Back to the Future (film)
"Back to the Future" is a 1985 science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis, featuring Marty McFly, a high school senior played by Michael J. Fox, who inadvertently travels back to 1955 using a time machine built by his friend, the eccentric scientist Doc Brown, portrayed by Christopher Lloyd. The narrative unfolds as Marty attempts to ensure his parents meet and fall in love, while contending with the consequences of altering the past, which threatens his own existence. The film garnered critical acclaim and commercial success, grossing $210 million and winning a Hugo Award for Best Science Fiction Film.
"Back to the Future" resonated deeply with 1980s culture, sparking a renewed interest in time travel narratives and influencing various aspects of popular culture, including catchphrases and references in political discourse. Its success led to two sequels released in 1989 and 1990, and spawned a franchise that includes comic books, video games, and even a stage musical adaptation. The film's legacy persists, celebrated by fans during events like "Back to the Future Day" on October 21, 2015, which marked the date when Marty travels to the future in the second film. The movie's predictions about 2015, particularly regarding technology, were widely discussed, highlighting its lasting impact on both entertainment and cultural conversations.
Back to the Future (film)
Identification Science-fiction comedy adventure film
Director Robert Zemeckis
Date Released July 3, 1985
Back to the Future blended lighthearted adventure with a science-fiction time travel plot, appealing to a broad audience and becoming a major hit. The blockbuster, which spawned two sequels, was the first of director Robert Zemeckis’s spectacle-driven, effects-laden films, and was co-executive produced by Steven Spielberg.
Key Figures
Robert Zemeckis (1952– ), film director
In Back to the Future, Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) is a high school senior from a dysfunctional family and friend to eccentric scientist Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd), who has been buying nuclear fuel from Libyan terrorists to power the time machine he has built out of a DeLorean car. When the terrorists shoot him, Marty escapes back to 1955 in an attempt to warn him. He meets the younger Doc Brown and also assists his parents in the early stages of their courtship. He initially endangers their relationship, almost erasing himself from existence, but ultimately changes his personal history for the better, causing his family and himself to have a better life in 1985.
The movie won a Hugo Award, awarded by attendees at the annual World Science Fiction Convention, as the year’s best science-fiction film. It grossed $210 million in its initial release, the most of any movie that year. The film seemed to strike a chord with 1980s culture, as tales of time travel, especially those in which the protagonists fixed problems in history, were widespread in the decade. These stories formed the subjects of the films Time Bandits (1981), Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), as well as the television series Voyagers! (premiered 1982) and Quantum Leap (premiered 1989).
Impact
As one of the most widely seen films of the decade, Back to the Future influenced the catchphrases of 1980s American culture, and it was referred to in sources as diverse as television commercials and President Ronald Reagan’s 1986 State of the Union address, in which he quoted a line from the movie (“Where we’re going, we don’t need roads”). The film had not been conceived as part of a franchise, but its success and the popularity of the other time-travel films and television shows resulted in the simultaneous filming of two sequels to be assembled and released separately—Back to the Future II (1989) and Back to the Future III (1990)—as well as the release of comic books, novelizations, video games, toys, and an animated television series. In 2014, it was announced that a stage musical adaptation of the film was in the works; it was hoped that the musical would premier in 2015 to commemorate the film's thirtieth anniversary. However, after the director left the project in late 2015, it was reported that the musical would most likely not debut until 2016. Regardless, fans nationwide celebrated an informal "Back to the Future Day" on October 21, 2015, the day on which McFly arrives in the future in the second installment of the franchise; all three films were released again in special editions. The media was flooded with articles discussing how the film's predictions about the year 2015 measured up against the reality. Nike had even been working on a self-lacing sneaker similar to the ones worn by McFly in the second film, with plans to release them to the public within a few years.
Bibliography
Clute, John, and Peter Nicholls, eds. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. London: Little, 1993. Print.
Gipe, George. Back to the Future. New York: Berkley, 1987. Print.
Kagan, Norman. The Cinema of Robert Zemeckis . Landham: Taylor, 2003. Print.
Klastorin, Michael, and Sally Hibbin. Back to the Future: The Official Book of the Movie. London: Hamlyn, 1990. Print.
Shoard, Catherine. "Great Scott! Back to the Future Turns 30 (and Catches Up with Reality)." Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 1 Oct. 2015. Web. 3 Nov. 2015.