Back to the Future
 | This article may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling. (April 2007) |
| Back to the Future | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Robert Zemeckis |
| Written by | Robert Zemeckis Bob Gale |
| Produced by | Bob Gale Steven Spielberg |
| Starring | Michael J. Fox Christopher Lloyd |
| Cinematography | Dean Cundey |
| Edited by | Harry Keramidas Arthur Schmidt |
| Music by | Alan Silvestri |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release dates |  US - July 3, 1985 |
Running time | 116 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $19,000,000 |
Back to the Future is a 1985 science fiction–comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis and produced by Steven Spielberg. Zemeckis also wrote the story, along with Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox as teenager Marty McFly and Christopher Lloyd as mad scientist "Doc" Brown. Sent thirty years back in time in a DeLorean time machine, Marty inadvertently interferes with his parents' courtship and is forced to try and make them fall in love or else he will never be born.
The film opened on July 3, 1985 and grossed U.S.$210 million at the U.S. box office, making it the highest grossing film of 1985.[1] The film was followed by two sequels, Back to the Future Part II in 1989 and Back to the Future Part III in 1990, forming a trilogy. On December 17, 2002, Universal Studios Home Entertainment released the film on DVD and VHS as part of Back to the Future: The Complete Trilogy.
Due to the film's success, three spin-off projects were made. CBS TV aired an animated series, Back to the Future: The Animated Series and Harvey Comics released a handful of similarly styled comic books, although their stories were original and not merely duplicates of the films. In 1991, Universal Studios Theme Parks opened a simulator ride based on the series called Back to the Future: The Ride. The ride closed on March 31, 2007.
Plot
The year is 1985 and Marty McFly is an average seventeen-year-old living in Hill Valley, California. Visiting the home of his eccentric scientist friend "Doc" Emmet Brown, he finds no one home, but receives a phone call from Doc asking him to meet him that night. After school, a woman approaches Marty and his girlfriend Jennifer (Claudia Wells), looking for donations to save the town's clock tower which has not rung since it was struck by lightning thirty years ago. Once he gets home, Marty finds his neurotic father George (Crispin Glover) being bullied by his supervisor Biff Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson). At dinner, Marty's mother Lorraine (Lea Thompson) recounts how she and George first met when her father hit George with a car.
That night, Marty meets Doc in the parking lot of Twin Pines Mall. Doc shows him a DeLorean DMC-12 sports car, which he has modified into a time machine. The time machine requires 1.21 gigawatts of power, generated by plutonium, and the car must be going eighty-eight miles per hour to travel through time. To demonstrate how one programs the machine, Doc enters in November 5, 1955 as the target date. The Libyan terrorists Doc stole the plutonium from suddenly show up in a van and shoot him.
Marty jumps into the DeLorean and, in the ensuing chase, he drives eighty-eight miles per hour, activating the time device. Marty explores the Hill Valley of 1955, finding that George is now a nerdy teenager, Lorraine is a goo-goo-eyed schoolgirl and Biff is the school bully. In the critical moment when George was about to be hit by Lorraine's father's car, Marty saves George by taking the hit himself. This causes Marty to take his father's place as Lorraine's infatuation as well as prevent his teenaged parents from meeting.
Marty tracks down the Doc of thirty years ago and convinces the scientist that he is from the future. Doc tells him that, aside from plutonium, the only possible source of enough power to send Marty back to 1985 is a bolt of lightning. Since Marty knows the lightning strike to the clock tower will happen the following Saturday, Doc concocts a way to harness the bolt's power by using cables to connect the clock tower to two lamp posts, which Marty will drive under in the DeLorean at eighty-eight miles per hour the moment the lightning strikes.
Doc deduces that Marty has damaged the time line by preventing his parents from meeting. Since Marty will not exist unless his parents fall in love, he finds that he is in danger of being erased from time. Marty eventually works out a plan to have George "rescue" Lorraine from Marty's advances on the night of a school dance. Biff shows up and attacks the couple, but George arrives and stands up to Biff for the first time in his life, knocking him out with a single punch. Lorraine and George return to the dance together where they kiss for the first time, ensuring Marty's existence.
Before Marty can leave, Doc finds a letter in his coat pocket that Marty had written, warning him about his future assassination by the Libyans. Doc rips up the letter without reading it, knowing the dangers of knowing the future. Marty adjusts the time machine to take him back ten minutes early so he can warn Doc right before he is killed. Upon his arrival in 1985, Marty sees the Libyans shoot Doc again, but Doc then unzips his coverall to reveal a bulletproof vest. He pulls out Marty's letter from 1955, which he had taped back together.
The next morning, Marty finds his family has been changed for the better. Most notably, George has become self-confident and is no longer dominated by Biff. Just as Jennifer and Marty reunite, Doc arrives from the year 2015, appearing frantic about a problem with the couple's future children. Marty and Jennifer climb aboard the DeLorean and, aided by the technology of thirty years hence, the car lifts off into the sky.
Themes
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Seeing One's Parents as Teenagers
The film explores the notion of a teenager being able to meet his parents when they were the same age as him, an encounter which would be impossible in real life. This plays on the generation gap, specifically the one between the Silent Generation and Generation X, and the resulting inability many teenagers have to imagine that their parents too lived through adolescence.
The film's general theme regarding Lorraine seems to be that she was not as wholesome in her youth as she would later claim. Specifically, she tells her kids in 1985 that she didn't so much as call a boy when she was a girl, but in 1955 is shown to be much more sexually active, stating that she has often "parked" with boys. This theme is also explored to a lesser degree with George, who Marty discovers was a "peeping tom" in 1955. Marty also finds that his mother smoked and drank as a teen, behaviors which has Marty apparently avoided.
1980s vs. 1950s
The film also explores the differences between the 1980s and the 1950s. This theme is primarily seen through the culture shock experienced by Marty when he attempts to function in a version of his own town that he is unfamiliar with, which is played for much "fish out of water"-type humor. The 1955 Doc's absurdly inaccurate predictions of life in 1985 contrast the typical 1950s expectations of the "future" with the actual future seen in the 1985 scenes.
Production
Script
The inspiration for the film largely stems from Bob Gale, who discovered his father's high school yearbook and wondered whether he would have been friends with his father as a teenager. His father was class president and pretty much the "big guy on campus", while Bob was on the other end of the social barometer - more of a nerd. [2] Gale and Robert Zemeckis originally wrote the script in 1980 but struggled to find the time to make it. Steven Spielberg read it when Gale first had the idea and asked Zemeckis a number of years later what had happened to it. The year 1955 was chosen as it would make the main character's parents the same age and because it was the era that teenage culture was born.
Zemeckis pitched the idea to several companies.[3] Disney turned it down because they thought that a story involving a mother falling in love with her son was too risqué, even if in a twist of time travel.[3] All other companies said it was not risqué enough, compared to other teen comedies at the time (such as Porky's, Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Revenge of the Nerds).
One of the main elements of the story is showing how the people and buildings in Hill Valley changed over time. Many subtle features which play no part in the main plot are referred to or mentioned in both time periods. Gale had this as part of the story from a very early stage. He later developed this idea of change into a major plot point by having the courthouse clock being struck by lighting as what sends Marty back to 1985.[4] The general theme appears to be that in 1955 Hill Valley was a far nicer place.
Sid Sheinberg, the head of Universal Pictures, made many changes to the movie. "Professor Brown" was changed to "Doc Brown" and his chimp Shemp to a dog named Einstein . Marty's mother had previously been Meg, then Eileen, but Sid Sheinberg insisted that she be named Lorraine after his wife Lorraine Gary.[3] Sheinberg also did not like the title, insisting that no one would see a movie with "future" in the title[3]. In a memo to Robert Zemeckis, he said that the title should be changed to "Spaceman From Pluto", tying in with the Marty-as-alien jokes in the film.[5] Steven Spielberg replied in a memo thanking him for the wonderful "joke memo" and told him everyone got a kick out of it. Sid Sheinberg, too proud to admit he was serious, let the title stand.[6]
In the original script, Marty's rock-and-roll caused a riot at the dance that had to be broken up by police. This, combined with Marty accidentally tipping Doc off to the "secret ingredient" that made the time machine work (Coca-Cola) caused history to change. When Marty got back to the 1980s, he found that it was now the 1950s conception of that decade, with air-cars and whatnot, all invented by Doc Brown and running on Coca-Cola. Marty also discovers that rock and roll was never invented (the most popular musical style is now the mambo), and he dedicates himself to starting the delayed cultural revolution. Meanwhile, his dad digs out the newspaper from the day after the dance and sees his son in the picture of the riot.[7]
In the film's script the word "gigawatt" is spelled and pronounced "jigowatt" (/dʒɪgæwɑt/). Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis had been to a science seminar and the speaker had pronounced it /dʒɪgæwɑt/. This is an uncommon although accepted pronunciation of the word "gigawatt", not an error.
Doc Brown's "man hanging off a clock face" reprises the famous scene in Harold Lloyd's Safety Last! (1923). The fact that Christopher Lloyd and Harold Lloyd have the same last name, however, is merely a coincidence.
Casting and filming
As Back to the Future's producers scouted locations on a residential street in Pasadena, Michael J. Fox was elsewhere on that street, filming his first starring feature role, Teen Wolf. The producers became interested in having Fox play Marty McFly. However, Fox initially had to turn down the part because another actor in Family Ties, Meredith Baxter-Birney, was pregnant at the time, and thus the show's producers were looking to Fox's character (Alex Keaton) to "carry the show".[8]
Production of the film began on November 26, 1984 with actor Eric Stoltz portraying Marty McFly, and reportedly shot for more than four weeks, until the return of executive producer Steven Spielberg, who was out of the country at the time[citation needed]. After seeing a rough cut, Spielberg and the writer/directors agreed that Stoltz was a fine actor, but unfortunately not right for the part. Stoltz had played it seriously, and they wanted a lighter touch on the character. They returned to the idea of Michael J. Fox, who this time worked out a shooting schedule that would not interfere with his television commitment. Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).
The Courthouse Square backlot at Universal Studios was used for both time periods with the 1955 scenes filmed first so that the location could be "trashed down" for the 1985 scenes. [3]
Music
The film's musical score was by Alan Silvestri, who later wrote music for Forrest Gump and numerous other films, many of them directed by Robert Zemeckis. The themes in his Back to the Future Suite have since been heard in Back to the Future Part 2 and Part 3, which were also scored by Silvestri, in Back to the Future: The Ride and as ambient music at the Universal Studios theme parks. The hip, upbeat Back to the Future Soundtrack, featuring two new songs by Huey Lewis and the News, also contributed to the film's popularity. "The Power of Love" became the band's first song to hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated for an Academy Award. Huey Lewis portrayed the high-school band audition judge that rejects Michael J. Fox's band, The Pinheads, as they perform "The Power of Love".
The film's soundtrack, which was available on CD, also included songs by Eric Clapton, Lindsey Buckingham, Etta James and others. It used the largest orchestra ever assembled by Universal Pictures.[4] Two 1950s hits Marty encounters when he arrives in 1955, "Mr. Sandman" by The Four Aces and the Fess Parker recording of "The Ballad of Davy Crockett", were not included on the CD release.
The material ostensibly by Marty McFly, Marvin Berry and the Starlighters was recorded by Harry Waters, Jr. as Marvin Berry and Mark Campbell as Marty McFly, and the guitar solo by Tim May. (Campbell and May received a Special Thanks acknowledgment in the film's end credits, with the recording credit going to the fictional characters.) Berry's group also plays the song "Night Train", first recorded by Jimmy Forrest in 1951.[9]
Reaction
The film opened on July 3, 1985 and grossed U.S.$210 million at the U.S. box office, making it the highest grossing film of 1985.[10] The film was followed by two sequels, Back to the Future Part II in 1989 and Back to the Future Part III in 1990, forming a trilogy. On December 17, 2002, Universal Studios Home Entertainment released the film on DVD and VHS as part of Back to the Future: The Complete Trilogy.
Critics
Reviews were generally positive. Roger Ebert complimented the direction, writing that Zemeckis "shows not only a fine comic touch but also some of the lighthearted humanism of a Frank Capra." Even the sequences where Marty's mom has the "hots for him" are regarded as "up-beat... without ever becoming uncomfortable."[11] The BBC applauded the intricacies of the "outstandingly executed" script, remarking that "nobody says anything that doesn't become important to the plot later."[12]
This movie ranked number 28 on Entertainment Weekly's list of the 50 Best High School Movies.[13] As of December 2006, Back to the Future had received a very respectable 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, with 98% rating from the users.[14] In 2006, Back to the Future was voted the 20th greatest film ever made by readers of Empire.[15]
Cultural impact
The series was very popular in the 1980s, even making fans out of celebrities like ZZ Top (who appeared in the third film) and President Ronald Reagan, who referred to the movie in his 1986 State of the Union address when he said, "Never has there been a more exciting time to be alive, a time of rousing wonder and heroic achievement. As they said in the film Back to the Future, 'Where we're going, we don't need roads.'"[16] Reagan liked the film a great deal. In fact, when he first saw the joke about him being president, ie. "Ronald Reagan? The actor? Ha! Then who's Vice President, Jerry Lewis?", he made the projectionist of the theatre stop the reel, roll it back, and run it again. He also considered accepting a role in the third film as the 1885 mayor of Hill Valley but eventually declined.
DirecTV commercial
In early 2007, two commercials for the DirecTV satellite TV service began airing based on the film. Using both new and old footage, the spots recreate Marty's climactic departure from 1955, with Doc (Lloyd) addressing the viewer, lamenting the fact that he has failed to advise Marty to subscribe to the service upon his return to the future. The longer of the two, touting improved technology, ends with Doc running down the street yelling "Impossible? That's what they said about my flux capacitor!" while the shorter has him declaring the service "TV from outer space!" The latter line presumably refers to how advanced the concept of satellite television would have been in 1955, which was two years before the launch of Sputnik.
It can be observed that in these commercials that the bruise on Doc's head is on the wrong side of his forehead in the recently filmed shots. This can be seen effectively during the moment when he is connecting to the electrified cables, and then during his close-up where he says "three times more HD capacity than cable". Needless to say, Marty would not actually be able to get DirecTV once he got back to the future as it did not exist in 1985 and the Doc of 1955 would obviously have no way of knowing about it. However, this blatant illogic can be regarded simply as a joke.
Other references
In the 2007 Doctor Who episode "The Shakespeare Code", the Doctor uses Marty's predicament in Back to the Future to illustrate to Martha Jones that it is possible for the world to come to an end in the year 1599, even though Martha was born centuries later.
In the episode of the Family Guy- "Meet the Quagmires," Bryan and Peter go back to the 80's (instead of the 50's). The Newport Country Club Dance mimics the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance. Bryan plays bass and sings the song "Earth Angel," where Peter and Lois first kiss. Then afterwards plays "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley. A guy named Marvin Astley called his cousin Rick and tell him he's found the mediocre sound he was looking for.
Series continuity
Sequels were not initially planned. Zemeckis later stated that had sequels been envisioned, the first film would not have ended with Jennifer traveling in the DeLorean with Marty and Doc, which created logistical problems in plotting the other films. In addition, the "To Be Continued..." caption was not added until the film was released to video[12] by which time plans for a sequel (eventually two sequels) had been announced (the filmmakers chose to omit the caption from the 2002 DVD release).
Ultimately, the sequels did not fare as well at the box office. While the first installment grossed $210 million (making it the biggest-earning movie of 1985), Back to the Future Part II (Fall 1989) and Back to the Future Part III (Spring 1990) made roughly $118 million and $88 million, respectively.
Home video release history
- November 30, 1986 (VHS & Laserdisc)
- January 25, 1987 (VHS & Laserdisc)
- May 18, 1987 (VHS & Laserdisc)
- December 15, 1990 (VHS)
- May 27, 1995 (VHS & Compact Disc)
- March 9, 1999 (VHS, Compact Disc & Laserdisc)
- July 1, 1999 (DVD with Lucasfilm THX)
- May 7, 2000 (VHS & DVD)
- June 5, 2003 (VHS & DVD)
See also
References
- ^ "Top grossing movies for 1985 in the USA." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). 9 December 2006.
- ^ Gale, Bob (2002). Back to the Future, The Complete Trilogy - "The Making of the Trilogy, Part 1" (DVD). Universal Home Video.
- ^ a b c d e Zemeckis, Robert Gale, Bob (2002). Back to the Future: The Complete Trilogy DVD commentary for part 1 (DVD). Universal Pictures.
{{cite AV media}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ a b Zemeckis, Robert Gale, Bob (1985). The making of Back to the Future (VHS). Universal Pictures.
{{cite AV media}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ Haflidason, Almar. "Back to the Future DVD (1985)". Retrieved 2006-11-29.
- ^ Robert Zemickis and Bob Gale, Q&A, Back to the Future [DVD], recorded at the University of Southern California
- ^ "Back to the Future: FIRST DRAFT". 24 February 1981. Retrieved 2006-11-26.
- ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". bttf.com. Retrieved 2006-11-29.
- ^ Dahl, Bill. "Song Review: Night Train - Jimmy Forrest". AllMusicGuide. All Media Guide, LLC. Retrieved 2006-12-17.
- ^ "Top grossing movies for 1985 in the USA." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). 9 December 2006.
- ^ Panton, Gary (1 May 2003). "Back To The Future (1985)". Movie Gazette. Retrieved 2006-11-29.
- ^ a b "Back to the Future (1985)". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2006-11-29.
- ^ "The 50 Best High School Movies". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2006-11-26.
- ^ "Back to the Future." Rotten Tomatoes. 9 December 2006.
- ^ "201 Greatest Movie of all Time". Empire. March 2006 (Issue 201). p. 97.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN'S ADDRESS BEFORE A JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS ON THE STATE OF THE UNION". February 4, 1986. Retrieved 2006-11-26.
External links
- Universal Pictures site
- BTTF.com
- BTTF Frequently Asked Questions written by Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis
- Back to the Future Filming Locations
- Back to the Future at IMDb
- Template:Amg movie
- Back to the Future at Rotten Tomatoes
- Back to the Future at Yahoo! Movies
- Wikipedia articles needing copy edit from April 2007
- Best Science Fiction Film Saturn
- 1985 films
- Adventure films
- American films
- Back to the Future
- Fish out of water films
- Films directed by Robert Zemeckis
- Universal Pictures films
- Hugo Award Winner for Best Dramatic Presentation
- English-language films
- Time travel films
- Amblin Entertainment films