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to the Future Features |
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| Back
to the Future Quotes |
You
don't have a chance; you're too much like your old man. No McFly
ever amounted to anything in the history of Hill Valley.
Yeah,
well, history is going to change.
--Principal Strickland and Marty McFly
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This is heavy.
Weight has nothing to do with it!
--Marty McFly and Doc Brown
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Why are things so heavy in the future? Is there a problem with the
Earth's gravitational pull?
--Doc Brown
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Why don't you make like a tree..and get out of here.
--Biff Tannen
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Last night, Darth Vader came down from planet Vulcan and told me
that if I didn't take Lorraine out he'd melt my brain.
--George McFly |
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| Entertainment
References |
The
film makes reference to:
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
The Atomic Kid (1954)
Brazil (1985)
"Love, American Style" (1969)
"The Honeymooners" (1955)-The McFly's and the Baines
families both watch the same episode of this television program.
This is also where Marty gets the idea for dressing up as a spaceman
later in the film.
Cattle Queen of Montana (1954)-This film is playing
at the Hill Valley theater when Marty first arrives in town in 1955.
Davy Crockett, King of the Wide Frontier (1955)-This song
is playing in the background when Marty first goes into Lou's Diner
in 1955.
"Science Fiction Theater" (1955)-This is a television
program that George McFly watches. He uses it as an excuse not to
ask Lorraine to the dance.
"The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show" (1961)-The name
of the tree farmer is Mr. Peabody. His son's name is Sherman. Sherman
was the name of the boy who assisted the time travelling-dog, Mr.
Peabody, on this program.
Dr. Strangelove (Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love
the Bomb) (1964) & 2001 (1969)-In Doc's lab,
the amplifier that Marty plugs his guitar into is labled 'CRM-114.'
This is the name of the message decoder on the B-52 in Dr.
Strangelove. It is also the serial number of the Jupiter
explorer in 2001. Both of these films were directed by Stanley
Kubrick.
"Star Trek" (1966) and Star Wars (1977)-Marty
calls himself Darth Vader from the planet Vulcan. Darth Vadar is
the bad guy from Star Wars and Vulcan is the home planet
of Mr. Spock from "Star Trek."
Time After Time (1979)-November 5th was the date for
time travel in this film as well.
E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (1982) -In Hill Valley,
the theater is showing "A Boy's Life", the working title
for E.T.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)-In Hill
Valley, the theater is showing "Watch the Skies," the
working title for Close Encounters.
This film is referred to In:
My Science Project (1985)
Mask (1985)
Timestalkers (1987 - TV Film)
Amazon Women on the Moon (1987)
Scrooged (1988)
Say Anything (1989)
Parenthood (1989)
The Last Boy Scout (1991)
Aladdin (1992)
Death Becomes Her (1992)
Forrest Gump (1994)
Voll Normaaal (1994)
Darkman III: Die Darkman Die (1996)
Contact (1997)
El Melagro De P. Tinto (1998)
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)
Chicken Run (2000)
This film is spoofed in:
Backside to the Future (1986 - video)
Backside to the Future II (1987 - video)
Snatched to the Future (1991 - video)
Toy Story (1995)
Jack (1996)
Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Jice
in the 'Hood (1996)
Nurse Betty (2000) |
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| Different
Versions |
When
shown on network television, 6 minutes of footage are added to the
film, including the following scenes:
--1955 Doc investigates 1985 Doc's suitcase and finds a hair dryer
and Playboy magazine.
-- Marty
peeks into a classroom and catches his mother cheating on a test.
-- At
the dance, George loses track of the time. He gets insode a phone
booth and calls for the time and weather. One of Biff's gang slides
a ruler in the door, trapping him inside. Strickland later rescues
him and he runs off to where he thinks Marty is pretending to attack
Lorraine. |
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| Back
to the Future Sequels and Spin-Offs |
Back
to the Future Part II (1989)
Back to the Future Part III
(1990)
"Back
to the Future" (1991-1993) - Animated TV Series |
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| Back
to the Future Re-Makes |
| Back
to the Future was remade in India in the Hindu language. |
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HOME
:: ACTING :: MOTION
PICTURES :: BACK TO THE FUTURE |
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| BRIEF
PLOT SYNOPSIS |
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| A
teenager is transported from 1985 to 1955 and prevents the first
important meeting between his parents. Now, he has one week to make
his parents fall in love and to get himself back to the future. |
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GENERAL
FILM INFORMATION
GENRE: Comedy/Science Fiction
TAGLINES:
--17 year old Marty McFly got home early last night. 30 years early.
--He was never in time for his classes, he wasn't in time for his
dinner. then one day, he wasn't in his time at all.
--Marty McFly's having the time of his life. The only question is
- what time is it?
--Meet Marty McFly. He's broken the time barrier, busted his parent's
first date, and, maybe, botched his chances of ever being born.
--Marty McFly just broke the time barrier. He's only got one week
to get it fixed.
SETTING: Hill Valley, California;
USA (1985, 1955)
FILMING LOCATIONS:
--Arleta, California; USA (Exterior of the McFly House)
--Copley, Ohio; USA
--Gamble House; Pasadena, California; USA
--Puente Hills Mall; City of Industry, California; USA
--Victory Boulevard; Burbank, California; USA
--Whittier high School; Whittier, California; USA
U.S. RELEASE DATE: July 3, 1985
RUNNING TIME: 116 Minutes; 1 hour
56 minutes
RATING: PG
OPENING WEEKEND GROSS: $11,332,134 on 1435 screens (USA)
TOTAL GROSS USA: $210,609,762
TOTAL GROSS OUTSIDE OF USA: $140 million
CREW AND OTHER TECHNICAL INFORMATION
WRITER: Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale
DIRECTOR: Robert Zemeckis
PRODUCER: Neil Canton, Bob Gale
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Kathleen
Kennedy, Frank Marshall, Steven Spielberg
EDITOR: Harry Keramidas &
Arthur Schmidt
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Dean Cundey
PRODUCTION DESIGN: Lawrence
G. Paull, Ted Hallowell
ORIGINAL MUSIC BY:
Alan Silvestri
SPECIAL EFFECTS BY: Industrial
Light & Magic
OPTICAL EFFECTS: Movie Magic
COSTUME DESIGN: Deborah L. Scott
MAKE-UP BY: Ken Chase
HAIR STYLIST: Dorothy Byrne
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Amblin Entertainment, Universal Pictures
DISTRIBUTOR: Universal Pictures
ASPECT RATIO: 1:85:1 |
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| CAST
:: CHARACTER NAME...ACTOR NAME |
|
Marty
McFly...Michael J. Fox
Doctor Emmet L. Brown...Christopher Lloyd
Lorraine Baines-McFly...Lea Thompson
George McFly...Crispin Glover
Biff Tannen...Thomas F. Wilson
Jennifer Parker...Claudia Wells
David McFly...Marc McClure
Linda McFly...Wendie Jo Sperber
Sam Baines...George DiCenzo
Stella Baines...Frances Lee McCain
Mr. Strickland...James Tolkan
Skinhead Jeffery...Jay Cohen
3-D...Casey Siemaszko
Match...Billy Zane
Marvin Berry...Harry Waters, Jr.
Goldie Wilson...Donald Fullilove
Babs...Lisa Freeman
Betty...Cristen Kauffman
Clocktower Advocate...Elsa Raven
Pa Peabody...Will Hare
Ma Peabody...Ivy Bethune
Sherman Peabody...Jason Marin
Peabody Daughter...Katherine Britton
Milton Baines...Jason Hervey
Sally Baines...Maia Brewton
Dixon...Courtney Gains
Terrorist...Richard L. Duran
Terrorist Van Driver...Jeff O'Haco
Scooter Kid #1...Johnny Green
Scooter Kid #2...Jamie Abbott
Lou Caruthers...Norman Alden
Cop...Reed Morgan
Bystander #1...Sachi Parker
Bystander #2...Robert Krantz
Guy #1...Gary Riley
Girl #1...Karen Petrasek
Red...Buck Flower
The Starlighters...Tommy Thomas, Granville 'Danny' Young, David
Harold Brown, Lloyd L. Tolbert
The Pinheads...Paul Hansen, Lee Brownfield, Robert DeLapp
Newscaster...Deborah Harmon (uncredited)
High School Band Judge...Huey Lewis (uncredited)
Stunt Co-Ordinator...Walter Scott
Michael J. Fox's Stunt Double...Charles Croughwell
Stunt Crew...Rrichard E. Butler, Loren James, Max Kleven, Bernie
Pock, Spiro Razatos, Robert Schmeczer, John-Clay Scott, Per Welinder,
Bob Yerkes |
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| SOUNDTRACK
:: SONG TITLE...COMPOSER/LYRICIST...PERFORMER |
|
The
Power of Love...Huey Lewis & Chris Hayes...Huey Lewis &
The News
Back in Time...Huey Lewis & Chris Hayes...Huey Lewis & The
News
Heaven is One Step Away...Eric Clapton...Eric Clapton
Time Bomb Town...UNKNOWN...Lindsey Buckingham
Mr. Sandman...UNKNOWN...The Four Aces
The Ballad of Davy Crockett...Tom Blackburn and George Bruns...Fess
Parker
The Wallflower (Dance With Me Henry)...Johnny Otis & Etta James...Etta
James
Night Train...UNKNOWN...The Starlighters
Pledging My Love...UNKNOWN...Johnny Ace
Earth Angel...Curtis Williams...Marty McFly & The Starlighters
Johnny B. Goode...Chuck Berry...Marty McFly & The Starlighters |
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| TRIVIA |
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Eric
Stoltz was originally cast as Marty McFly and much of the film was
shot with Stoltz. However, the film makers believed he was playing
the part too intensly and went after Michael J. Fox for the part.
After Fox was cast, Marty's costume was completely revamped and
all of Stoltz's footage was re-shot.
Eric Stoltz later played Martin in the film The Fly II. Therefore,
he played Martin the Fly. (Yeah, that's a stretch, but I found it
kind of amusing.)
The time machine went through several variations. In the first draft
of the screenplay the time machine was a laser device that was housed
in a room. At the end fo the first draft the device was attached
to a refrigerator and taken to an atomic bomb test. In the third
draft of the film the time machine was a Delorean, but in order
to send Marty back to the future the vehicle had to drive into an
atomic bomb test. Another consideration was to make the time machine
a refrigerator. In an interview, Robert Zemeckis stated that the
idea was scrapped because he and Steven Spielberg did not want children
to start climbing into refrigerators and getting trapped inside.
Main Street in Hill Valley is the same set that is used in Gremlins
(1984).
The script never called for Marty to repeatedly bang his head on
the gull-wing door of the Delorean. This was improvised during filming
as the door mechanism became faulty.
The driver of the Jeep at the beginning of the film was Kevin Pike,
the special effects supervisor of the film. |
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| 'GOOFS' |
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CONTINUITY
ERRORS
When the Delorean goes one minute into the future, the fire goes
between Doc's legs, but when the camera switches angles, it no longer
does.
When Marty is escaping from the Lybians, the time circuit is already
on when he moves his hand from the ignition to the gearshift. However,
when he shifts the second time, the time circuit is off until he
bumps its power switch.
In the Skateboard chase scene, the skateboard suddenly gains modern
wheels and trucks.
When Marty pretends to be Darth Vader, the hair dryer in his belt
appears and disappears at random.
When Marty returns to 1985, the "Last Time Departed" showing
on the time ciruits says October 26, 1985 1:21 AM. It should read
November 12, 1955, 10:04 PM. The former time was the time Einstein
got back from his trip.
ANACHRONISMS
The episode of "The Honeymooners" that the Baines family
is watching on November 5, 1955 was, in reality, not shown until
December 31, 1955.
In 1955 Marty plays a Gibson ES-345, a model of guitar which didn't
exist until 1959.
**NOTE: I previously had stated that the guitar Marty used was
the ES-355 model (also made in 1959). The correct model was pointed
out to me by site visitor 'Matt.' Thanks, Matt!)
In 1955, when Marty tells Doc that Ronald Reagan is President in
1985, Doc exclaims, "I suppose Jane Wyman is the First Lady!"
However, Reagan had already divorced Jane Wyman and remarried to
Nancy Davis.
INCORRECTLY REGARDED AS ERRORS
In the opening scene, Doc's invention overflows Einstein's food
bowl. When Marty enters, an empty bowl is seen. However, this is
Einstein's water bowl.
After Marty returns to 1985 he runs two miles in under 10 minutes.
However, these two miles are road miles. Marty took a short cut.
Although not widely used until after the establishment of the SI
in 1960, the metric prefix 'giga-' was invented in 1951, so it is
very possible that Doc would have known of it in 1955. |
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