| Back to the Future | |
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Official logo |
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| Directed by | Robert Zemeckis |
| Produced by | Bob Gale Neil Canton Frank Marshall Kathleen Kennedy Steven Spielberg Steve Starkey (associate 1 & 2) |
| Written by | Robert Zemeckis Bob Gale |
| Starring | Michael J. Fox Christopher Lloyd Thomas F. Wilson Lea Thompson James Tolkan Part 1: Claudia Wells Crispin Glover Parts 2 and 3: Elisabeth Shue Jeffrey Weissman Part 3: Mary Steenburgen |
| Music by | Alan Silvestri |
| Cinematography | Dean Cundey |
| Editing by | Harry Keramidas Arthur Schmidt |
| Studio | Amblin Entertainment |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 1985-1990 |
| Running time | 337 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $99,000,000 |
| Box office | $957,587,347 |
The Back to the Future trilogy is a comedic science fiction adventure film series written by Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis, directed by Zemeckis, produced by Amblin Entertainment and distributed by Universal Pictures. The main plot follows the adventures of a high school student Marty McFly (portrayed by Michael J. Fox) and eccentric scientist Dr. Emmett Brown (portrayed by Christopher Lloyd) as they use a modified DeLorean automobile to time travel to different periods of the history of Hill Valley, California.
The first film was the highest-grossing film of 1985 and became an international phenomenon, leading to the second and third films which were filmed back-to-back and released in 1989 and 1990 respectively. Though the two sequels did not perform quite as well at the box office as the first film, the trilogy remains immensely popular after a quarter of a century and has yielded such spin-offs as an animated television series and a motion-simulation ride at the Universal Studios Theme Parks in Universal City, California (now closed); Orlando, Florida (now closed), and Osaka, Japan, as well as a Microsoft Windows, Macintosh, iPad and PS3 video game. The film's visual effects were done by Industrial Light and Magic. All together, the trilogy was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one (Best Sound Editing).
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Seventeen year old Marty McFly is accidentally sent back in time from 1985 to 1955 in a time machine built from a DeLorean by eccentric scientist Emmett "Doc" Brown, when attacked by Libyans from whom Brown stole the plutonium which gives the flux capacitor the 1.21 gigawatts needed for time travel. Upon arriving in 1955, Marty inadvertently causes his mother Lorraine to fall in love with him, rather than with his father George McFly, beginning a paradox that would cause Marty to disappear from existence. With no additional plutonium to power the time machine, Marty must find the 1955 version of Doc Brown to help him reunite his parents and return to 1985. The efforts of Biff Tannen, George's bully and future employer, further complicates Marty's situation, until Marty successfully causes his parents to fall in love and simultaneously convinces George to finally stand up to Biff. Returning to the future via a 1.21 gigawatt lightning strike that jumpstarts the machine, Marty discovers a vastly improved future for the McFly family, as Biff is now their auto detailer rather than George's boss. Despite Doc's insistence on not knowing details of the future, a note Marty leaves in his pocket in the past saves him from being killed by the terrorists. However, in the film's final moments, Doc Brown appears in a modified version of the Delorean, and tells Marty that he must travel to the future to undo some situation caused by Marty's children.
The series continues as 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, Old Biff steals the DeLorean time machine and gives the book to his younger self just before he goes to the dance at the end of the first movie. 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, take over 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 old Biff on November 12, 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 DeLorean and activates the time circuits, sending Doc back to 1885 and leaving Marty stranded once again in 1955.
After finding out that Doc Brown is trapped in 1885, Marty sets out to find the 1955 Doc to help him fix the DeLorean (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 has become a blacksmith) and bring him back to the future. Unfortunately, an arrow has ripped a hole in the fuel line, emptying the gas tank and rendering the DeLorean engine useless. 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. After several dramatic action scenes involving a speeding locomotive, Marty returns to 1985 in the restored DeLorean. It appears on a train track as planned, and Marty jumps out just in time to see the DeLorean time machine destroyed by a modern train. He worries that Doc has been lost in the past forever, when suddenly Doc Brown appears in a new time machine, modeled after a locomotive. He introduces Marty to Clara (to whom he is now married) and his two sons, Jules and Verne. When Marty asks if Doc and his family are going to the future, Doc replies that he's already been to the future. The locomotive flies across the sky and disappears, ending the trilogy.
| Character | Film | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Back to the Future | Back to the Future Part II | Back to the Future Part III | |
| Marty McFly | Michael J. Fox | ||
| Dr. Emmett Brown | Christopher Lloyd | ||
| Biff Tannen | Thomas F. Wilson | ||
| Lorraine Baines | Lea Thompson | ||
| George McFly | Crispin Glover | Jeffrey Weissman Crispin Glover (archive footage) |
Jeffrey Weissman |
| Jennifer Parker | Claudia Wells | Elisabeth Shue | |
| Dave McFly | Marc McClure | Marc McClure (Deleted Scene and Mentioned Only) | Marc McClure |
| Linda McFly | Wendie Jo Sperber | (Mentioned Only) | Wendie Jo Sperber |
| Mr. Strickland | James Tolkan | ||
| 3-D | Casey Siemaszko | ||
| Match | Billy Zane | ||
| Skinhead | J.J. Cohen | ||
| Needles | Michael "Flea" Balzary | ||
| Marty McFly Jr | Michael J. Fox | ||
| Marlene McFly | Michael J. Fox | ||
| Griff Tannen | Thomas F. Wilson | ||
| Seamus McFly | Michael J. Fox | ||
| Maggie McFly | Lea Thompson | ||
| Clara Clayton | Mary Steenburgen | ||
| Buford 'Mad Dog' Tannen | Thomas F. Wilson (photograph) | Thomas F. Wilson | |
| Chief Marshal James Strickland | James Tolkan | ||
Marty McFly and Doc Brown were included in Empire's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time, ranking #39 and #76 respectively.[1][2]
| Film | Year | Director | Writers | Producers | Executive Producers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Back to the Future | 1985 | Robert Zemeckis | Robert Zemeckis Bob Gale |
Neil Canton Bob Gale |
Steven Spielberg Kathleen Kennedy Frank Marshall |
| Back to the Future Part II | 1989 | Story: Robert Zemeckis Bob Gale Screenplay: Bob Gale |
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| Back to the Future Part III | 1990 |
| Film | Release date | Box office revenue | Budget | Reference | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States & Canada | Foreign | Worldwide | ||||||
| Back to the Future | July 3, 1985 | $210,609,762 | $170,500,000 | $381,109,762 | $19,000,000 | [3] | ||
| Back to the Future Part II | November 22, 1989 | $118,450,002 | $213,500,000 | $331,950,002 | $40,000,000 | [4][5] | ||
| Back to the Future Part III | May 25, 1990 | $87,727,583 | $156,800,000 | $244,527,583 | $40,000,000 | [6] | ||
| Total | $416,787,347 | $540,800,000 | $957,587,347 | $99,000,000 | ||||
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As of June 2011[update], the Back to the Future series is the fourteenth highest grossing trilogy of all time at the domestic market (adjusted for inflation),[7] seventeenth highest grossing trilogy of all time at the domestic market (not adjusted for inflation),[8] and the thirteenth highest grossing trilogy of all time, worldwide (not adjusted for inflation).[9]
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 in 2002 in widescreen. In the USA, a fullscreen version was also released.
On October 21, 2008, BTTF.com broke the story that Universal will be releasing each of the "Back to the Future" films individually. The DVDs were released on February 10, 2009. "Back to the Future" became a 2-disc set featuring the documentary "Looking Back to the Future" and "Back to the Future: The Ride."[10]
In June 2008, a special screening of the trilogy was held in Celebration, Florida. Bob Gale told the crowd they were seeing the digitally remastered version that was going to be used for the Blu-ray version of the movies. Gale also spoke to potential supplemental features on a Blu-ray version of the trilogy, saying only that never-before-seen bonus materials may appear, though he stopped short of offering any specifics.[11] On June 28, 2010, Universal announced that the Blu-ray edition of the films would be released on October 26, 2010, twenty-five years to the day from the date of the fictional events from the first film.[12] There have been numerous complaints about the R1 packaging,[13] leading to the release of an instruction sheet on how to safely remove and insert discs.[14] In addition, the end credits for the first movie, on both the Blu-ray and the 25th anniversary DVD, are presented in the wrong aspect ratio (squished in to a 4:3 frame by an exact 25% horizontal amount), recognizable by the decidedly non-circular "O"s and MPAA logo; Universal has so far not recognized the problem or offered a replacement program.
| Box | Audio | Scene Specific Commentary | Framing | Enhanced MJ Fox interview | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 (Part I) CED | Tan with Marty and DeLorean | Stereo | No | ? | No |
| 1986 (Part I) VHS | Blue with Marty and DeLorean | Stereo | No | Correct Widescreen | No |
| 1993 Japanese Laserdisc | Charcoal with logo | Stereo | No | Generous | No |
| VCD | Blue with Marty and DeLorean | Stereo | No | Correct Widescreen | No |
| 2002 R1 DVD | Blue with Marty and Doc with DeLorean | Dolby 5.1 | Yes | Incorrect Widescreen | Yes |
| 2002 R2/R4 UK DVD | Black with DeLorean | Dolby 5.1 and DTS | No | Incorrect Widescreen | No |
| 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 DeLorean | Dolby 5.1 and DTS | Yes | Corrected Widescreen | Yes |
| 2006 R2 UK DVD | Blue with DeLorean | Dolby 5.1 and DTS | Yes | Corrected Widescreen | Yes |
| 2008 R2 UK DVD | Black Steelbook Case with DeLorean | Dolby 5.1 and DTS | Yes | Corrected Widescreen | Yes |
| 2009 R1 Individual DVDs | BTTF: Marty with DeLorean BTTF II: Marty and Doc with DeLorean BTTF III: Marty, Doc, and Clara with DeLorean |
Dolby 5.1 | Yes | Corrected Widescreen | Yes |
| 2010 25th Anniversary R1 Blu-ray/Digital copy | Blue with Marty and Doc with DeLorean | DTS-HD 5.1 | Yes | Corrected Widescreen (squished credits on Part I) | Yes |
| 2010 R2 Blu-ray | Blue with Marty with DeLorean | DTS-HD 5.1 | Yes | Corrected Widescreen | ? |
| 2010 Limited Edition Collector's Tin R2 Blu-ray | Tin blue with Marty with DeLorean | DTS-HD 5.1 | Yes | Corrected Widescreen | ? |
| 2010 25th Anniversary R2 DVD | Blue with Marty with DeLorean | Dolby 5.1 | 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 was not included in Universal's original DVD release in 2002 or in 2009, despite many fans hoping that Universal would include it. Some very brief footage has been released in the Blu-ray version in 2010.
In 1985, MCA Records released the Back to the Future soundtrack. It featured 8 tracks performed by Huey Lewis and the News, Lindsey Buckingham, Eric Clapton, Marvin Berry and the Starlighters, and Etta James. Only 2 tracks were culled from Alan Silvestri's orchestral score.
In 1989, MCA Records released Back To The Future Part II soundtrack with 13 tracks.
In 1990, Varèse Sarabande released Back To The Future Part III soundtrack with 18 tracks.
In 1999, Varèse Sarabande released Back to the Future trilogy soundtrack with 8 tracks from the first film, 7 from the second, 4 from the third, and 1 from the ride.
In 2009, Intrada released a two-CD Back to the Future set as Intrada Special Collection Volume 116. It features the complete original motion picture soundtrack (that is, Alan Silvestri's entire orchestral score) from Back to the Future (Part I) with 24 tracks, 15 tracks of alternate early sessions and one unused source cue from the scoring sessions.
Various video games based on the Back to the Future movies have been released over the years for home video game systems, including the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 computers, the Sega Master System, the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, NES, and Super Nintendo system.
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