Back to the Future
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Continuity mistake: When Doc points out that Einstein's watch is in sync with his, the LED display changes from being off in a wide shot to on in the closeup. (00:20:05)

Cubs Fan

Back to the Future mistake picture

Continuity mistake: When Marty McFly is being chased around the town square by Biff and his buddies in the black convertible, an extra set of lights appear under the headlights on the car (goes from a 1946 Ford to a '47/'48). (01:06:45)

Continuity mistake: After Einstein comes back Doc Brown is demonstrating to Marty how to set the time machine. He simply pushes the buttons on a key pad. To set it for July 4, 1776 he punches 3 buttons. To set it for December 25, 0000 he punches 6 buttons. To set it for November 5, 1955 he punches 12 buttons. Later, when Marty is resetting the time machine to go back 10 minutes early he punches 7 buttons (all not including the ENTER button on the keypad). (00:23:50)

Continuity mistake: When George and Marty are talking outside the diner and George opens Marty's coke bottle for him, George's hair is all stringy and hanging down in his face. But when it cuts to another angle, it's neatly combed over to one side. (01:03:10)

Krista

Continuity mistake: Before Doc's time travel demonstration, he shows Marty two synchronized clocks. Here we see Einstein turn his head towards the front of the DeLorean, but in the next frame he's facing the camera instead. (00:20:05)

ryguy_1983

Back to the Future mistake picture

Continuity mistake: When Marty looks at the car he is about to crash into, there is no one standing on the pavement, but when he jumps onto it, a man appears. There was not enough time for him to appear. (01:07:00)

apikachu68

Continuity mistake: When Biff's gang arrives at the diner for the first time, Skinhead walks behind Marty and plays with a ball. When the shot changes, he is walking behind him again, but this time he is not toying with the ball. (00:38:50)

Sacha

Back to the Future mistake picture

Continuity mistake: When Marty tells George how to flirt with Lorraine, they both enter the diner and Marty sits on the back of the counter but disappears between shots, only to reappear later on. Also, the extras around him change, although they're all dressed in similarly colored clothes. Check a man in a plaid jacket next to the blonde girl in pink, who disappears when Marty trips Biff. This continuity havoc was due to the combination of Eric Stoltz scenes and new Michael J. Fox reshoots.

Sacha

Continuity mistake: When Marty enters Lou's Cafe for the first time, check a group of people gathered outside next to the doors who say goodbye and leave the place. A shot later, they're all back together, talking. (00:37:46)

Sacha

Continuity mistake: At the very end of "Earth Angel", after kissing Lorraine, George waves to Marty on stage, who waves back and flexes his right hand, holding it up. It then switches to a wide shot for the end of the song, and Marty's right hand is down on the guitar again.

Video

Continuity mistake: When Marty is holding on to the back of the truck, Biff attempts to hit him with his car. Marty quickly pulls himself to the side of the truck to avoid being hit but in the next shot, he is holding on to the back of the truck.

Back to the Future mistake picture

Continuity mistake: After the DeLorean disappears with the dog inside, flames appear underneath Marty and Doc. In the close-up of their legs, a shot later, the road is spotless and the flames reappear a second later.

Sacha

Continuity mistake: When Marty is up on stage "disappearing" and yells "George..." (wanting for George to resume the dance with Lorraine and ultimately kiss her), this exact shot of Marty shows him slumping over and appearing very weak, almost on his knees. A split second later showing that same scene (right when George finally walks back to Lorraine) only from the "crowd view", Marty is still standing upright, not slumped, maintaining his composure.

Continuity mistake: In the scene at the beginning of the film where Marty cranks up his giant amplifier, the resulting explosion blows Marty into a shelf which tips over, spilling all of its contents on top of him. In the next shot, despite the shelf having been emptied in the previous shot, papers and file folders continue to fall on Marty.

Back to the Future mistake picture

Continuity mistake: When Marty is playing back the Twin Pines Mall demonstration video for Doc, the camcorder tilts itself between shots, judging by the lens which sits higher above the TV set when Doc starts shouting, "1.21 gigawatts." (00:53:00)

ryguy_1983

Back to the Future mistake picture

Continuity mistake: After Goldie Wilson arrives at the manure truck scene, we can see onlookers approaching at the street corner in front of Texaco - one of which is the kid who Marty borrowed a skateboard from. But once the shot changes, that same kid is instantly standing on the sidewalk near Marty holding a crate instead. (01:07:35)

ryguy_1983

Continuity mistake: When the 1950s clock chimes and Marty stares at it, a huge scaffolding structure is reflected on a glass billboard, which is nowhere to be seen in subsequent shots of the place.

Sacha

Back to the Future mistake picture

Continuity mistake: When Marty chases after Biff on the borrowed 'skateboard', Marty is wearing a dark grey belt and a red/blue print shirt under his red/beige jacket. However, when Marty is hanging on to the front of Biff's car as they turn a corner (and in another shot), Marty (stunt double) is wearing a light brown belt and solid tan shirt. (01:07:00)

Super Grover

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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

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Question: How is Marty able to play a 1980s videotape on a 1950s television set? Is this just another example of Doc's ahead-of-his-time inventiveness?

Answer: The video camera was in the DeLorean. With the right kind of adapter, which was common enough in the 80s that Doc might've had it on the camera or been able to jury-rig something in the 50s, it would have been possible to connect it into the antenna screws in the back of the TV like an old Atari and play it directly from the camera.

Captain Defenestrator

TVs in the 50s had a two prong antennae connection (two screws in the back that you put a prong antennae into) TVs in the mid 80s also had this. The coax connection (the one wire that screws in) was starting to become common, but, the two prong connection would have been more likely on any given TV at the time, so, whatever wire they used to preview recordings probably had that. very convenient that Marty brought those cords with him.

An old Atari 2600 RF Adapter would be how one would link a video camera to an old-fashioned television. A simple-enough part that Doc could probably make one with 1950s technology.

Captain Defenestrator

Answer: Video tape system back then could output an NTSC video signal, just like broadcast at the time, and up to HD in the 2000s. Usually there was a switch on the video device to change the output frequency between channels 3 or 4. Depending on what was an open channel in your area.

Answer: Doc is smart and eccentric enough to probably have such a thing randomly rattling around in the Delorian as old burger wrappers would rattle around inside a normal car. And Marty could also conceivably have such a thing at his or Doc's domicile for his own video gaming convenience.

dizzyd

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