What is Back to the Future
One of the most successful and well-rounded sagas in cinema, as well as a cultural phenomenon that is still often remembered and celebrated. They were created by Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis, being directed by the latter. In addition, they were produced by Spielberg (among others). Almost nothing.
The first film, which gives the series its name, was the highest grossing of 1985 and began one of the most successful franchises in the history of its production company, Universal Pictures.
With two film sequels, an animated television seriesand multitude of toys and merchandise (as well as an attraction), it has been so important that it has been included in the National Film Registry of the United States for being: “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant”. In addition, it has also been chosen to be preserved by the Library of the North American Congress and guarantees that all generations can see it.
But above all, it is one of the best sagas of a golden age of cinemawhich gave classics like Indiana Jones, ET, Ghostbusters and many others.
The origin of the story
Where did the idea of Return to the future? Of a chance and a most inappropriate conversation in the world.
One of the main merits of the saga is that it is an original occurrence. Unlike most science fiction or fantasy movies, they are not based on any novel, nor are they a remake from other movies.
Bob Gale, one of the co-creators of the films, tells the origin of the idea on one of the 4K UHD version discs. And basically, it’s that he was visiting his parents’ house and came across the high school yearbook from his father, learning that he became president of his school.
As he himself says in the interview:
“I look at his photo and I wonder: Wow, was that the kind of man my father was, like the one who was president of my school? If you had gone to high school with him, would you have been his friend? And so, boom, that was the eureka moment, the lightning, if you want to call it, that made me think: Here’s a movie. What if a kid today could go back in time and end up in high school with his dad?
When he came back to California and saw Robert Zemeckis, Zemeckis loved the idea and probably did the most inappropriate comment possible, which ended up giving its fundamental form to the saga.
Robert said. And what if your mother went to the same high school? What if it turns out that your mother, that she said that she never did things with boys, she did all those things with boys? Wouldn’t that be fascinating?
I do not know the truth.
As you can see, any visit to your parents’ house and your friend thinking about the sex your mother had was the origin of a franchise that would go down in history and would delight critics and the public.
What are the Back to the Future movies about?
Without a doubt, the first one is the best of all, as usually happens, although personally, I loved the second one, because of all the inventions and the flying Delorean.
Back to the Future I (1985)
Marty McFly, a Californian teenage boy, is sent back in time to the 1950s when an experiment by his eccentric scientist friend, Dr. Emmet Brown, goes awry.
Traveling through time in a de lorean car modified, Marty meets younger versions of his parents and you must ensure that these fall in love or cease to exist. And what’s even more disturbing, Marty has to go back to his own time in the future and try to save Doc Brown’s life.
Or as it can also be summarized: boy travels to the past, his mother tries to sleep with him and the boy must do everything possible for his parents to have sex or he will not be born.
That said like that, it is totally true and also quite uncomfortable to explain. A long time later, it would be the inspiration for the animated series with the fandom most unbearable: rick and morty.
Back to the Future II (1989)
The second part of the trilogy begins just as the first film ends. Marty has restored the timeline, but not everything has gone well.
That’s why Doc, Marty and Jennifer, their girl, they have to travel in the DeLorean until the year 2015 to fix the future of the McFly family. However, Biff Tannen, the villain of the saga, does what we all would do.
He steals the time machine and gives his younger self a book containing 50 years of sports results, which young Biff uses to amass a huge fortune in pools and transform the idyllic Hill Valley in a hell
To restore the present, Doc and Marty must return to the events of their previous adventure in 1955 and retrieve the book of results.
Back to the Future III (1990)
Stranded in 1955, Marty McFly receives a written message from his friend, Doc Brown, about where he can find the time-traveling Delorean.
But nevertheless, A terrible discovery leads Marty to come to the aid of his scientist friend.. Using the time machine, Marty travel to the old west 1855where his friend stands up to a gang of thugs and has fallen in love with a local teacher.
Using the technology of the time, Marty and Doc devise one last way to send the two back to the future.
Actors and characters
Undoubtedly, one of the main reasons for the success lies in the endearing characters of the saga and the charisma with which the actors interpreted them. The main protagonists are:
- Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly: a high school boy from California who loves music and skateboarding.
- Christopher Lloyd as Scientist Emmett “Doc” Brown: an eccentric inventor who manages to create a time machine using a Delorean car.
- Lea Thompson as Lorraine Baines-McFly: Marty’s mother, alcoholic and grumpy.
- Crispin Glover as George McFly: Marty’s father, a timid and cowardly person, who does not seem called to do anything important. Known for being difficult to work with, Glover would not return for the sequels and the role of him was played by an actor with prosthetics.
- Thomas F. Wilson as Biff Tannen: Marty’s father’s boss in 1985 and the high school bully in 1955.
- Claudia Wells as Jennifer Parker: Marty McFly’s girlfriend, who, like Crispin Glover, would only appear in the first film. She was replaced by Elizabeth Shue, as Wells left to care for her sick mother.
Back to the Future, the animated series
We do not want to stop commenting that, indeed, there is a children’s animated series. Broadcast on CBS in 1991 and 1992, it had two seasons of 13 episodes each.
Set in the universe of the movies and located temporarily after the events of the same, it was decided not to renew for a third year due to its low audience.
Bob Gale stated that the drawings were more like alternate time lines and hypothetical situations, in the style of the what if Marvel, for example.
Will there be a Back to the Future IV?
We already anticipate that no, absolutely not.
The producers have been asked about this on many occasions and have repeated that the trilogy is perfect and complete as it is, a sentiment shared by the films’ vast fan base.
In fact, it is one of the few that is still safe from the voracity of remakes Y reboot from Hollywood, which only serve to make money with extremely mediocre films. Especially when it comes to the exploitation of eighties nostalgia that seems to never end.
That is just the opinion of Zemeckis and Gale. But not only that. As some fans know, they have shielded the fact that no more parts are made neither remakes.
Both of them they have an agreement with Spielberg and Amblin Entertainment that there will never be another movie from Return to the future without your blessing or without being involved. So, as you have said, no, it will not happen.
At least while they’re still alive.
Where to watch Back to the Future
If nostalgia has taken its toll on you after reading all this and now you’re dying to watch the movies again, we’ll tell you which streaming platforms the movies are available on (you can also rent them online from services like Rakuten, Amazon or iTunes):
- Return to the future: You have the original tape on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Movistar +
- Back to the future II: You can see the second story of the saga on Movistar + and on Netflix
- Back to the Future III: the third installment can only be seen on Amazon Prime Video and Movistar +
Things that, surely, you did not know about the franchise
And to finish, we show you some curiosities of the saga and even unpublished footage.
- actors like Ben Stiller or Kyra Sedgwick auditioned for the film, but they were not cast.
- As is often the case with many hits, was rejected up to 40 times before Universal decided to make it. The reason is obvious, the script. It wasn’t edgy enough for an adult comedy and too risky for a family one.
- In the beginning, the time machine it wasn’t going to be a delorean, but a fridgebut luckily, the idea was scrapped by Spielberg.
- Up to 6 Deloreans were used and one of them was just fiberglass, very light for the scenes where it had to fly.
- The paper of Marty McFly was originally played by actor Eric Stolz.. He shot several scenes, but it didn’t last long and he was replaced by Michael J. Fox. The reason? Although in the extras of the Blu-rays the producers are diplomatic, it seems that the actor had unbearable behavior. According to Thomas Wilson (Biff Tannen) he was “a pain in the ass” and other actors like Lea Thompson agree.
In case you’re curious, here’s some curious footage of Stolz as McFly.
As you can see, the saga of Return to the future It has more secrets and curiosities than it seems. And yes, it takes time to see it if you haven’t already.
