To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Back To The Future, Universal will be releasing the film trilogy on Blu-Ray October 27th. It seems like the perfect occasion to go back in time (see what I did there!) and briefly reexamine some of the key ingredients of this enduring classic.
Not many films can claim to have the long shelf life of Back to The Future; if any film defines the term timeless appeal, it’s this one. One of those rare films that to this day entertains the entire family without the material needing to be dumbed down for anyone.
The first major ingredient for any great film is universal story telling. Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis’ screenplay holds up so well due to a story that anyone can relate to in any given time period.
Gale came up with the concept while visiting his parents one day and discovering his father’s old high school yearbook. This got him thinking about what it would have been like knowing his father at that age and whether or not they would have been friends. This quirky idea is what drives BTTF; what teenager hasn’t wondered about how on earth their parents could ever have been teenagers and if they were, how did they become such squares? In BTTF we get to live out this fantasy of interacting with our teenage parents through a clever time travel premise that combines 80’s cool with classic movie story telling.
The casting of BTTF is also central to the success of the movie. Michael J. Fox was originally unavailable due to his commitments on television series Family Ties, so they cast Eric Stoltz. After four expensive weeks of shooting and realising that they had miscast Stoltz, who had no on screen chemistry with co-star Christopher Lloyd, they found a way to work around Fox’s busy schedule. This involved Fox shooting BTTF and Family Ties back to back while only getting a few hours of sleep per night. It’s quite surprising then that under these exhausting circumstances Fox gives his most energetic performance and the one that defined his career.
It’s this painful decision to recast by Director Robert Zemeckis, and producer Steve Spielberg that may have single handedly changed the course of history for BTTF. While it’s hard to know exactly how the version with Stoltz in the lead would have panned out, part of the finished film’s natural charm is the warm chemistry between Michael J. Fox’s Marty McFly and Chris Llloyd’s Doc Brown. It’s an onscreen friendship that could easily have been awkward or even slightly creepy due to the giant age difference between 17 year old McFly and a 50 something Doc Brown but because of the note perfect performances, this relationship is never questioned by the viewer.
Michael J. Fox plays Marty as an extension of himself, a teenage everyman if you will. He plays guitar, he skateboards, he chases girls, he listens to Huey Lewis (that used to be cool!), he’s the all 80’s teen. Even if you never did any of those things, you still wanted to be him.
Chris Lloyd’s portrayal of eccentric crack pot Doc Brown, is nothing short of iconic and gives the film many of it’s most quotable lines. In fact President Ronald Regan even used the “Where we’re going, we don’t need roads” line in his 1986 State of the Union Address.
A smaller but still integral part of the film’s enormous success can also be attributed to being able to tap into the zeitgeist musically. Why Huey Lewis? (a question only anyone born after 1990 would dare ask!). Looking back, the Grammy winning rock group were the obvious choice. Riding high on the success of their #1 Multi-Platinum album, Sports and a string of top ten singles the band were the most popular group in America at the time. After a meeting with Producer Steven Spielberg, Huey and co agreed to write two tunes for the film’s soundtrack. On a curious note The Power of Love, was not universally loved by those close to the film, some felt the song written to play over the end credits called Back In Time was the break out hit. Of course all those in doubt ate their words when The Power Of Love not only topped the U.S. charts for two weeks straight but would be nominated for an Academy Award and go on to become a million selling single.
Most hardcore fans will note Huey even has a tongue-in-cheek cameo in the film as the audition judge, who turns down Marty’s band due to being “too darn loud”, while they are playing a hard rock cover version of The Power of Love.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFaXTcR4dtE
So there you have it a quick overview of some of the key ingredients to one of the most beloved and successful films of all time. Hopefully this article has convinced you to revisit this enduring classic and if Blu-Ray is your bag, then you just can’t pass up adding this iconic trilogy to your library. Packed with a grocery list of special features this is a must for any BTTF enthusiast.
