When I was a child, I remember sitting around my TV, either at home or at my Grans around Christmas time. I would tune it into BBC1 I believe. Showing would be Back To The Future. Each year, they did a different part, then repeated all three the next year.

So BTTF was one of the first movie experiences I had and one of the happiest. It brings back memories of Christmas. Therefore, I am probably bias, though I know that many of my friends agree with my opinion.

I love this trilogy, I like the way it was filmed and the script. It's also very funny.

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Bit of Trivia
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For those who don't know, Part 1 was filmed in 1985, Part 2 and 3 were filmed at same time and shown in 89 and 90 respectively. It was never intended to be a trilogy, the ending of part 1 was a joke when they first filmed it. In fact, they regret filming it with Jennifer in the scene because this created script problems when they decided to do 2 and 3. I love the way the parts fit together so well though, leading into each other.

Actors also changed from the 1st one. They had to re-shoot some of part 1 to accommodate a new actress for Jennifer. Also note that all of Marty's family (granddad etc.) look like him, not like his dad. This is because Crispin Glover told BTTF production "I want $XXXXX, you'll have to give me it, you can't make the film without me!"... so they did make the film without him, using Michael J Fox to play all the extended family members.

There are close to (if not exceeding) 100 links between the three films, in the background. For instance; the car dealership in pt1 appears as a horse seller in pt3 (back in the old west).

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The Story
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Who's reading this section? Who doesn't know the story to BTTF!!! You should be ashamed! It's a classic!

The basic storyline is that there’s a time machine invented inside a DeLorean. It can go backwards and forwards in time when it accelerates to 88Mph. Part 1 takes place in 1985 and 1955, Part 2 takes place mainly in ’55 and 2005 I think (maybe 2015, 80’s view of what the future would be like though). Part 3 takes place in 1885 primarily.

It’s a comedy series, where everything links in. Especially part 2, which was done brilliantly. They went back to 1955, creating huge complications and alterations to events that happened in part 1. You have to see it to understand.

I wont go into the details of what happens in the story. It’s quite funny and uses it’s own ideas about time travel and how it would work. It also raises questions about what would happen if we did travel through time, changing the future and things like that.

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Characters
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This features Michael J Fox as Marty and I’ve forgotten the names of the other actors. But there is actually a small cast who play a lot of characters. For instance, parents and grand parents are often played by the same people. This is so that the viewer doesn’t get confused with who’s related to who. There are some great Special effects scenes with about 4 Michael J Fox’s at once around a dinner table. One of him is a girl!

There are essentially a small number of characters, with their descendants or ascendants displaying similar traits to them. So, Biff in 1985 is very similar to Griff (his grandson) in 2015. All the characters are memorable and funny in their own ways. You get to know them very well throughout the film.

One must also marvel at the makeup department. They manage to make actors look younger or older very well!

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Location
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Everything takes place in one small town. This makes it very easy to follow across the times. It’s nice to see what the town looked like at different stages. There are certain deliberately placed things. For instance, the clock tower is being built in 1885, is required in 1955, is saved in 1985 and they’re trying to save it again in 2015. There’s a lot of other small things.

The town centre is in a kind of square, where a lot of the film is shot. So you sort of know your way around, so you know what’s changed, how it’s changed etc. It’s very well done so they don’t confuse viewers

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My Opinion
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Well, this film has a warm place in my heart. It’s fun filled family film. It is, in fact, one of the very few films that I would class as truly family. Most “family films” are in fact just kids films. But I enjoy it as much now as I did when I was a child.

The notion of time travel (as I’m sure you’re aware from my reviews) has always fascinated me. What would happen if you met yourself in the past? Could we alter the past so we weren’t born? These questions are raised in this film. Perhaps it was this film which started me thinking.

It has a clear way of describing time travel, the mechanics are sound and made obvious to the viewer. They’ve got a simple model for how it might work, what would happen when you go back etc.

This movie is very funny. Biff provides a lot of the humour with his stupidity. While the storyline itself is hilarious. I like the light heartedness of this movie. I love the style, the ideas. This movie does not pretend to be serious, or try and make any sort of moral point. It’s merely there to entertain. For that reason, you don’t even start thinking “well, hang on, wouldn’t it be a different child anyway, why would the same sperm meet the same egg if things didn’t go exactly as they first went?”

Again, continuity between parts is great. It is a true trilogy, each one depends on the others to make it complete. You cannot view them as films in their own right. Though this does mean you have to shell out a bit more cash.

Then there’s the little things. One can notice any number of little things in this movie. It’s what us geeks love. For instance, the mall is named “Twin Pines Mall” in 1985 at the start. He goes back in time, to the same location and runs over a tree in 1955 (before the mall was built). Then, when he goes back to 1985, the mall’s name is now “Lone Pine Mall”

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Music
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I have to admit that I am a major geek. I went and downloaded the BTTF theme tune, because I happen to like it. But it’s in with the classic film theme tunes, you know it when it’s playing! It is adapted well to accompany the dialogue in the movie.

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Extras
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There’s no use listing them here, there are far too many. You have the usual directors commentaries. Then there’s out-takes which are alright, nothing too special. Deleted scenes are a bit rubbish. Trailers etc. are standard. However, it’s got a good selection of documentaries and commentaries. They also point out all the little bits for you so you notice them. Good array of extra’s, but not the best I’ve seen. Menu’s are nice, it’s a well made DVD. However, it is a boxset – so it doesn’t fit into my DVD storage unit!!

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Conclusion
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Good memories, good film. Funny, brilliant storyline, well thought out. Just great! I can’t say much more.

If you like a bit of comedy, with a solid storyline to match, then see this trilogy!

Part 2 was the best, because it went back and did something original by combining it with part one. There were lots of little crossovers and changes which just made it a brilliant film. Coupled with this, the idea of the future was just brilliantly concieved. One must commend them on this. Part 3 I never liked until recently, it's grown on me though. Then again, without part 1, part 2 wouldn't work at all!

NB. The title was one of biffs stupid sayings for those who were wondering