Back to the Future

Continuity mistake: When Marty arrives at 1955-Lyon Estates he removes his hood and his fringe is brushed from right to left. When the angle changes it has swapped sides.

Sacha

Continuity mistake: Right before Doc presses the remote control to send Einstein to the future, his left index and thumb fingers are on the remote. In the close-up it's just his thumb on it. In further close-ups it swaps to the index and thumb.

Sacha

Continuity mistake: Before Doc sends Einstein to the future and says "If my calculations are correct...", Marty raises his left arm. When the angle changes it's lowered.

Sacha

Back to the Future mistake picture

Continuity mistake: While Marty is talking with Jennifer in the square he is holding a tape case in his left hand which disappears in the next shots.

oswal13

Continuity mistake: While Doc is explaining to Marty how the machine works, he has a device on his index finger on his right hand that moves in the next shots.

oswal13

Continuity mistake: When Marty drives out of the Peabody barn after arriving in 1955, it's night, or certainly pre-dawn - the sky is very dark from every angle when he's fired at while driving away. Next shot he drives past the "Peabody ranch" sign onto the main road and it's significantly brighter, with the sun rising over the horizon. Then when he notices the Lyon Estates sign shortly afterwards it's broad daylight - judging from the length of the shadows the sun's very high in the sky. Lyon Estates isn't that far from Twin/Lone Pine(s) mall.

Continuity mistake: When Marty is on a skateboard being chased around the town square by Biff and his friends, he grabs the back end of a truck. He does with two hands at the same point, then uses one hand in the next shot, then two hands again.

Character mistake: In the parking lot when Marty begins to film, Doc says the date and exact time according to his watch. Marty then looks at his watch. Apparently his is off because he shakes his wrist and puts the watch to his ear to see if it is still working. However, he is wearing a digital watch which wouldn't tick or likely have broken parts to rattle.

Dr. Emmett Brown: Don't worry. As long as you hit that wire with the connecting hook at precisely 88mph the instant the lightning strikes the tower... Everything will be fine.

More quotes from Back to the Future
Back to the Future trivia picture

Trivia: Eric Stoltz was originally cast as Marty. After filming quite a few scenes they realised his acting style was too dramatic for the humor desired, so they cast Michael J Fox (who they couldn't originally get because he was busy with the TV show Family Ties). Filming was on weekends and nights around his TV schedule and using his double at other times.

Stefanie

More trivia for Back to the Future

Question: What does the saying "Why don't you make like a tree, and get out of here", mean?

Answer: It's a way of saying "scram" or "get lost." But Biff is so dim, he doesn't realize he's saying it wrong; the expression is "make like a tree and leaf", with the joke being that "leaf" is meant to sound like "leave."

Cubs Fan

More questions & answers from Back to the Future

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.