Back to the Future trilogy

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Back to the Future trilogy
Directed by Robert Zemeckis
Written by Bob Gale
Robert Zemeckis
Starring Michael J. Fox
Christopher Lloyd
Thomas F. Wilson
Lea Thompson
James Tolkan
Claudia Wells (Part 1)
Elisabeth Shue (Parts 2 & 3)
Crispin Glover (Part 1)
Jeffrey Weissman (Parts 2 & 3)
Mary Steenburgen (Part 3)
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date(s) 1985-1990
Running time 337 minutes
Country USA
Language English
Gross revenue $416 million
Official website
IMDb profile

The Back to the Future trilogy is a comedic science fiction film trilogy written by Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis, directed by Zemeckis, and distributed by Universal Pictures. The plot follows the adventures of high-school student Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) and scientist Dr. Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd) as they use a modified De Lorean automobile to time travel to different periods in the history of Hill Valley, California.

The first film was the highest grossing film of 1985 and became an international phenomenon, leading to two sequels which were filmed back-to-back and released in 1989 and 1990 respectively. The trilogy is widely noted for its irreverent comedy, eccentric characters and ability to incorporate complex theories of time-travel without confusing the audience.[citation needed] Though the two sequels did not perform quite as well at the box office as the first film, the trilogy remains immensely popular after 20 years and has yielded such spin-offs as an animated television series and a motion-simulation ride at the Universal Studios theme parks in Orlando, Florida (now closed); Universal City, California (closed on September 3, 2007), and Osaka, Japan.

Contents

[edit] Films

[edit] Main cast

Main article: List of Back to the Future cast members

[edit] Storylines

A hallmark of the Back to the Future trilogy and a contributor to its popularity is its use of commonalities: running gags, similar events, catch phrases, and parallel situations that recur in the different time frames from film to film.

[edit] Back to the Future

Main article: Back to the Future

17-year-old Marty McFly is accidentally sent back in time to 1955 in a time machine built from a De Lorean by eccentric scientist Emmett L. Brown, also known as "Doc". Upon arriving in 1955, Marty inadvertently causes his mother to fall in love with him, rather than with his father. To make matters worse, Marty did not bring back any extra plutonium to power the time machine, so he must find the 1955 version of Doc Brown to help him out. Not only is his own existence in danger (Marty must get his parents together or he will never be born), but he also runs the risk of being trapped in 1955.

[edit] Back to the Future Part II

Main article: Back to the Future Part II

Doc Brown travels with Marty to the year 2015 where he has discovered Marty's family is in ruins. Marty buys a sports almanac containing the outcomes of 50 years worth (1950–2000) of sporting events. However, Doc catches him and throws the almanac in the trash, where the aged Biff Tannen finds it. While Marty and Doc are at Marty's future house, Biff steals the De Lorean time machine and gives the book to himself at some point in the past. When Doc and Marty return to 1985, they find that Biff has used the almanac's knowledge for financial gain, which allows him to turn Courthouse Square into a 27 story casino, "own" Hill Valley, get away with the murder of Marty's father, and later marry Marty's mother. Marty learns that Biff was given the book by an old man in 1955, so he and Doc go back to that date in order to steal the almanac from Biff before he can use it to destroy their lives. They accomplish this in a complex fashion, often crossing their own past-selves' paths. When the duo are about to travel back to 1985, a lightning bolt strikes the De Lorean and scrambles the time circuits, sending Doc back to 1885 and leaving Marty stranded in 1955.

[edit] Back to the Future Part III

Main article: Back to the Future Part III

After finding out that Doc Brown is trapped in 1885, Marty sets out to find the 1955 Doc to help him fix the De Lorean (which has been waiting for him in a mineshaft for 70 years) and restore it to working order. Learning that Doc gets shot in 1885, Marty travels back in time to save Doc (who becomes a blacksmith) and bring him back to the future. Unfortunately, Marty rips a hole in the fuel line, rendering the De Lorean immobile. Furthermore, Doc falls in love with schoolteacher Clara Clayton, and considers staying in 1885. Marty must convince Doc to come back with him and find a way to get back to his time before it's too late.

[edit] Critical reception

Film Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic Yahoo! Movies
Back to the Future 95% (44 reviews)[1] 90% (23 reviews)[2] A (7 reviews)[3]
Back to the Future Part II 65% (37 reviews)[4]    
Back to the Future Part III 74% (52 reviews)[5] 65% (14 reviews)[6] A- (5 reviews)[7]
  • A dark grey cell indicates reviews are not available.

[edit] Time Travel Theory

All successive Back to the Future timelines
All successive Back to the Future timelines

The Back to the Future film trilogy presents a detailed local history of the fictitious city of Hill Valley and the genealogies of its residents.

Each event described in this timeline is either depicted in the films, novels, screenplays, or described in interviews of director/co-writer Robert Zemeckis and producer/co-writer Bob Gale.[8]

According to Doc Brown in Part II, whenever a time-traveler alters key events occurring in the past, they effectively bring an alternate timeline into existence at their point-of-entry, and their original timeline is erased, even though its events are not forgotten by the time-traveler. Thus, every time travel jump into the past depicted in the Back to the Future saga "destroys" a current timeline and "creates" a new one, although the term Doc Brown often uses to describe the deleterious effects of this process is "erased from existence". Travelling to the future will not create a new timeline. The time traveler will merely move forward along his current timeline. Imagineer Bruce Gordon suggested in issue #108 of Starlog Magazine [9] that no second version of the time traveler exists until the time traveler goes back in time and sees himself in the past.

Or course, the argument could be made that a new timeline is created each time someone or something from the future influences actions in the past, including photographs. This would create more timelines, such as one where Marty (Clint Eastwood) is killed by Buford Tannen. In Part III, it is established that the photographs only show "written" futures showing as blank when it's unsure whether Doc or Marty will be killed by Buford. This would create many more timelines however, many of which are destroyed shortly after creation.

[edit] Timeline 1

This is the original, unaltered timeline.

[edit] Timeline 2

This is the timeline brought into existence by Marty's accidental time journey into 1955. It is the timeline that is current at the end of the first movie.

[edit] Timeline 3

This is the timeline which Doc brings into existence by travelling to 1985 to seek Marty and Jennifer's help. In this timeline, the fate of the McFly children ought to have been greatly improved. Unfortunately, "Old" Biff steals the De Lorean and heads back to 1955 with Marty’s sports almanac, which Doc angrily threw into a convenient trash receptacle, bringing Timeline 4 into existence six decades in the past.

Biff returns the De Lorean to 2015. His return to Timeline 3 appears to break the Doc's rules of time travel (he should have returned to 2015 in Timeline 4). However the "ripple effect" which would cleanse the timelines is slightly delayed. After a few seconds in Timeline 3, the "ripple effect" which turns timeline 3 into timeline 4 catches up with Biff and he gets erased from the timeline after having been presumably murdered by Lorraine in Timeline 4 1996.

Doc, Marty and Jennifer, who think their adventure is over, unwittingly depart to an "alternate 1985" thinking they are going home. They are unaware of the fact that Timeline 3 is collapsing around them and their trip to 1985 brings Timeline 5 into existence.

[edit] Timeline 4

This is the timeline old Biff brings into existence in 1955 by arriving from 2015 in the stolen De Lorean, almanac in hand. It is replaced with a virtually identical Timeline 5 on October 26, 1985 when Doc, Marty and Jennifer arrive from 2015, and observe the damage Biff has accomplished.

[edit] Timeline 5

This is the alternate timeline brought into existence when Marty, Doc and Jennifer return from 2015. This is referred to by Doc as 1985A, which is depicted in BTTF Part II. The key difference between this timeline and Timeline 4 is the simultaneous presence of two Martys, two Jennifers and possibly two Docs.

Doc and Marty head back to 1955 to put the history they remember back on track. Jennifer Parker is left behind, as Doc surmises that she will not be erased when 1985A is. At this point, Timeline 5 fades away, to be replaced by the nascent Timeline 6.

[edit] Timeline 6

This is the key timeline brought into existence when Doc and Marty arrive in 1955 to relieve Biff of his newly acquired almanac from the future, thus preventing Timeline 4 and Timeline 5 from coming into existence, but without disturbing Timeline 2 as Marty has previously accomplished.

The hover-converted De Lorean from 2015 and 1985A, with Doc on board, is unexpectedly struck by lightning just outside Lyon Estates and sent back to January 1, 1885 due to an on-board malfunction Doc neglected to correct. This brings Timeline 7 into existence, seven decades further in the past.

[edit] Timeline 7

This is the timeline Doc and Marty exist in, separated by 7 decades of time, at the end of Part II and the beginning of Part III before Marty’s trip back to 1885. It is a timeline in which Doc lives in 1885, without Marty, for only eight months and seven days. As it seems the careful Doc's presence has little impact on past history, this timeline is nearly identical to Timeline 6.

Marty leaves 1955 and heads back to 1885 to rescue Doc. This act initiates the ultimate timeline, Timeline 8.

[edit] Timeline 8

This timeline comes into existence when Marty arrives in 1885, to try to prevent the events that lead to Doc's death in Timeline 7 at the hands of Buford Tannen. It is this timeline in which Doc and Marty appear for most of BTTF Part III. It is also the final timeline depicted in the trilogy, as the De Lorean will no longer travel backwards in time.

In a virtuous display of uncharacteristic self-restraint, Marty decides not to race Needles, and avoids crashing into a Rolls Royce, thus erasing the future experienced in Timeline 2. Jennifer surprises Marty with a fax she retrieved from 2015 in that timeline, and as it "ripples" into a blank sheet of paper, she discovers the hidden truth about time travel, exclaiming: "It erased!"

Back to the Future: The Animated Series is added to the events of the trilogy, Doc, Clara, Jules, Verne, and Einstein eventually return to Hill Valley and continue their adventures, occasionally joined by Marty McFly and Jennifer Parker.

[edit] DVD release

In July 1997, Universal Studios announced that Back to the Future would be one of their first 10 releases to the new format, though it ended up being delayed for five years. It was finally released at the end of 2002 in both widescreen and fullscreen versions in a blue box with Marty and Doc on the cover.

[edit] Framing issues

Devoted fans of the films quickly noticed that the video of the widescreen version of Parts II and III contained numerous shots that had been framed incorrectly, either because the shots were too high or low to center the image correctly, or because they "zoomed in" on the image, eliminating portions of the image on all sides. One notable example is when Marty's futuristic jacket adjusts itself to fit him, the misframed version doesn't show the sleeves changing size, thus ruining the visual gag. Outraged fans quickly organized petitions demanding that Universal Studios correct the problem and re-release the DVD set.[citation needed]

In May 2003, Universal corrected the problem and issued "V2" (Version 2) DVDs, that could only be distinguished from the original, flawed DVDs by the mark of a small "V2" near the edge of the discs themselves (and, of course, by comparing the corrected video). However, they did not initially begin packaging the V2 discs with the trilogy box set that was being sent to retailers. Instead, Universal set up a toll-free phone number which owners of the original DVDs could call, and ask for a postage-paid envelope to be sent to them. The owner would send their flawed discs to Universal in the envelope, and would soon thereafter receive the corrected "V2" discs by mail.

In January 2005, Universal began a nationwide promotional campaign, announcing that they would re-issue the DVDs of the trilogy at a special low price (about half the set's original retail price) on January 25, 2005, and then put the entire trilogy on moratorium a week later, on February 1, 2005, with new stickers on the box declared "Lowest Price Ever: Own It Before Time Runs Out!" The discs in this release contained no new content or bonus features from the original release even the packaging was almost identical, except for the promotional sticker and excluding the multi-page, full color DVD menu booklet. No booklet or chapter insert is included in the revised release, but did finally contain the corrected V2 discs. Curiously, only the disc for Part II displays the "V2" marking on its edge; the Part III disc does not, but fans have analyzed its video carefully and concluded that, despite the lack of the "V2" marking, the Part III disc is the corrected one.

[edit] Release formats and features

Box Audio Scene Specific Commentary Framing Enhanced MJ Fox interview
1986 (Part I) CED
Tan with Marty and De Lorean		 Stereo No  ? No
1986 (Part I) VHS
Blue with Marty and De Lorean-		 Stereo No Correct Widescreen No
1993 Japanese Laserdisc Charcoal with logo Stereo No Generous No
VCD Blue with Marty and De Lorean Stereo No Correct Widescreen No
2002 R1 DVD Blue with Marty and Doc with De Lorean Dolby 5.1 Yes Incorrect Widescreen Yes
2002 R2/R4 UK DVD Black with De Lorean Dolby 5.1 and DTS No Incorrect Widescreen No
2002 R2 German DVD Black with De Lorean Dolby 5.1 and DTS No Incorrect Widescreen  ?
2003 "V2" (Part II & Part III) DVD No box Dolby 5.1 Yes Corrected Widescreen Yes
2005 R1 DVD Blue with Marty and Doc Dolby 5.1 Yes Corrected Widescreen Yes
2005 R2/R4 UK DVD Blue with De Lorean Dolby 5.1 and DTS Yes Corrected Widescreen Yes
2005 R2 German DVD Blue with De Lorean Dolby 5.1 and DTS No Corrected Widescreen  ?
2005 R2 Japanese DVD Blue with De Lorean  ?  ? Corrected Widescreen  ?
2006 R2 UK DVD Blue with De Lorean Dolby 5.1 and DTS Yes Corrected Widescreen Yes

The footage that was shot with Eric Stoltz in the role of Marty McFly before he was replaced with Michael J. Fox has never been officially released. This footage was not included in Universal's original DVD release in 2002 or in 2005, despite many fans hoping that Universal would include it.

[edit] Promotional posters

All three posters were created by noted poster artist Drew Struzan, although the original concept poster of Marty looking at his watch by the car was by Wayne Coe. Each poster features a variation on the same pose, and has the same number of characters present as each movie is numbered.

  • For Part I, Marty is dressed in his 1985 clothes standing beside the original De Lorean time machine, raising his sunglasses and looking at his wristwatch.
  • For Part II, Marty and Doc are dressed in 2015 clothes beside a hovering De Lorean, raising their sunglasses and looking at their wristwatches.
  • For Part III, Marty, Doc and Clara are dressed in 1885 clothes beside a De Lorean on rails, holding the brims of their hats and looking at pocket watches.

A modified version of the Part I artwork, which added Doc Brown to the original image, was used on the cover of the trilogy's DVD release.

[edit] Games

  • Various video games based on the Back to the Future movies have been released over the years for home video game systems, including the Commodore 64 computer, the Sega Master System, the Sega Genesis/Megadrive, NES, and Super Nintendo system.
  • LJN also released Back to the Future Part II & III for the NES in 1990, which unlike the previous game, was a side scrolling platform game that allowed travelling back and forth between the different time periods from the trilogy as Marty attempts to correct the timeline and get back to the real 1985.
  • A Japanese-only release for the SNES was made based on Back to the Future II. The game was a side-scroller that allowed the player to control Marty on the hoverboard while he battled enemies. This game is consider to be closes to the movie rather than the other the LJN's version.The levels follows the movie.
  • A 1990 pinball game designed by Joe Kaminkow and Ed Cebula and released by Data East Pinball based on the Back to the Future trilogy. This game features three songs that were featured in the movies: "Back in Time" and "Power of Love" (originally performed by Huey Lewis & The News), and Doubleback (originally performed by ZZ Top).IPDB listing for Back to the Future: The Pinball.
  • The GameCube game, Universal Studios Theme Parks Adventure, featured the Back to the Future: The Ride as a game.Back to the Future Ride Game follows just like the ride. Your mission is to chase Biff in Hill Valley through time, future(2015), ice age, and prehistoric.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Back to the Future trilogy
Characters
McFly family
Brown Family
Tannen Family
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