Back to the Future is the ultimate sci-fi comedy. Here's everything you might not have noticed.
The ultimate sci-fi coming-of-age story, Back to the Future is giddy on its own premise. The joy and enthusiasm leaps from every frame. Michael J. Fox plays Marty McFly, a skateboarding everyteen who travels back in time thirty years to when his parents were the same age. Christopher Lloyd plays Dr. Emmett Brown, the wild-eyed, wild-haired scientist who builds a time machine out of a Delorean.
So much of modern science fiction is dedicated to the negative consequences of humanity's brilliance--cautionary tales about hubris and the alienating effects of technology. In Back to the Future, it's a relief to see a sci-fi movie have some uncomplicated fun. Sometimes, changing the past doesn't get you a nuclear war or mankind's subjugation. Sometimes, it gets you a brand new Toyota Tacoma.
Here are 30 details and Easter eggs in Back to the Future that you might have missed. Many of these tidbits came from the movie's Blu-ray commentary by writer and producer Bob Gale and producer Neil Canton. The entire Back to the Future trilogy is currently available to stream on Netflix.
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1. "A Massive Pain In The Ass"
Gale and Canton refer to the opening sequence as a "massive pain in the ass" to film. Considering the numerous mechanical clocks that had to be synchronized with one another, it's understandable.
2. JVC Camera
We can see the video camera that Doc forgot to bring with him on his bed. He calls Marty and asks him to bring it to the Twin Pines Mall, so they can record the first time travel experiment together.
3. Clock Tribute
This clock foreshadows the climax of the film, when Doc is hanging from the town's clock tower. It is based on a scene from the movie Safety Last (1923), by silent actor and comedian Harold Lloyd (no relation to Christopher Lloyd).
4. The Brown Family Fortune
There's a brief shot of two newspaper headlines: "Brown Mansion Destroyed" and "Brown Estate Sold To Developers." Doc alludes to this when he tells Marty that he spent most of his family's fortune to invent time travel. After selling the estate, Doc is reduced to living in the mansion's garage, where he's stockpiled whatever he managed to rescue from the fire. When Marty travels back to 1955, he visits the Brown Mansion prior to it burning down.
5. Kubrick Love
When Marty turns on the guitar sound equipment, one of the amps is labeled CRM 114. This is a tribute to director Stanley Kubrick. In Kubrick's satirical film Dr. Strangelove, a crucial piece of radio equipment is labeled CRM 114. Its failure leads to nuclear obliteration.
6. Stunt Coordinator Cameo
The man driving the Jeep, when Marty is hanging off the back of it on his skateboard, is stunt coordinator Walter Scott.
7. "Too Loud"
The second judge from the left is Huey Lewis, who co-wrote and sang the song "The Power of Love." Ironically, Lewis is also the judge who stops Marty from playing his song, saying it's "too darn loud." The song was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1986.
8. Guitar Instructor
The Pinheads' bassist during the Battle of the Bands is Michael J. Fox's guitar instructor, Paul Hanson.
9. Public Service Announcement
Michael J. Fox recorded a PSA for Australia, warning people that riding a skateboard off the backs of people's cars was dangerous and shouldn't be imitated.
10. Jackie Gleason
The McFly family is watching "The Man From Space," a 1955 episode of "The Honeymooners" starring Jackie Gleason. When Marty travels back in time to 1955, the McFly family is watching the same episode--though this time, it's airing for the first time.
11. Working Mall
The scene in the Twin Pines Mall parking lot was filmed in the parking lot of the Puente Hills Mall in Industry, California. Because it was a working mall, the crew had to wait until all the employees left, after 10 PM, to film the scenes.
12. Great Scott!
If you time it, Einstein the dog travels 1 minute and 21 seconds into the future. This also matches the time that he returns: 1:21 a.m. Lastly, it takes 1.21 gigawatts of energy to travel back in time.
13. Peabody and Sherman
According to Doc, the Two Pines Mall was built on farmland once owned by old man Peabody. Marty meets old man Peabody and his son, Sherman, when he travels back to 1955. Their names are a tribute to the Rocky and Bullwinkle characters Mr. Peabody and Sherman, who also had their fair share of comedic time travel adventures.
14. Twin Pines to Lone Pine
While escaping in the Delorean, Marty runs over one of two pine trees in the Peabody family's front yard. Later, when Marty travels back to 1985, the Twin Pines Mall has been renamed the Lone Pine Mall.
15. Set Decorator Cameo
Marty sees political ads to elect Red Thomas as Mayor of Hill Valley. The picture of Red Thomas is actually that of Hal Gausman, the movie's set decorator.
16. On The Backlot
16. On The Backlot
The name of the town, Hill Valley, is an oxymoron. It is not a real town; rather, it is a facade of one. You can visit the town's famous clock tower set at Universal Studios Hollywood in California. The facade has appeared in a number of movies and TV shows, including The Ghost Whisperer.
17. A Titanic Bad Guy
One of Biff's backup guys is played by Billy Zane; this was his first role. Zane is best known for playing the main villain, Cal Hockley, in James Cameron's Titanic.
18. Multiple Peeping Toms
When Lorraine's dad hits Marty with his car, he yells to his wife, "Stella! Another one of these damn kids jumped in front of my car!" This implies that George has been spying on Lorraine for quite some time and has fallen out of the tree on multiple occasions. Or, it implies that multiple kids have been using the tree to spy on Lorraine. Either way, it's not good.
19. Jailbird Joey
When Marty sees his Uncle Joey as a baby, he's peeking out between the bars of his crib, which foreshadows his later life of crime. He's also wearing striped pajamas, which are reminiscent of a jail uniform.
20. Genius Wall of Fame
Doc Brown has excellent taste in role models. From left to right: Isaac Newton, father of modern science and the laws of motion; Benjamin Franklin, scientist, philosopher, and American founding father; Thomas Edison, inventor of the phonograph, the modern light bulb, and the motion picture camera; and Albert Einstein, developer of the theory of relativity and an advocate for nuclear research.
21. In The Manure
According to Tom Wilson, who plays Biff, the manure was actually made up of peat moss, cork, dirt, and a food agent to make it sticky.
22. Catchphrases
Wilson also takes credit for two improvisations in the script: the insult "butthead" and the threat, "Make like a tree and get out of here."
23. Ketchup Bottles
Doc Brown's model of Hill Valley is built out of household items. If you look closely, you can see some obviously painted ketchup bottles and salt and pepper shakers.
24: A License For That
Obviously, Doc does not have a license to run a time travel experiment in the middle of the town square. It's implied, by the way he reaches for his wallet, that he's offering the cop a bribe to look the other way.
25. Prizefighter
There was an idea, early on, to have George McFly become a prizefighter in the future, on account of his mean right hook. The filmmakers eventually decided to make him a science fiction author, which seemed much more in character with who George was.
26. Groundbreaking Musician
Marvin Berry calls his cousin, Chuck Berry, to listen to Marty playing "Johnny B. Goode" at the Enchantment Under The Sea dance. Chuck Berry is the real-life music legend who wrote "Johnny B. Goode," and is often credited as the Father of Rock and Roll.
27. A Crack In The Facade
When Doc Brown scales the clock tower at the end of the movie, he damages the concrete right underneath the clock. When you rewatch the movie, notice that at the beginning of the film--in the unchanged present--the concrete is intact. When Marty travels back to the future at the end of the movie, the concrete is now damaged.
28. California Raisins Bench
This oddly placed product placement, advertising California raisins, upset the California Raisins Board so much that the filmmakers ended up refunding their $25,000 for the plug.
29. A Familiar Mantra
The phrase "If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything," is said three times in the movie. The first time is in 1985, when Jennifer comforts Marty about losing the Battle of the Bands. Marty then says it to George when he's trying to give him confidence on his date with Lorraine. Lastly, George says it to Marty in 1985 at the end of the movie when celebrating the release of his book. This leads to some great chicken-or-the-egg paradoxes. Who said it first?
30. Solid Metal Glasses
The metallic glasses that Doc Brown uses at the end of the movie are solid. Christopher Lloyd, who played Doc, couldn't see a thing when wearing them.
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