The Movies
A mellifluous intersection of action, comedy and brain-tickling science fiction, Back to the Future comes close to achieving cinematic perfection. I remember sitting at a Manhattan preview screening in the summer of 1985, marveling at how smartly conceived and painstakingly executed it all was, and starting to wonder, "Why aren't all movies this good?" It holds up beautifully through multiple viewings, too, as there are details in the story and in the backgrounds that I am still discovering, 25 years on.
Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) is a sort of every-kid, an easygoing high school student and dreamer who has befriended the eccentric Dr. Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd). Mad scientist Doc Brown has spent 30 years and all of his family money to create the world's first time machine... and it works! Circumstances send Marty back--alone--to 1955, where he inadvertently prevents his own parents from meeting, setting in motion a chain of events that must be corrected, otherwise he will cease to exist in this dizzying temporal paradox. He also needs to get "back to the future," a journey fraught with laughs, excitement and romance. Like I said: Close to perfect.
As with The Matrix Trilogy, the first Back to the Future ends on a promising high note that sparks the audience's collective imagination, but one best left un-continued. Part II took time travel to an extreme, with an exaggerated mish-mash of alternate pasts, presents and futures, but never recapturing anywhere near the magic of Part I. The fundamental setup--despite all common sense, Doc Brown brings Marty and his girlfriend to 2015 to solve a problem that could have simply been prevented by good parenting, which they have 30 years to practice--is so weak that the rest of the movie feels irrelevant. The jokes aren't as funny, and everyone spends a lot of time riffing on the first movie, thereby diluting it.
And Part III seems like little more than director Robert Zemeckis indulging his passion for Westerns, although Doc's unexpected love story is quite sweet. At least the choice to set this movie almost entirely in the 1800s imparts a less-jarring narrative flow, enabling all involved to tell a more relatable, more engaging tale.
The Picture
Filmed before the digital special effects revolution of the late '80s and early '90s, Back to the Future has a definite old-school charm to its look, outstandingly remastered for this high-definition edition. The 1.85:1 frame shows an excellent level of detail, with little nuances in the costumes that really pop, while also exposing some credibility issues in Christopher Lloyd's old-age makeup. Blacks could be more lifelike but colors are strong, with a faint, nostalgic film grain across the screen.
The two sequels were shot back-to-back four years later, and we can see a slight overall improvement in the quality, particularly a bump up in the blacks, although special effects shots can go a little mushy, spoiling some measure of the illusion.
The Sound
The DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack for the first movie in particular is a treat, with discrete 5.1 effects including bullets hitting, a bell ringing, birds tweeting and on and on, plus more-generalized rear-channel activity such as aggressive crowd voices and big thunder. We're given the front-to-back whoosh of a time-hopping DeLorean, and a smooth 360-degree helicopter fly-around late in the movie is outstanding home theater fodder. I was impressed too with the performance by Marvin Berry and the Starlighters at the school dance, both on its own merits and how the characteristics of the gym and its sound system were captured for this track.
Part II has its moments I suppose, but gone is the palpable, memorable panache. Ditto Part III, which at least boasts a better-than-expected bass presence. And Alan Silvestri's lively score always sounds good in 5.1.
The Extras
This well-packaged Blu-ray set contains three different flavors of Universal's "U-Control" Bonus View content at various points during the films. An impressively well-researched Trivia Track is joined by a live storyboard comparison plus "Setups & Payoffs," which although obvious at times spans the entire trilogy and calls much-deserved attention to the filmmakers' stunning gift for foreshadowing.
A new six-part "Tales from the Future" documentary assembles the usual suspects and heavy hitters such as Steven Spielberg, along with plenty of behind-the-scenes footage. The biggest coup has to be the public's first glimpse of Eric Stoltz as Marty McFly: The then-up-and-coming actor worked on Back to the Future for five weeks before being recast, no doubt a sore spot for all involved, hence the "Holy Grail" status of these scenes, brief though they may be.
"The Physics of Back to the Future" (eight minutes, HD) with physicist and author Dr. Michio Kaku is fascinating, and makes me wonder where cool scientists like this were when I was in school...? Back to the Future is graced with eight deleted/extended scenes (eleven minutes total), Part II with seven (six minutes) and Part III with one (one minute), all presented in HD, if a bit rough. All offer optional commentary by writer/producer Bob Gale. Brief outtake/blooper reels accompany each movie. Also revealed is the never-filmed "Nuclear Test Site Sequence" as enhanced storyboards with music and effects, the climax from an early draft of the script, with optional Gale commentary (four minutes, HD). "FAQs About the Trilogy" provides very detailed text explanations to address nagging questions, right from the source.
DVDs past packed plenty of extras, most of them gathered here. All three films carry Q&A "commentary" with Gale and writer/director Robert Zemeckis, recorded at a special screening, in addition to a second audio commentary with Gale and producer Neil Canton. An eight-part Michael J. Fox Q&A runs ten minutes, and "Back to the Future: The Ride" 31 minutes) ports the actual lobby video loop plus the film content of attraction itself from the Universal Studios theme parks, even more of a treasure now that the ride has closed its doors.
There are multiple pods exploring the work of specific departments, tasked with designing and perfecting the now-iconic look of the film. The music videos for the two pop songs touted in conjunction with the first and third installments-- Huey Lewis and The News' "Power of Love" and ZZ Top's "Doubleback," respectively--help to round out this menagerie.
Pre-home video archival featurettes include "The Making of" all three movies (about 29 minutes total), three chapters of "Making the Trilogy" (47 minutes total), NBC's "Back to the Future Night" TV special with Leslie Nielsen (27 minutes) and the Kirk Cameron-hosted "The Secrets of the Back to the Future Trilogy" (21 minutes), all in SD.
The Blu-rays support BD-Live, with Universal's "Ticker" feature on the menu screen. The set is comprised of six discs, each Blu-ray paired with its own Digital Copy DVD, to transfer to iTunes or Windows Media Player.
Final Thoughts
Surprises, twists, thrills, and oh my goodness, so much fun: The original Back to the Future (and to a far lesser extent, its sequels) is a wonderful entertainment that manages to satisfy the brain, the heart and the funnybone, while the Blu-ray does the same for the eyes and ears.
Product Details
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