Revisited - Back to the Future

Not much I could say that has not already been said about this 80's blockbuster. Back to the Future was a 1985 science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis and stared Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly and Christopher Lloyd as the enthusiatic scientist Dr. Emmett Brown or Doc for short. However it doesnt stop there with the all star cast with Lea Thompson as Marty's mother Lorraine, Crispin Glover as his father George, and Thomas F. Wilson as Biff Tannen, Marty and George's arch-nemesis. The whole story was created because Gale, one of the movie's writers, wondered whether he would have befriended his father if they had attended school together.

Numerous film studios rejected the movie proposal until Zemeckis financial movie success in Romancing the Stone. Zemeckis approached Steven Spielberg, who agreed to produce the project at Amblin Entertainment, with Universal Pictures as distributor. Fox was the first choice to play Marty, but he was busy filming his television series Family Ties, and Eric Stoltz was cast. The movie could have ended up entirely different except after numerous takes with Stoltz the filmmakers decided he was wrong for the role so a deal was struck to allow Fox to film Back to the Future without interrupting his television schedule.

The film went on with production and was released on July 3, 1985 grossing over $381 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film of 1985. It won numerous awards such as the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, the Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film, and the Academy Award for Best Sound Effects Editing. It received three Academy Award nominations, five BAFTA nominations, and four Golden Globe nominations, including Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy). In 2007, the Library of Congress selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry, and in June 2008 the American Film Institute's special AFI's 10 Top 10 designated it the 10th-best science fiction film.

The film was such a hit that it began a franchise including two sequels, Back to the Future Part II and Back to the Future Part III, an animated series, a theme park ride, several video games, a number of comic books, and an upcoming stage musical. So to say the least, Back to the Future was damn successful in every shape and form. However, no matter how old it gets it's quality stands the test of time. The movie is as good as when you first watched it. The movie is one those films where you can pick up from your DVD collection at any time and just play it. Watch the moments you love, laugh at the same jokes, and relive those blissful nostalgic days.

In 1985, Hill Valley, California, Marty McFly visits the home and lab of his friend, Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown, an eccentric local scientist. Though missing for several days, Doc calls the lab and asks Marty to pick up some equipment for a special experiment later that night.

At school, Marty meets his girlfriend, Jennifer Parker, and after being berated by the principal and losing in his audition for the Battle of the Bands, he confides that he fears that he will become like his parents despite his ambitions. At home, Marty's father George is bullied by his supervisor, Biff Tannen, while his mother Lorraine is an overweight, depressed alcoholic. Lorraine recalls how she met George when her father hit him with his car and she subsequently nursed him back to health.

Marty meets Doc at a parking lot by a shopping mall in the early hours of October 26. Doc unveils a time machine built from a modified DeLorean and powered by plutonium obtained from Libyan terrorists in the promise of building a nuclear bomb. While showing Marty the controls, Doc sets the date to November 5, 1955: the day he conceived a time travel device. The terrorists arrive unexpectedly and open fire on them, finally shooting Doc when he surrenders. Marty escapes in the DeLorean and inadvertently activates the time machine in the process.

Marty finds himself transported to 1955 without any plutonium to return. He encounters the teenage George, and discovers that Biff has been bullying him since High School. After Marty saves George from an oncoming car, he is knocked unconscious and awakens to find himself tended to by Lorraine, who becomes infatuated with him. Marty tracks down Doc's younger self for help. Doc is unimpressed with Marty's knowledge of the future, but believes him when he accurately recounts how Doc invented time travel. With no plutonium, Doc explains that the only power source capable of generating the necessary 1.21 gigawatts (1,620,000 hp) of electricity for the time machine is a bolt of lightning.

Marty shows Doc a flyer from the future that recounts a lightning strike at the town's courthouse due the coming Saturday night. When Doc instructs Marty to not leave his house or interact with anyone, as he could inadvertently alter the future, they realize that he has prevented his parents from marrying by saving George from the car. Doc warns Marty that he must find a way for Lorraine to fall in love with George or he will be erased from existence. Marty attempts to correct his parents' history and warn Doc of the future dangers, but both strategies fail -- his attempts to introduce his parents backfire during a confrontation with Biff and Doc refuses to listen to any information about the future.

After Lorraine asks Marty to the school dance, Marty devises a plan with George: he will feign inappropriate advances on Lorraine, allowing George to "rescue" her. The plan goes awry when a drunken Biff gets rid of Marty and attempts to force himself on Lorraine. George, enraged, knocks out Biff, and Lorraine accompanies him to the dance floor, where they kiss while Marty performs with the band.

As the storm arrives, Marty returns to the clock tower and the lightning strikes, sending Marty back to 1985 a few minutes before his departure. After watching Doc get shot again, he grieves until Doc gets up and reveals that he had listened to Marty's warnings and worn a bullet-proof vest. Doc takes Marty home and departs to the future. Marty awakens the next morning to find that his father is now a self-confident and successful author, his mother is fit and happy, and Biff is now an obsequious auto valet. As Marty reunites with Jennifer, Doc reappears with the DeLorean and insists that they return with him to aid their future children. The trio boards the DeLorean -- which now runs on fusion and can fly -- and travel to the future.

Back to the Future will forever be on the highest of movie pedestal. From its all-star cast, brilliant humor, and heart warming-story still stands the test of time to this day and will forever. The film and it's sequels hold a special spot in my heart and sometimes I just play it because I haven't seen it in awhile. It helps remind of the days after school or on a rainy day where I would watch it with my family or just alone. I would see the same events play out, laugh at the same jokes, and tear up at the more dramatic moments. It's an iconic film for a reason, and one you should would watch. This has been Revisited, thanks for reading. Ricardo signing off.