By John C.

 

As the story goes, on October 26th, 1985, the eccentric Dr. Emmet Brown (Christopher Lloyd) was ready to drive his Delorean 25 years into the future, but a twist of fate involving terrorists instead sent teenager Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) 30 years back.  In 1955, McFly had to ensure that his parents (Crispin Glover & Lea Thompson) would still fall in love, so that he could exist in the future.

 

In 1985 audiences were first introduced to the world of Back to the Future, and 25 years later, it still holds up as one of the most entertaining movies strictly on the subject of time travel.  Tomorrow, Universal Studios Home Entertainment is releasing the beloved trilogy on Blu-ray.  I haven’t yet gotten the chance to preview the likely spectacular new BD set, all I’ve got are the well-watched DVDs which I’ve had since that format was new.

 

The question asked in the film is, what would happen if you were able to meet your parents when they were your age?  And how could we affect the future, by changing things in the past?  It’s a universal question that we’ve all wondered about at one time or another, and the idea of being able to travel through time and dimensions is one that has fascinated us for generations.  What works so well about Back to the Future is the way that it handles humour and heart, while crafting a grand finale that still leaves us on the edge of our seat no matter how many times we’ve seen it.

 

It’s hard to believe that several studios passed up the original script by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale.  Only after the success of Zemeckis’ Romancing the Stone a year earlier, was the project set up at Universal.  Although Michael J. Fox was the first choice for the role of Marty McFly, scheduling conflicts kept him off the set and Eric Stoltz was originally cast as the lead.  Five weeks into filming, Stoltz agreed with the crew that he was miscast, and Fox rearranged his schedule filming Family Ties so that he could star in the movie.

 

Back to the Future opened on July 3rd of ‘85 to strong critical reception, and went on to gross over $380 million worldwide, even becoming the most financially successful movie of the year.  But the wonderful performances, dazzling effects and magnificent score by Alan Silvestri, were a winning combination that wasn’t originally intended to go beyond the first film.  A sequel was first hinted at when “to be continued” was added at the end of the video release.

 

In 1989, audiences got the much-anticipated follow-up.  Part 2 showed us a gadget-filled 2015 with hoverboards, multiple-screen TV glasses and dehydrated pizzas, among other things that have yet to come true.  In the first and third, the film’s present was the future that they had to get back to from the past, making the second the only one that literally goes to the future.  Though considered by many to be the weakest of the series, when watched sandwiched in the middle of the trilogy, it’s still a thought-provoking and very satisfying continuation of the story.

 

Six months later in 1990, the third and final film was released.  Part 3 was an excellent example of the merging of two genres.  Taking the action back to 1885, the film worked well as both science fiction and western.  One of the most satisfying things about this endlessly entertaining threequel is the way that the entire trilogy brilliantly and intricately comes together over an action-packed finale.

 

From this year’s raunchy and embarrassingly hilarious Hot Tub Time Machine – which even included a very funny minor role by Crispin Glover, to last year’s 17 Again, Back to the Future has largely inspired other stories of travel through time and still remains a staple of popular culture.  Lines like “Great Scott!” and “Where we’re going, we don’t need no roads!” have also become acceptable anecdotes to everyday conversations.  From skateboarding to playing the guitar, there has also always been a coolness to the film’s young hero, no matter what era the story is taking place.

 

Co-written and directed by Robert Zemeckis, this brilliant saga took the idea of time travel and presented it in a way that was appealing, believable, and very easy to understand.  The first film in particular remains a timeless classic that doesn’t age upon each subsequent viewing.  Zemeckis has crafted many great films over his long career, and this trilogy has meant a lot to me for quite some time.  May it’s legacy last long into the future.