"Back to the Future" Turns 20

BTTF.com ^ | 7-3-05 | Stephen Clark

[Flux Capacitor]

Back to the Future is the epitome of pop culture. It has it all — people just simply love it. The top grossing film of 1985 went on to gross a whopping $210+ million domestically at the box office — pretty astounding at the time. It made Michael J. Fox an instant movie star. It catapulted Christopher Lloyd into the spotlight as a quirky but highly talented character actor. It introduced Robert Zemeckis' visionary talents to the world in a very broad manner, paving the way for his ground-breaking technological advancements in the film industry time-after-time again.

Little did any of us who were around in July 1985 know that this movie would spawn off not one, but two sequels that would comprise the series as a trilogy which views as one long epic. Filming of the two sequels back-to-back was unheard of in those days and wasn't so commonplace as it is today. Back to the Future became an instant catch-phrase, used by the space program and a couple of presidents, and still made into a media headline almost weekly. The series encompassed three blockbuster movies, a simulator ride at all three Universal themeparks, and a popular Saturday morning cartoon series that lasted two seasons on CBS.

Meanwhile, to commemorate the 20th Anniversary date when Back to the Future was first widely available for public screening, I recently asked Writer/Producer Bob Gale to comment briefly on what factors he believes contribute to Back to the Future's popularity & longevity over the past two decades. "Back to the Future, even with all of its special effects and action, is a very basic human story with well-drawn identifiable characters," Gale explains. "And the premise that our parents were once kids is something that all generations and all cultures can connect with."

[Flux Capacitor]

[qam1]

Xer Ping

Ping list for the discussion of the politics and social (and sometimes nostalgic) aspects that directly effects Generation Reagan / Generation-X (Those born from 1965-1981) including all the spending previous generations (i.e. The Baby Boomers) are doing that Gen-X and Y will end up paying for.

Freep mail me to be added or dropped. See my home page for details and previous articles.  

[RandallFlagg]

"Reagan?? The ACTOR?!"
((President Reagan laughing very loudly in the audience))

[LdSentinal]

Dare to find anybody that did not like this movie.

[Larry Lucido]

I saw the first one and liked it, but not enough to see it again or to see any of the sequels.

It's not that the premise was too weird or anything. I saw Terminator 1 and 2 several times (though T-3 "jumped the shark" for that series for me). Maybe Fox just didn't blow away enough people to suit me. :-)

[Xenalyte]

One of the best movies ever!

"You built a time machine . . . out of a DeLorean?"

[Flux Capacitor]

----Maybe Fox just didn't blow away enough people to suit me. :-)----

But you've gotta admit he could do some serious damage with a skateboard.... :)

-Dan

[Flux Capacitor]

BTTF was one of those rare movies that joked about Reagan without really mocking Reagan (for Hollywood, that's something). Marty McFly would have had a similar reaction were he told that Arnold Schwarzenegger would end up as governor of California. :)

"I suppose that Jane Wyman is the First Lady! And Jack Benny's the Secretary of the Treasury...."

-Dan

[RandallFlagg]

I remember someone saying that when Speilberg showed, "ET: The Extraterrestrial" to President Reagan in 1982, Reagan whispered into his ear, "You don't know how close this really is."

[Larry Lucido]

The DeLorean was a nice touch, but I still like the H.G. Wells model (last seen in the 1979 Time After Time).

"My God, I've unleashed Jack the Ripper on Utopia!"

[RandallFlagg]

I love that movie. Warner and McDowell should have worked together more.

[Xenalyte]

Oh, dear God, I despise Andie MacDowell. The only damn thing she has going for her is her hair. The less she opens that hick-concreted mouth, the better.

Oh, wait, you were talking about Roddy McDowall.

Cornelius ROCKS.

And for those of you who were unaware, if you recall the abysmal Saul Zaentz animated version of part of "The Lord of the Rings," Roddy did Sam's voice. Only good point about a thoroughly suckwad piece of celluloid.

[RandallFlagg]

Oh, you......

"I'm siiiiingin' in the raiiiin *KICK*"

[Xenalyte]

You do that one more time, Mr. Man, and I'm gonna kick you in the nuts!

[RandallFlagg]

Didn't you ever see, "A Clockwork Orange?" That's what I was referencing.

[HungarianGypsy]

You know the sad part? I was thinking of this when I heard 1985 the other week.

[Xenalyte]

Oh, I thought you were talkin' about "Green Card." That is an abomination the likes of which we haven't seen since the golden calf.

(BTW, "A Clockwork Orange" was Malcolm, not Roddy. Malcolm's birth surname is Taylor.)

[RandallFlagg]

Oh, I never said it was Roddy. I've always loved Malcolm's work.

[Clemenza]

Good movie. Its a shame Malcolm McDowall also did the abysmal Caligula the same year.

[Drew68]

Its a shame Malcolm McDowall also did the abysmal Caligula the same year.

Actually Caligula wasn't a bad movie until Robert Guccione added the hardcore sex scenes which the principal actors knew nothing about nor were involved with. Then the film became laughable.