Back To The Future Appreciation Thread, 35 year Anniversary

Whilst i really like the series, they've come to the point of saturation on UK Terrestrial TV.
Hardly a month goes by when the 3 aren't shown in order across 3 days [or less] on several channels.

 

2020 feels like the alternate time line from Back to the Future II.

 

The intent was to make a grim, frightening film that showed the flip side of how time travel can go horribly wrong... but it's all made right by the very end. Zemeckis said many times that Back to the Future 2 was his version of It's a Wonderful Life, which also deals with a fantasy situation of a world that goes into a terrible direction. I think it's a very good film, but I concede it's a tough watch and was not as successful as the first film.

Yeah, that was going through my head when I typed the paragraph above.

 

That was the vibe I was getting - grim. After almost an hour of it, I had to move on. I totally get the comparison of the "fantasy situation" of both films. Since I'm one of the few people that really dislike "Wonderful life," I guess it's no surprise that I didn't like 2. Had I gone in knowing and expecting the tone of 2 I'm not sure I would have liked it more or not.

 

When people spot the various time travel issues/errors throughout them [for which i don't concern myself too much about] the main issue i myself have is that at the end of II where the Delorean disappears to 1885 via the direct lightning strike ............. but not travelling at 88mph.
All the effort they put into the other 2 films to get to 88mph kills it slightly for myself.

 

The scene in the car with Marty and his mom at the dance is great. She pulls out the liquor and lights the cigarette, lol. Marty spits out the drink and yells out “geez, you smoke too?” Loraine responds back “you’re beginning to sound just like my mother.”

Great writing and acting all around. Both Leah Thompson and Michael J Fox really sell this Awkward scene perfectly. The way Zemeckis turns the table and has Loraine call Marty a “square” is fantastic

 

I had a crush on her for a while...

 

I assume a lot of us did. I know I did!

 

I heard somewhere (probably DVD extras) that that was real liquor in the bottle, which surprised him and made him want to spit it out even more.

 

I feel the same way. It blunts the impact for me. That’s why I never need to see Star Wars again either.

 

She’s the only reason I sat through Howard The Duck.

 

I think there was an alternate take that used real liquor.

 

Eh, it gets happier by the end. There are film experiences that I compare to Shawshank Redemption (which didn't initially make money in release), where you have to take the audience all the way down to the bottom so that when the hero finally triumphs, and all the villains are punished, you're both relieved and exhilarated. So think of it that way: the "highs" of the movie are more intense when the "lows" go much lower than what you were expecting. We knew BTTF 2 was going to be like that because I'd seen the trailers and read the reviews prior to seeing it, so I fully expected a bleak It's a Wonderful Life pastiche. And that's a film that's so grim, the lead character (Jimmy Stewart) tries to kill himself in a moment of absolute grief and desperation. But... note that that film was also not very successful when it was released, though it eventually was regarded as a classic.

 

There is no reason to sit through ' Howard the Duck '

 

While it is hard to top the first, the sequels are amazing as well. This is probably my favorite trilogy of all time, given that all three are so close to each other in quality. I get that the beginning of III can be a bit tedious, but once he gets to town and meets back up with Doc in 1885, it is nothing but greatness until the very end.

 

We kind of a get a glimpse of what the chemistry would’ve been like between Eric Stolz and Leah Thompson, as they were reunited and cast together 2 years later in the John Hughes film Some Kind of Wonderful. I just don’t get the humor and charisma, and overall likability factor from Stolz as with Michael J Fox. No matter who Fox interacts with on screen, he immediately seems to have great chemistry, making each scene flow seamlessly into the next. Fox, as well as the great script, were a thing of beauty in this film.

 

Agreed. The script is great, but Fox and Lloyd as the two leads were why it was a grand slam.

 

I don't think anyone has said G&L should've figured out Marty was Calvin - just that they perhaps should've picked up on the resemblance.

As mentioned, this would make the most sense if they saw a picture of Calvin and thought "boy, he looks just like Marty!" No way they'd connect the resemblance based solely on memory...

 

I think you're too hard on Stoltz. I'm not a fan of most John Hughes movies but "SKoW" is fairly sweet and charming, and Stoltz is a large reason why. From my review:

"The script doesn’t give Stoltz a lot to work with, but he manages to turn Keith into a charming, satisfying personality. We believe him as something of an outcast, but Keith’s not a freak. Stoltz really does a nice job in the part. He brings out an innocent, genuine quality to Keith that endears him to the audience. "

Stoltz's Keith in "SKoW" is a very different character than Marty. All the "BTTF" characters are fairly cartoony - we love them but the movies play the characters for extremes and comedy, not realism.

"SKoW" is a much more low-key, realistic movie, so Keith is a much more low-key, realistic character than Marty.

Not a better character than Marty - apples/oranges - but a role for which Stoltz was suited, whereas Marty didn't fit him.

Stoltz was/is talented - he just wasn't right for "BTTF"...

 

Yep, that is what I was thinking of as well. A simple statement somewhere at the end such as “Doesn’t Marty remind your of somebody?” would’ve been great to see to complete the storyline.

 

It was never Stolz fault. He is a fine actor. But when you’re miscast for a role there not much of anything you can do.

 

REELZ's Facebook has a lot of posts about tonight’s Behind Closed Doors special about the movie.

ReelzChannel

 

Every time I meet up with 2 friends from college for lunch, I always arrive second...just so I can walk in and say “put them sodas down. Soda is for closers only”.

 

Ah yes, my second favorite movie trilogy ever.

 

Watching the Behind Closed Doors on this right now!