Back to the Future (1985)

Directed by: Robert Zemeckis | 111 minutes | action, comedy, adventure, science fiction | Actors: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, Thomas F. Wilson, Claudia Wells, Mark McClure, Wendie Jo Sperber, George DiCenzo, Frances Lee McCain, James Tolkan, JJCohen, Casey Siemaszko, Billy Zane, Harry Waters Jr, Donald Fullilove, Lisa Freeman, Cristen Kauffman, Elsa Raven, Will Hare, Ivy Bethune, Jason Marin, Katherine Britton, Jason Hervey, Maia Brewton, Courtney Gains, Richard L.Duran, Jeff OHaco, Johnny Green, Jamie Abott, Norman Alden, Read Morgan, Sachi Parker, Robert Krantz, Gary Riley, Karen Petrasek., George Buck Flower, Tommy Thomas, Granville Danny Young, David Harold Brown, Lloyd L.Tolbert, Paul Hanson, Lee Brownfield, Robert DeLapp

‘Back to the Future’ is an original film that combines elements from different film genres such as science fiction, comedy and adventure into a beautiful whole. The story is well developed and deals with a desire that almost every human being has every now and then, namely the possibility to travel back in time and relive or do certain things differently. At the same time, the film also shows what the dangers could be if humans were able to travel back in time. For example, by changing the course of history, Marty initially ensures that his parents do not fall in love with each other, which also endangers his own existence. The makers have largely managed to avoid story technical errors and illogical twists, which is a great achievement considering the complexity of ‘Back to the Future’.

In the acting field, especially Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd deliver a fine performance. Fox convinces as the somewhat insecure and dreamy teenager Marty McFly and Lloyd goes all out as the eccentric and somewhat unworldly professor Emmet Brown. With his bulging eyes, erect hair and occasionally inimitable rhetoric, he is the man for the role. Crispin Glover and Thomas F. Wilson also do a decent job as the characteristic nerd and the bully, respectively, a bully who is a real scourge to some of his fellow students. Although the characters are a clichéd reflection of the student population of an average American high school, the character and approach of the film ensure that this is not a disturbing factor. On the contrary, it makes the main characters recognizable to the viewer and because the viewers can probably identify with most of the main characters, the feeling of nostalgia that the film tries to evoke is reinforced. The soundtrack, which mainly consists of classic Rock & Roll songs by Chuck Berry and Huey Lewis and the News, among others, contributes to the authenticity of the film.

Also in terms of trickery ‘Back to the Future’ is a more than successful film. The special effects look convincingly good and don’t seem dated even by today’s standards. Moreover, they are only used sporadically and mainly functionally, so that the attention is primarily focused on the story and the effects mainly serve as visual embellishment and support for the story.

‘Back to the Future’ is an original and well-developed film that will appeal to a large and diverse audience. Because of its versatility, fans of science fiction, teen comedies and adventure films will be attracted to this movie. An indication of the film’s originality is also the fact that hardly any inferior rip-offs of the original have appeared, a phenomenon that we saw, for example, after the releases of films such as ‘Terminator’ or ‘Alien’.