as Marty fires up the massive amp Doc made for
him; a label reads 'CRM 114', which is a tribute to Stanley
Kubrick; CRM-114 was a radio device in Doctor Strangelove,
"Serum 114" was given to Alex in A Clockwork Orange,
a pod in 2001: A Space
Odyssey is also named CRM 114
and the mortuary in Eyes Wide Shut is
on Level C, Room 114.
8 minutes 45 seconds
into BTTF, Marty and Jennifer walk past some cars, including one with
'For Mary', this is Mary Radford, personal assistant to second unit
director Frank Marshall.
In the first film, a
sign commends Ron Woodward for Class President; Ronald Woodward was
the Key Grip for the film.
Want to dress like Marty?; me neither. However, here's his outfit in full for the cosplayers out there...
ZEISS Silver Aviator
Sunglasses with sweatguard, Dark red Short-sleeved T-Shirt, Shah
Safari Button down Checked Shirt, Black Straight-Clip Suspenders,
Guess Marciano two-tone blue jean jacket with paisley lining in the
sleeves, 1.25" Pin Button that says "Art in Revolution",
Fender Precision P Bass Guitar Pin, An Earring that was converted
into what many fans call "Marty's Boomerang Pin", Class 5
Down Vest in Burnt Orange, Casio CA-50 Calculator Watch, Purple
Clavin Klein Brief Underwear, Stonewash Skinny Jeans, Grey Crew
Socks, and 1984 Nike Bruins in White and Dark Red. Aiwa MK-PO2 MKII personal stereo.
Finally, you can take the Back to the Future Quiz here: http://www.gotoquiz.com/the_volcano_cat_bttf_quiz
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