Back to the Future (1985)

Director: Robert Zemeckis
Story: Bob Gale, Robert Zemeckis
Cast: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Thomas F. Wilson
Music: Alan Silvestri
Time: 116 minutes
Bottom-line: Funny, thrilling and innovative, Back to the Future is an unforgettable sci-fi classic

  Like North by Northwest, Back to the Future combines a mixture of comedy, thrill and science fiction into a neat package that will entertain you all the way. This is perhaps the best film made on time travel, and by the time you finish watching this film, whenever you hear the words ‘time travel’, this film will come to your mind.

Fox as Marty (left) and Lloyd as the Doc

Marty McFly (Fox) lives at Hill Valley along with his parents, George McFly (Crispin Glover) and Lorraine McFly (Thompson). Life isn’t going well for Marty: he is rejected from the school band; his father is being bullied by his boss Biff Tannen (Wilson); his mother is obese and an alcoholic and his elder siblings haven’t done anything remarkable. The only interesting thing in his life is the friendship he has with scientist Doc Emmett Brown (Lloyd).
 Doc calls Marty late one night, asking him to bring his video camera. He has apparently invented a time machine, in the shape of a 1981 DeLorean DMC-12. To their surprise, it works: when the car reaches a speed of 88 miles per hour, it is transported in time. An unexpected incident forces Marty to escape in the car, but he is accidentally transported back in time to 1955, to the day Doc got the idea of time travel. Things in 1955 aren’t so well either: his father is still being bullied at college by Biff and his gang, Marty’s mother falls in love with him, which means that Marty will never be born in the future! The 1955 Doc doesn’t believe that Marty is from the future, but eventually does. But he says that without plutonium, the amount of power required to send the car back to the future can only be provided by lightning. Marty suddenly remembers an incident, in which Hill Valley’s clock tower is struck by lightning in 1955, one week from then. Does Marty, with the Doc’s help, manage to go back to the future? Does he make his future parents love each other, to ensure his existence? Watch this film and find the answers!

The time machine: a DeLorean

This film came in 1985, when the concept of time travel was only shown in The Terminator (1984) previously. But this film made it famous. The actual effects and catastrophes of time travel are shown only in Back to the Future Part 2, where three timelines are involved. In this film, only 1985 and 1955 are shown. The 1955 settings are pretty good, as are the dialogues. In one scene, Lorraine’s father gives Marty directions, and Marty says, “…that’s just next to John F. Kennedy Street.” Lorraine’s father immediately asks, “Who is John F. Kennedy?” First time, you think, ‘How come he doesn’t know JFK?’ and then you realize, ‘JFK didn’t rise to fame before 1955’.

Many scenes in 1955 have a reference to the future. In a scene in 1985, there is a poster which says a certain person is becoming the mayor. In 1955, Marty sees the same person as a waiter. The waiter brags about how he is going to ‘clean up’ Hill Valley, and Marty says, “Yeah, he is going to become a mayor.” Similarly, few dialogues in 1985 say about events that happened in 1955, and Marty experiences those too. What I am trying to say is that Zemeckis and Gale have done a great job in linking the events of both timelines (of course, this linking is nothing compared to films like Memento). So, some amount of observation is needed. You need to watch the screen for few clues and you need to hear to the dialogues to know what is going on.

The dialogues are funny and catchy. There is not much science and not so much talk about time travel. This part is mainly more of fun than actual sci-fi. Michael J. Fox has acted superbly. Christopher Lloyd also has acted well, playing a typical absent-minded but brilliant scientist. There are not much of special effects in the film, except for the couple of times when the time machine is transported through time.

The concept of time travel could have been elaborated a little more. This categorized under science fiction, so I think it would have been better to include some more information on time travel. The romance between Lorraine and Marty in 1955 could have had lesser screen time: few useless dialogues and scenes could have been cut. There are no other negative factors worth mentioning.

On the whole, Back to the Future is an unforgettable epic, which will remain in your memory for a long time. This film has become a standard reference for time travel. Good acting, smart dialogues and an excellent script make this film a classic. Don’t expect much of science in the film: this film is pure fun!


My Rating: 4/5
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 96%