Back To The Future Trilogy
17 year old Marty McFly got home early last night. 30 years early.
Starring: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Thomas F. Wilson, Lea Thompson, Mary Steenburgen, Crispin Glover, Claudia Wells, Elisabeth Shue, James Tolkan, Marc McClure, Wendie Jo Sperber, Donald Fullilove, Harry Waters Jr., Billy Zane, Flea
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Running Time: 328 minutes
US MPAA rating: N/AUK BBFC rating: PG
Adventure, Comedy, Family, Science Fiction, Western
On DVD If ever there was a DVD box-set worth dipping into your piggy bank for, it's this one. Anyone who's not a fan of the 'Back to the Future' trilogy should be locked up for some sort of treason to entertainment.
Though the first movie is the only one which can be said to stand alone as a whole story, it's when the three of them are put together as one complete adventure that things really get pant-cackingly good. In fact, everyone should make a point of watching all three 'Back to the Future' movies in a back-to-back marathon at least once in their lives. Allow the occasional toilet break, of course, but no more than that.
Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd are the stars of the piece, playing the troublesome teen and madcap scientist who do their time-travelling in style, courtesy of a revamped DeLorean. Their adventures over the course of the three paradox-tastic movies take them from 1985, to 1955, back to 1985, on to 2015, 1985 again(!), 1955 again(!!) and the wild wild west of 1885 before returning home to 1985 in time for tea and a couple of Huey Lewis tracks. Phew!
It features almost certainly the only sequel ever in which a large chunk takes place within its own predecessor, and definitely the only threequel to feature Christopher Lloyd leaping around the outside of a moving train rescuing a damsel in distress. Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, Elisabeth Shue, Billy Zane and the marvellous Thomas F. Wilson are among the other members of a fine supporting cast. And is that really Flea from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers popping up as squeaking bad boy Douglas J. Needles? Yup, that's right - you see, something for everyone!
Go out, buy this collection, watch repeatedly and, when you're not watching, keep the three discs in a glass display case which only very special friends are invited round to see. Do it now. Right now. Right. Now.
Gary's Reviews of the individual films in the trilogy:-
DVD Extras: Disc 1: 'The Making of', feature commentary with Robert Zemickis and co-writer Bob Gale, out-takes and deleted scenes, make-up tests, production archives, storyboards and theatrical trailer.
Disc 2: behind-the-scenes featurette, 'Making the Trilogy' Chapter 2, out-takes and deleted scenes, hover board test on-location, production archives, storyboards and theatrical trailer.
Disc 3: 'Making the Trilogy' chapter 3, out-takes and deleted scenes, ZZ Top 'Doubleback' video, production archives, storyboards and theatrical trailer.
It's Got: Huey Lewis and ZZ Top among the musical cameos. But it's Marvin Berry and the Starlighters that really do it for me!
It Needs: To be watched over and over again.
Alternatives: Go out and invent a time machine of your own. But believe me, that's the hard way.
Summary: Original, exciting, entertaining and practically impossible to copy. The third film may be a tad weaker than the first two, but put together this is probably the finest movie trilogy ever. Yes, okay, I'll say it - it's better than 'Star Wars'.
Review by Gary Panton
Review Date: 21th July 2003
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Comments1 Comment |
| One of the best trilogies of movies ever made, Back To The Future is right up there with Star Wars in terms of both entertainment value and pop culture status. These films personify the 1980's, even though the final film wasn't made until the 1990s... |
| Comment by:- | | 26 June 2005 | ip: logged |
