Back to the Future

Back to the Future (1985)

25 commented-on entries since 23 Sep '20, 15:56

(20 votes)

Question: The ending of Back to the Future, Marty says he's not going to the lake as the car is 'wrecked'. All the family react as if he's talking about the BMW. They rush out and see it is fine. But they know Marty has the Toyota truck - why would they not think he meant his car is wrecked'? I know he says car not "truck" but he's talking about going up to the lake - he wouldn't be going in his Dad's BMW. So is this a mistake or bad script writing? (01:49:00 - 01:51:00)

blueslipper@gmail.com

Answer: Why wouldn't he go in the BMW? Going to the lake doesn't mean off-road driving, it might be a nice paved road all the way to a touristy spot. I don't think it's a mistake or bad writing.

Actually, Biff comes up to him with the keys to his truck, saying it is ready for his trip. So he was going with his truck.

lionhead

Answer: It would've simply been down to the pure shock of what Marty was saying. The second he said "The car's wrecked", they dropped what they were doing and went to check. They didn't even care about the first part of Marty's sentence at this point, as all that was going through their heads would've been "Has something happened to the car?"

Answer: Marty didn't know about the truck at that point. He was surprised when Biff handed him the keys, so it's not wrong that the family thought he meant the BMW.

Correct, but the family all knew he had the Toyota.

Question: Given that the entire McFly family's circumstances have changed at the end of the movie due to Marty altering the past, shouldn't Marty's whole life have gone down a completely different path from childhood on? What are the odds that he even still knows Doc and Jennifer in the revised 1985 (let alone has the exact same date planned with Jennifer for the very same evening), given that everything else has changed?

Answer: The suggestion is given that he was the only "normal" person in the family and when he changed the past his parents and siblings became more "normal" people as well whilst he stayed as he was, despitegrowingup with different parents and siblings, since he was "normal" anyway. This totally ignores the linear timeline idea given during the entire movie, but it's obvious that was the idea.

lionhead

You're absolutely right about Marty being the only "normal" one in the family, but that doesn't ignore the linear timeline idea. There are two different Marty McFly's by the end of this movie. There's the one we follow, who grew up with unhappy parents, and then there's the other Marty McFly who grew up with cool parents. We see the 2nd Marty go back to 1955 when Marty gets back to the Twin Pines mall. The idea isn't to ignore the linear timeline idea, but rather to imply that unhappy parents or not Marty will still always be Marty.

BaconIsMyBFF

Except for the fact Marty kept being in danger of disappearing if his parents wouldn't get together. If his old self would disappear from his parents not getting together then so he should if his entire life is different and he would be a different Marty just like his siblings. Even if it's only memories rather than an entire personality.

lionhead

Answer: It's definitely a paradox. Marty actually goes back to the life of 2nd Marty, but if that's the case then original Marty should have still faded away since he created a new timeline when he gave George confidence. Original Marty shouldn't exist anymore at all, he should have faded completely away on the stage. I've said it before and I'll say it again: time travel movies are a mess.

BaconIsMyBFF

The new Marty isn't a different person entirely; he's just the same guy who was raised in a slightly different environment to the original timeline. Marty's actions in 1955 have ensured that his parents will have three children, and he will be one of them. His existence is completely secured in the timeline.

Question: Near the end of the movie, George and Lorraine say that if it hadn't been for Biff, they never would have fallen in love. Shouldn't they really be thanking "Calvin 'Marty' Kline" for getting them together?

Answer: I agree with you, but the idea is that, if George hadn't rescued Lorraine from Biff in the parking lot, they wouldn't have fallen in love. It's dark as hell to wax nostalgic about an attempted r*pe, but there you go.

Totally agree with your answer. Would add that Lorraine already knew who George was but was unimpressed and had mostly written him off as a goofy nerd. It was George saving her from Biff that totally changed Lorraine's perception. Otherwise, Marty's attempt to push them together probably would have failed.

raywest

Question: Why do Marty's brother and sister get erased from top to bottom, and Marty just fades? Why can't they just all fade?

DeathGawd

Chosen answer: The way I understand Doc's explanation, Dave and Linda were both erased completely because Marty interfered with their parents' meeting; thus the three children were erased from existence, from oldest to youngest. Marty only begins to fade because the timeline corrects itself before he gets erased completely.

Cubs Fan

Super solid explanation, but I think the original question is asking why Dave and Linda literally disappear from top to bottom in the photo: in other words, Dave's hair is erased, then his whole head, then his feet, and Linda also disappears similarly. When we see Marty start to disappear in the photo, it is his whole body that starts to fade all at once, instead of vertically like his siblings.

jshy7979

Question: If Marty and his brother and sister are fading from the photograph because they are being erased from existence, wouldn't that mean that the moment when the photograph was taken would also be erased from existence? If so, why doesn't the photograph itself disappear instead of just the people in it?

dan coakley..

Chosen answer: The photo itself didn't disappear while the people were fading because the people in the photo were still in the picture. First, Marty's brother was erased, followed by Marty's sister, followed by Marty himself. Since, Marty's brother was erased, his sister and himself would have remained in the photo until they were erased. So really, the photo wouldn't have disappeared until all the people had been erased, since no-one would have been in the picture.

Casual Person

Completely agree with this answer. However, as far as the photo itself is concerned, I don't think it would have disappeared, strictly because of what we have seen in the series. Two examples I can think of: the picture of the gravestone, and the fax that Marty got saying he was fired (both instances in BTTF3). When time was altered, the things on them disappeared (the gravestone, and the "you're fired!" printing), but neither the photograph nor the fax paper itself disappeared.

jshy7979

Question: At the beginning of the movie, the brother is a loser who works at Burger King. At the end, he wears a suit and work at an office. As a presumably successful business man, wouldn't he have moved out of his parents' house?

Answer: Who says he didn't? Perhaps he lives close enough to come over for breakfast each morning. There isn't enough information in the scene to show that he still lives there; he is simply sitting at the table.

Macalou

Answer: I think that both of Marty's siblings live at the house. This theory comes from Dave remarking that somebody named Greg or Craig called for his sister. If he had his own house, he wouldn't have got that call, and it wouldn't go to George and Lorraine's house either.

Answer: Even though the brother now has a steady career and would normally have his own place, this is a movie-plot device using a "suspension of disbelief." The audience needs to be able to see Marty's reaction and surprise as to how every McFly family member has changed for the better. We just accept the premise.

raywest

Answer: If we presume he's living at home, wearing a suit to an office job doesn't really reflect on his success or wealth, and he's still just 21 or 22 years old. He may still be in college and just working on the weekend and living at home to save money.

Bishop73

Is there a source for his age? I always wondered if he wasn't closer to being around 28.

In the novelization of the film, he is said to be 21. In a first draft version of part 2, where Marty travels to 1967, Dave is 5 years old.

Bishop73

Question: I have seen a different ending to this film. Every now and then when it airs on TV the movie ends with Doc in 1955, standing at the site where Marty just went back to 1985, and then Marty comes running up to him and says "I'm back" (or something similar). I seem to remember that this is the standard ending to the second film. Why is it occasionally used to end the first one?

Answer: That's actually the beginning scene in Back to the Future 3. It would make no sense to end the first film with that sequence, as at that point Marty hasn't returned to 1955 after getting home the first time.

Correct. Just for completion: This scene, opening part 3, is also shown at the end of part 2.

Corrected entry: Marty gives Goldie Wilson the idea to run for mayor before Goldie thought of it himself. Suppose now that Goldie runs for mayor before he is supposed to and loses the election and it ends his political career, thereby disrupting history.

calidude

Correction: So what? Marty changes lots of things during his time in the past, ranging from the very minor - Twin Pines Mall becoming Lone Pine Mall - to the really quite major - his parents' entire personalities and futures. History's already disrupted to a significant degree, one more thing, particularly one that, as far as we know, didn't happen, is hardly mistake-worthy.

Tailkinker

"You're not thinking fourth dimensionally!" We know for a fact that Goldie still becomes Mayor as when Doc and Marty travel to 2015, Goldie Wilson III does an ad for Wilson hover conversion systems and states "When my Grandpa was Mayor of Hill Valley..." So whether or not he won or lost the first time is irrelevant, he eventually becomes Mayor as does his son.

Question: What is the significance of having four tardies in a row? Is there a special penalty of some sort for that?

Answer: In some schools I've worked at, 3 tardies equalled 1 unexcused absent. This school may have a similar policy, where a set number of unexcused absents results in detention.

Bishop73

Answer: Well first, it implies that Marty is irresponsible, and it also doesn't do any favors for his reputation since people already doubt him. And second, at least when I was in school, having too many tardy-slips or unexcused absences could get you into more serious trouble. (Suspension, etc).

TedStixon

When I was a kid, four tardies was grounds for detention. Marty might not have got a detention for being late four times since he's later seen with Jennifer after band auditions but there's always a possibility he might get detention or temporary suspension if he was late one more time.

His detention could also be on Saturdays, as was practised in Shermer Illinois in the 80's.

Factual error: When Marty hits his head on the DeLorean's steering wheel, the car's horn honks. This is inaccurate to the design of real-world DeLoreans, as a DMC-12's horn button is actually located at the end of the turn signal lever rather than in the steering wheel. (01:39:27)

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: You can't see his left hand and he could have accidentally pushed it when he hit his head. Or Dr. Bown customized the steering wheel so the horn is in it, like he customized the entire interior of the car.

lionhead

I thought the point was that the car was so unreliable that when hit his head on the steering wheel, the horn went on. Makes sense to me. I own a DeLorean by the way.

Question: In this film, Marty suddenly appears and spends one week in 1955. So, how does Marty freely roam the hallways and cafeteria at Hill Valley High School (even getting into a physical altercation with another student) without challenge from teachers and administrators such as Mr. Strickland? All the kids are talking about Marty, but nobody in authority questions the fact that he's not enrolled, he's completely undocumented, he doesn't attend any classes, and he's apparently a troublemaker.

Charles Austin Miller

Answer: High school in the 1950s was different from today, which has tight security and students are more closely scrutinized. Not every teacher, and even Strickland, knows every student, so Marty would not necessarily be immediately suspected as an outsider. And though the students are talking about Marty, that doesn't mean the adults are aware. Teens have their own closed-off society. Being as Marty was only in the past for a week, and he isn't at the school all that much, he could conceivably move about mostly unnoticed. If he was there any longer, the school would eventually wise up about him. Also, it's a movie, and suspension of disbelief is employed here. The audience just accepts the plot's premise.

raywest

Thanks. But I also remember (giving away my age) that teachers and administrators back then were very much aware of students "playing hooky" (skipping classes and wandering around the halls and off-campus during school hours). Back then there were even "truant officers" who patrolled the streets looking for school-age kids skipping school. With all of the attention to 1950s detail in this film, I was really kind of surprised that no-one apparently suspected Marty of truancy.

Charles Austin Miller

I also remember those days. As I mentioned, since Marty was only briefly at the high school during the one-week period he was in the past, he hadn't yet attracted enough attention to be considered a problem or a truant. It can be seen that Strickland notices Marty, but had not yet considered anything as being amiss.

raywest

Question: When Marty is playing "Johnny B. Goode", he is doing guitar moves from different performers. What performers is he imitating?

Answer: It seems to me that he is imitating the following: Chuck Berry (which makes sense), Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen and Pete Townsend (the kicking the amp bit.)

Daniel Wilkie

Also Bruce Springsteen doing the full guitar circle, Angus Young crawling on the floor and Jimi Hendrix with the guitar solo.

Question: At the end of the film when Marty sees Doc get shot at the mall the second time why is he crying when he runs over to check Doc? Couldn't he have just grabbed the plutonium that was sitting next to Doc's van, run back to the Delorean with it and travelled back much earlier to warn Doc?

Answer: Technically he could have done so, but that doesn't make it any less distressing to see his friend murdered.

Next to that he doesn't know how the DeLorean works, he doesn't know how to put the plutonium in (or doesn't want to risk using it wrongly, having only seen it loaded once) and he and Doc from 1955 have tampered with it to have it be powered by lightning so it probably wouldn't work properly anyway.

lionhead

Not to mention that when he came back, the DeLorean conked out and wasn't working.

To add, Marty believed he was watching Doc being murdered again, unaware that he was now wearing a bullet proof vest. Seeing Doc lying there not moving made Marty to upset to do anything at that moment.

Corrected entry: Do you honestly think that Marty's parents wouldn't think it was the slightest bit odd that their son happens to look and talk and dress EXACTLY like the boy that hooked them up in high school?

Correction: Ever realized all of a sudden that someone you know bears a resemblance to someone you knew a long time ago? Sure - it happens... (either Marty's parents haven't reached that point yet, or they simply never noticed - it's been 18 years, remember...)

It's been 30 years and Marty was only around for a few days. Can you remember everyone you only saw for a few days 30 years ago? I've got a great memory and I have a hard time remembering someone I met even a few years ago.

True, I went to school for 7 years with one guy who was in all my classes but didn't recognise him when my mother pointed him out 5 years after we went to different secondary schools.

Corrected entry: Early in the film, Mr. Strickland tells Marty that he is a slacker and that he reminds him of his father because he was a slacker too. However, it is extremely unlikely that Mr. Stickland should even remember who George McFly is. How many school administrators can remember some random student from 30 years prior? It would make more sense if he was George's teacher because teachers can have a close relationship with their students, but as a school administrator, there have literally been tens of thousands of students under his watch during his 30 year tenure at Hill Valley High School. It's not as if George ever did anything to stand out. He was not a star athlete or a valedictorian and never did anything noteworthy in his life in the original timeline. He was not a troublemaker either, so it's not as if he would have spent a lot of time in Strickland's office. He should have been a nameless face in the crowd as far as Strickland was concerned, so hard to believe he would still remember such a random person after 30 years. I have only been out of high school for 13 years myself and if I ran into my old principal in the street tomorrow, I can guarantee that he wouldn't be able to remember me to save his life.

calidude

Correction: George did do something to stand out. He did nothing! Strickland hates slackers and clearly remembers them. One of my guidance counselors in jr. high was my father's guidance counselor and knew exactly who my father was based on my last name alone 21 years later. Some people just have very good memories for names and faces.

Grumpy Scot

My Elementary School Principal still remembers me by full name and I it's been 30 years since I was his student so yes, it's possible.

Corrected entry: When Marty shows the video to the 1955 Doc, the 1985 Doc on the video states their location as the "Twin Pines Mall". Since Marty already knocked down one of the pines, the mall should've already been renamed to "Lone Pine Mall" on the video.

Correction: The timestream in the Back To The Future series is demonstrated as being somewhat resistant to changes; when Marty interferes with his parents' first meeting, he doesn't start to fade out for about a week after that happens. When Marty shows Doc the video, not enough time has passed for the effects of the timeline change to appear on the tape.

Tailkinker

When someone time travels, they don't change the timeline they are from, they just create branching timelines every time someone makes a decision. This recording was made in the first timeline, so it would still be Twin Pines Mall.

That's not the case though. The photo Marty brings of his siblings fades out, newspaper headlines brought from the past/future change, etc.

Except he was slowly disappearing at the end of the movie. Which wouldn't happen if he was "branching off." They mix up linear timelines and parallel universes in these movies. They always, always screw up time travel movies.

lionhead

Corrected entry: In the first scene from 1955, November 6th, where Marty watches the mix of people in Courthouse Square, there is a shot where a boy in mustard yellow pants, standing next to a man, under a tall tree, is "bouncing" down the sidewalk on a pair of spring-laden shoes. These shoes were called "rocket shoes", and were not invented until the late fifties/early sixties, not 1955.

Correction: There were a few different versions of these sprung shoes from different makers, and went by similar names like moon shoes, satellite shows, and rocket shoes. They were all inspired by the space race going on in the 50s and 60s. And they do date from at least 1955, since there is a 1955 pair on display in the Brooklyn Museum.

jimba

This correction slightly contradicts itself. If the ones you could find from 1955 were in New York then they must have been released to the public in the same year in the Northeast States. However, Hill Valley is in California, a western state. This means that the product probably wouldn't be there until 1956 onward.

True, but the fact is that they still existed. We don't know what that character did offscreen before the date shown in the movie. He could have gone on a vacation to New York and bought the shoes there for all we know.

Without you providing a specific company and evidence of a spring shoe sold (either nationwide or California) the mistake is valid since the shoes you mentioned were patented in 1968.

Bishop73

Correction: The original poster claimed the shoes were not invented until well after 1955, so I gave an example of ones from 1955 that demonstrated the claim was wrong. Also, your logic is off since 1) that doesn't mean they were only first invented in 1955, just that they were provably invented BY 1955, and 2) being in a New York museum doesn't mean they were only released in the Northeast in that year. There is no contradiction in my post.

jimba

There's no evidence that any type of spring shoes were invented and sold by 1955. Unfortunately when you just Google things like "satellite shoes" or "rocket shoes", you get results from sellers like on Etsy who claim they're from the 1950's or 1950's inspired, but no date is ever given. And the Brooklyn Museum never makes a claim the shoes they have are from 1955. In fact, they say the shoes that have were patented in 1968. So, no, you didn't actually give an example of a spring shoe from 1955.

Bishop73

Corrected entry: When Marty is trying to prove to Doc that he is from the future, he shows him his driver's license and the photo of himself and his siblings. Doc immediately dismisses them both. Doesn't Doc notice that the quality of the color in the photos is much better than any color film that existed in the 1950's? Wouldn't that grab his attention?

calidude

Correction: If he actually took the time to examine it, maybe. Think about it, if someone walked up and told you he was from the future and showed you a document to prove it, would you believe him and examine it or humor the weirdo and get away as quick as you could?

Grumpy Scot

This is taken out of context. Doc didn't really want to see it, Marty was pushing it in his face to prove he is from 1985. He was humouring him but as a scientist, he was struck by curiosity. He would have at least looked.

He wasn't curious at all.

lionhead

Corrected entry: Wouldn't Marty's parents and Biff Tannen be amazed and freaked out that their son Marty is identical to Calvin, the kid that played a major part in all their lives, and who they would definitely remember?

ShooterMcGavin34

Correction: It's 30 years later, I doubt they remember a guy who they only knew for a few days back when they were teenagers well enough to recognise him as Marty.

Shay

Besides they don't know about the time machine. To them, it is a coincidence at best.

Corrected entry: On the DVD version, in the scene where Doc gets shot and then later reveals to Marty that he was wearing a bullet proof vest. A vest does not work in the way shown in the movie. It doesn't repel bullets (as shown in the "impact points" in the vest he displays), it absorbs them. Read how a vest works from howstuffworks dot com and you'll see what I mean. In addition, it looks like he is wearing only a Threat Level 2a class vest. An AK47 or similar weapon with a 7.62mm round would go clean through the vest, through Doc, and out the other side thus killing him and ending the story. The only style of vest that can withstand that sort of impact is a Threat Level 3 class vest (the style that specialized units in the military wear). This style is very bulky and is extremely difficult to conceal like Doc did. In addition, it has a ceramic plate in it which would have shattered upon the first impact and failed to protect against multiple impacts from that kind of weapon, and definitely not show "impact points" of twisted metal.

Correction: Doc is a brilliant scientist as well as an inventor. He had the time and the ability to invent his own special material that works like no other material known to man. If he can invent a time machine, I'm sure a bulletproof material would be easy for him.

Damian Torres

As he stated in 1955, none of his inventions had ever worked. When he heard about and was shown the Delorean, he was amazed because it worked. I don't think that he would have been able to invent a jacket that repels bullets that great.

He is still a brilliant inventor/engineer that eventually makes the DeLorean run on bio-fuel and makes a train fly. Surely he can invent himself a vest.

lionhead

Unless he is super paranoid I don't think he thought he would be shot.

Correction: After 30 years it's possible for him to invent the vest. Also, from what I see, the vest hasn't repelled the rounds, as we can see where they've hit as the rounds have impacted the vest.

Back to the Future mistake picture

Continuity mistake: When we first see the machine in action, the travel is shown from three different angles. In the second, a line of fire passes directly between Doc's legs, but in the third angle, they pass to the left of both of his legs. (00:21:00)

Knever

More mistakes in Back to the Future

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: Right when Marty gets back to Doc before he goes back to 1985, he's praising his dad's actions of the night. One line that's bothered me ever since I can remember is "My dad laid out Biff. He's never stood up to Biff in his life." And then the Doc pauses for a second and gets a strange look on his face and says, "Never?" To that, Marty says, "No, why?" and the Doc shrugs it off saying, "Nevermind." What's Doc thinking? The best I can come up with is that he's wondering what effects it'll have on the future, but that's a rough guess. If anyone out there knows, I'd be happy to hear it.

DenizenZERO

Chosen answer: I think that is *exactly* what he is thinking. He realizes that by standing up to Biff, George may have irrevocably changed his personal future, and therefore affected Marty's future as well. This is exactly the sort of thing Doc was so eager to prevent by refusing to hear any information about the future.

Phil C.

Answer: It would have had to be something that would have happened anyway without the interference, otherwise Marty wouldn't have originally existed.

terry s

Answer: In the novel Marty adds that George is also thinking about college now. Doc says that this might delay Loraine and George having kids for awhile and adds that Marty might find himself like 10-14 years old when he gets back to 1985.

More questions & answers from Back to the Future

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