Robert Zemeckis’ “Back To The Future” remains as fresh as ever. Its love for life is tangible – combined with swiss-watch precision in its construction and delivery. I have to admit that I was hesitant to watch it again – for I so vividly remember watching for the first time in July 1985 when I was 21 years old. I was afraid it wouldn’t live up to that original rush I experienced. I’m happy to report all of it still there. I was able to time travel myself last night while watching it – and reliving – with equal exhilarating joy as I did thirty-five years ago – the wonder and pleasures that this extraordinary piece of filmmaking brings.
One aspect that felt so touching this time around and worth my admiration is the wisdom of Zemeckis and co-writer Bob Gale in making the heart of the story learning to have empathy for your parents. As you may know, the plot entails Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) thrusted to the 1950s after a test with his eccentric scientist friend Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) goes wrong. Marty bumps into young versions of his parents and has to guarantee they fall in love or he’ll cease to exist. That in of itself: it’s the beauty of this gem. Marty – gets to see his parents as people his age – as teenagers – as his equals – and befriends them. He sees their foibles and strengths. It’s a thing of loveliness to revel in that process – and one that has taken me years of therapy to deal with! The empathy is not just exclusive to parents. The movie implores respect for outcasts, geeks and any person who feels on the fringes of society – and all of this is done without being didactic or preachy. The opposite. It does a sleight of hand by keeping the comedic, action, and science fiction aspects in the forefront. The time travel becomes simply “the MacGuffin” – the event that is necessary for the growth of the characters. As famed film critic David Thomson pointed out about Zemeckis’ work, “no other contemporary director has used special effects to more dramatic and narrative purpose.”
In different hands, the Oedipal aspect of the story – that the mother falls in love with Marty – would have been cringe-worthy. Zemeckis handles it swiftly, and it becomes a great source of the comedy. “It’s like I’m kissing my brother,” says the mother. In the same breath, it’s the gravitas of everything that is at stake that makes it all tick. Note what happens at the beginning of the story – terrorists gun down Doc. He’s dead – and Marty has to repair this. “Back To The Future” is indeed like “It’s A Wonderful Life.” George Bailey and Marty MacFly are kindred cinematic souls.
It struck me this second time around how the character of Doc Brown embodies the qualities that Marty finds appealing about his parents. Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown is a lovable combination of vulnerability, zaniness and uncompromising beliefs. Lloyd has made a career of making character parts become the most interesting. Way ahead of his time – he made the geek a super hero and someone we should aspire to be.
You need to go “Back To The Future.” It is safe.
Doc Brown: “If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits 88 miles per hour, you’re gonna see some serious s***.”
Love,
Roger
Available on Netflix, Showtime and to rent on Amazon Prime, iTunes, YouTube, Vudu, and Google Play.
Directed by Robert Zemeckis
Written by Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale
Starring: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Thomas F. Wilson, Crispin Glover
116 minutes
About Writer and Director Robert Zemeckis
Chicago born and raised, Robert Lee Zemeckis studied filmmaking at the University of Southern California (B.A.,1973), where he met fellow student Robert Gale, who would become his longtime screenwriting partner. Even before Zemeckis graduated, his work caught the eye of famed director Steven Spielberg, who produced Zemeckis and Gale’s first full-length film, I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978). Zemeckis and Gale subsequently scripted the Spielberg-directed 1941 (1979), and Spielberg served as executive producer for several other films that Zemeckis directed, including his next effort, Used Cars (1980).
Zemeckis’s first major directing success was the action-adventure comedy Romancing the Stone (1984). Then with his time-traveling teen comedy Back to the Future (1985) and its sequels, Zemeckis began earning a reputation for visual innovation, which he cemented with Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), a feature film that combined the onscreen action of live actors and cartoon characters. In Forrest Gump (1994), the title character crosses paths with several historical figures, including John F. Kennedy and Elvis Presley. Rather than hire actors to portray these famous individuals, Zemeckis grafted footage of actor Tom Hanks into archival news clips. The resulting film earned Zemeckis the Academy Award for best director.
Zemeckis cast Hanks again in Cast Away (2000) and The Polar Express (2004), the latter of which marked the director’s first screenwriting credit in almost a decade. The film, which was based on the children’s book of the same title, employed motion-capture animation, a technique in which the filmed movements of live actors are digitally converted into animated images. Zemeckis used the same technique to make Beowulf (2007) and A Christmas Carol (2009). He returned to traditional live-action filmmaking with Flight (2012) and The Walk (2015). Most recently, Zemeckis wrote and directed Welcome to Marwen (2018). (britannica.com)
Great Scott!
When Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale first sat down to draft their screenplay for “Back to the Future” in the fall of 1980, Gale admits, “We had always been fascinated by the idea of time travel and liked the idea of changing history. But most of all, we wanted to write a time travel story where you didn’t have to know anything about history to enjoy it.”
He continues, “That is probably the downfall of most time-travel shows, because you have to know about Lincoln’s assassination, or the details of Pearl Harbor, or other things you might have slept through in class. But we put all the history you need to know in the first 10 or 15 minutes of this movie and boom! … you’re on your own.”
Zemeckis admits that the story underwent many revisions and variations before the writing team created the appropriate time machine. “We actually had thought of putting a time machine in a refrigerator at one point,” laughs Zemeckis. “But you had to get in and close it before it would start, and then we worried that kids would start locking themselves in refrigerators.”
When they concurred that the time machine in their story should be mobile, their next idea was to mount it in a sports car, and once they discovered the potential for humor in the gull-winged DeLorean, the story was off and running. (backtothefuture.com)
That’s Heavy
Since neither Zemeckis, Gale or Canton (producer) had been involved with a piece of hardware, they turned their idea for a nuclear-powered DeLorean to several talented illustrators and conceptual artists. Their two instructions were that the car look homemade (after all, it was to be built in the garage of an eccentric inventor) and it must house a nuclear reactor.
Soon, the drawings began to take shape, and after much collaboration between artist Ron Cobb, illustrator Andy Probert, the filmmakers and production designer Larry Paull, the car was ready to be adapted. Mike Scheffe, the vehicle construction coordinator began to shop for odd parts that would be used in the construction of the “flux capacitor,” as well as the dashboard, vents and side coils. Once his assignment was complete, special effects supervisor Kevin Pike and his team went to work to modify the three DeLoreans, which had been purchased for the film. They added four firejets to the car, which shoot flames from the vehicle as it accelerates and prepares for travel.
When the DeLorean was finally complete, it was far more technical-looking than the rickety machine made of nickel, ivory and rock crystal hat H.G. Wells had constructed for his adventurous time traveler. It was also a lot more amusing. (backtothefuture.com)