Back to the Future Review

Back to the Future

Release Date: 15th August 1985 - Australia

Production Companies

Universal Pictures

Amblin Entertainment
U-Drive Productions (Uncredited)

Distribution

Universal Pictures Australia

Genre: Sci-Fi/Comedy

Rating: PG

Runtime: 116 minutes

Budget: $19,000,000

Box Office Gross: $394,536,790 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

An average teenager named Marty McFly accidentally travels back to 1955 through a DeLorean "time machine" built by the mildly insane Dr. Emmett Brown. Marty unintentionally jeopardises his existence when he bumps into his parents and has to make sure that they have fallen in love around the same time he goes back to his own time.

Cast

Michael J. Fox - Marty McFly

Christopher Lloyd - Dr. Emmett Brown

Crispin Glover - George McFly

Lea Thompson - Lorraine Baines

Thomas F. Wilson - Biff Tannen

Claudia Wells - Jennifer
James Tolkan - Mr. Strickland

Marc McClure - Dave McFly
Wendie Jo Sperber - Linda McFly
George DiCenzo - Sam Baines
Frances Lee McCain - Stella Baines
J.J. Cohen - Skinhead
Casey Siemaszko - 3-D

Billy Zane - Match

Harry Waters Jr. - Marvin Berry

Donald Fullilove - Goldie Wilson
Lisa Freeman - Babs
Elsa Raven - Clocktower Lady
Will Hare - Pa Peabody
Ivy Bethune - Ma Peabody
Jason Maron - Sherman Peabody
Katherine Briton - Peabody Daughter
Jason Hervey - Milton Baines
Maia Brewton - Sally Baines
Courtney Gains - Dixon

Norman Alden - Lou

Richard L. Duran - Terrorist

Jeff Van Haco - Terrorist Van Driver

Norman Alden - Lou
George 'Buck' Flower - Bum

Crew

Writer/Director - Robert Zemeckis

Writer/Producer - Bob Gale

Executive Producer/Second

Unit Director - Frank Marshall
Executive Producers - Kathleen Kennedy and Steven Spielberg
Producer - Neil Canton
Casting Directors - Jane Feinberg, Mike Fenton and Judy Taylor

Animal Handlers - Robert Weatherwax and Richard Calkins
Consultant: DeLorean Time Travel - Ron Cobb
Production Designer - Lawrence G. Paull

Production Illustrators - Dick Lasley and

Andrew Probert
Art Director - Todd Hallowell

Set Decorator - Hal Gausman
Costume Designer - Deborah Lynn Scott
Makeup Creator - Ken Chase
Director of Photography - Dean Cundey

Camera Operator/Director of Photography:

Second Unit - Raymond Stella

First Assistant Camera - Clyde E. Bryan

Unit Production Managers - Jack Grossberg

and Dennis E. Jones

First Assistant Director - David McGiffert
Stunt Coordinator - Walter Scott
Special Effects Supervisor - Kevin Pike
Supervisor of Visual Effects: ILM - Ken Ralston
(Uncredited)

Camera Operators: ILM - Scott Farrar and

Kim Marks (Uncredited)

Assistant Camera Operators: ILM - Ray Gilberti,

Randy Jonsson and Martin Rosenberg (Uncredited)
Supervising Model Maker: ILM - Steve Gawley
(Uncredited)
Film Editors - Harry Keramidas and

Arthur Schmidt

Sound Designer - Tak Ogawa

Supervising Sound Editors - Charles L. Campbell

and Robert R. Rutledge

Sound Editors - Larry Carow,

Samuel C. Crutcher, Janice Hampton,

Scott Hecker, John A. Larsen, Harry B. Miller,

Chuck Neely, Bruce Richardson,

Fred Stafford and Jerry Stanford

Re-Recording Mixers - Daniel J. Leahy,

B. Tennyson Sebastian II, Robert Thirlwell

and Bill Varney

Foley - John Roesch

Music - Alan Silvestri

Performers: Songs "The Power of Love" and

"Back in Time" - Huey Lewis & The News

Music Supervisor - Bones Howe

Awards

1986 Academy Awards
Best Sound Editing - Charles L. Campbell
and Robert R. Rutledge (Won)
----------------------
Best Original Screenplay - Robert Zemeckis
and Bob Gale (Nominated)
Best Sound - Bill Varney,

B. Tennyson Sebastian II, Robert Thirlwell

and William B. Kaplan (Nominated)
Best Music, Original Song "The Power of Love" -
Chris Hayes, Johnny Colla and Huey Lewis (Nominated)


Review

November 5th, 2015, marks the day Marty McFly first travelled back in time in his DeLorean to 1955. BACK TO THE FUTURE is now on its 30th anniversary. It still leaves a lasting impression of what it would be like to see the hilarious consequences of time travel from 1985 to 1955. It also started a trilogy with two sequels that didn't live up to the first. An original and timeless sci-fi comedy was ahead of its time. It was BACK TO THE FUTURE that reinvented the time travel concept. There's no one else who would direct such a top-grosser with laughter. And the only one who could do it was Robert Zemeckis. Even its executive producer, Steven Spielberg, should be proud of the film that began a trilogy that would please many generations of sci-fi fans. The writing is superb and packed with references that are only known to people familiar with most of these types of pop culture films, including Star Wars.

The comedic acting is exceptional, with Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd cast in the big leads. Lloyd plays an eccentric scientist, and Fox portrays a youth who becomes the bane of his existence. The supporting talents of Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover and Thomas F. Wilson were commendable for being rocksteady of the other characters. The special effects are likely to retain their long-lasting value and didn't age by today's standards of motion capture and CGI standards. Finally, the music complements this feature with Huey Lewis's memorable songs "The Power of Love" and "Back in Time" and Alan Silvestri's brilliant score.

I was enthralled to have seen it again after being busy with the other films and doing so. BACK TO THE FUTURE has top-notch performances, an original story and spontaneous laughs, which make it one of my all-time favourites. If you have not seen this film, I say, "Great Scott! You don't know what you're missing!"

Star rating: (10/10) Best Movie Ever

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