Question: I actually have two questions. On the commentary for Back to the Future around when Doc breaks the clock tower ledge, Bob Gale mentions that the 4 on the clock is IV and not IIII. I just need a better understanding of how he is talking about it being a mistake. Is it really a mistake? Because I will submit it as a mistake. What kind of mistake would this fall under? Continuity, factorial error, plot hole, or other? If it's not a mistake, then I won't submit it.
raywest
5th Oct 2025
Back to the Future (1985)
16th Mar 2023
Back to the Future (1985)
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.
10th Oct 2021
Back to the Future (1985)
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.
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.
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.
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.
Answer: Romans used both numerical styles for the number four. Romans used IIII for vertical lists, on stone columns, etc. It was supposedly easier to add the extra "I" rather than IV. For horizontal writing, the IV was used. Bob Gale is apparently referring to how old clock faces typically used the IIII instead of the more familiar IV. The clock tower in the movie was supposed to be 100 years old, so "IIII" is what should have been used in the 1800s instead of "IV," so that appears to be the mistake. As far as the type of mistake, probably "Factual Error."
raywest ★
Fun fact, my mom has a clock that uses Roman numerals, and the 4 is indeed IIII on it, not IV. If it is a mistake, it is one that is common and not unique to the movie. I think it is used in clocks traditionally since the Romans used to use it on their sundials.
lionhead
Most cuckoo clocks use Roman numerals and still have the IIII.
raywest ★