(As our editor Matt Holmes turns 25 today, he’s out of office and we are going to re-publish some old favourites. Such as this beauty from Gareth Bunkham)

Power up the DeLorean, turn the time circuits on and get the flux capacitor… fluxing, ‘Back to the Future‘ has landed back in U.K. cinema’s for a refreshing, and unique, nationwide re-release. This is something we’ve been asking studio’s to do for some time, put serious money in giving genuine classics that glourious chance to find a whole new audience.

To celebrate the release, he’s a re-running of an old favourite. 52 reasons (in no particular order) why Back to the Future might just be the greatest film of all time… (and make sure you check it out in theatres now)…

1. The Opening Scene

The opening scene in ‘Back to the Future’ is quite simply: perfect.

It flawlessly sets up the film’s central themes of time and space, provides heaps of exposition, presents the clock imagery that runs through the entire franchise and foreshadows events further on the film in one simple tracking shot; but most importantly it grabs your attention instantly.

Every time I watch Back to the Future I pick up on something new in that opening scene. The most recent occasion it was that one of Doc’s myriad clocks has a little scientist that looks remarkably like Dr. Emmett L. Brown himself hanging from one of the hands, foreshadowing that spine-tingling scene later in the film (more on that later though).


2. The Coolest Movie Car Ever

“You made a time machine… out of a DeLorean?”

I’ve heard all the arguments for other celluloid cars but nothing even comes close to Doc’s modified DeLorean – it’s a time machine for crying out loud!

3. Crispin Glover

The man who is the very definition of the phrase ‘cult actor’ got his big break in ‘Back to the Future’ and went on to carve out a career filled with eclectic performances coupled with a plethora of off-screen eccentricities.

Glover is brilliant as George McFly and as much of a cult hero as he has become, it’s a shame ‘Back to the Future’ wasn’t the start of a more successful career for this charismatic enigma.

4. Johnny B. Goode

“Well it’s an oldie where I come from”

One of Back to the Future’s most enduring scenes is Marty’s performance of Chuck Berry’s legendary ‘Johnny B. Goode’, complete with freak-out guitar solo at the end mimicking the playing traits of some of his all-time great guitar heroes.

Back to the Future – Johnny B. Goode

As Marty looks out on the shocked crowd after his axe-wielding antics he realises he’s lost the 50s kids and quips:

“I guess you guys aren’t ready for that yet… but your kids are gonna love it”.

5. The Chuck Berry reference

“It’s your cousin Marvin”

Mid-way through the aforementioned performance of Johnny B. Goode, before Marty’s over zealous string plucking loses the room, front man of the band playing the Enchantment Under the Sea dance, Marvin, of ‘Marvin Berry and the Starlighters’ fame, heads off to the side of the stage and makes a phone call.

Yelling over the music to his cousin ‘Charlie’ he remarks “you know that new sound you’re looking for? Well listen to this…” and holds the phone out to capture Johnny B. Goode, essentially suggesting that Marty is responsible for giving Chuck Berry the inspiration for Johnny B. Goode and the pioneering of rock n’ roll.

This scene is typical of the clever alternate time zone pop culture references that pepper the whole ‘Back to the Future’ trilogy – the use of Charlie rather than Chuck and the fact that Marvin’s surname is Berry, means this not an obvious reference to everyone but it’s very well done all the same.

6. Biff’s Question Song

‘Back to the Future’ was undoubtedly Thomas F. Wilson’s finest hour and he was never again to scale the heights that he deserved to following the success of Robert Zemeckis’ film.

Maybe that’s a blessing in disguise though, because if Wilson had gone on to become a huge star I doubt we’d have ever got to hear his stand-up comedy stylings, which he has become renowned for and include this brilliant little ditty from the man himself about his experiences since the movie:


7. The Sequels

‘Parts II’ & ‘III’ may not be as good as the original or as fondly remembered but together they form one of the, if not THE, greatest trilogy in cinema history.


Each film expands the ‘Back to the Future’ universe and continues to evolve our heroes, the sequels aren’t just re-treads of the original hitting all the same notes; they stand up on their own as great pieces of filmmaking.

The plot of ‘Part II’ is in fact so complicated it actually makes your brain hurt if you really stop and think about what exactly is going on. ‘Parts II’ & ‘III’ also expand the mythology of the franchise and delve deeper into the ethical and moral questions raised in the first film as well as encompassing themes of fate and destiny.


8. They had the balls to re-cast Marty McFly

Would ‘Back to the Future’ have been as successful with the originally cast Eric Stoltz as Marty McFly rather than Michael J. Fox?

We will never know for sure but I would venture: no.

That’s not a slight on Stoltz’s acting in any way but it’s impossible to imagine him in the role now. The fact that Zemeckis et al had the balls to re-cast and re-shoot after five weeks of production had begun was a bold move, and it paid off in spades.

Much of ‘Back to the Future’s’ broad appeal lies in Michael J. Fox’s effortless charm and without him this wonderful film may have never reached the universal audience it now has.

9. The fun they have playing with time

The ‘Back to the Future’ universe is such a rich tapestry and there is endless fun to be had with the role reversals, relatives of our heroes and the effect travelling through time has in each time zone.

For instance, Red Thomas is Mayor in 1955 and a drunken tramp in 1985, conversely Goldie Wilson is a bus boy with big dreams in 1955 and Mayor in 1985 (he gets the idea to run for Mayor from Marty in 1955).

The effect of Marty crashing into the pine tree upon arrival in 1955 is also felt back in 1985 – the mall where Doc is shot is originally named the Twin Pines Mall but we later see it named the Lone Pine Mall after Marty destroys the pine tree in 1955.

10. One of the best scripts ever

‘Back to the Future’s’ script is absolutely seamless.

Nothing is wasted, no scene is unnecessary, no dialogue is extraneous, and everything contributes to furthering the brilliant story and expanding the Hill Valley universe.

I honestly believe this film should be core curriculum for budding writers looking to learn how write a succinct yet utterly perfect script.

11. The score

This will probably be one of the arguments in favour of every film featured in one of these lists as people associate the music of the films with those great childhood memories.

Alan Silvestri’s score though must go down as one of the all time greats – I’ve heard the music from Back to the Future used dozens of times other than within the film which just shows how enduring this music is.

I defy anyone not to get goose bumps when they hear Silvestri’s majestic score kick in, even if, like me, you’ve seen this film pushing treble figures number of times and you know it frame for frame. This score can’t help but make you feel that maybe Doc won’t get that wire reconnected in time or maybe Marty won’t get away from the Libyans this time.

12. It was referenced by a President in a State of the Union Address

Fair enough it was Reagan, but still.

Yes, that’s right, during his state of the Union address in 1986 President Ronald Reagan (who is famously referenced in the film himself) said in his State of the Union address – “As they said in the film Back to the Future, ‘Where we’re going, we don’t need roads’”.

Similarly, George W. Bush later referenced his favourite movie: ‘Air Bud’ in one of his addresses.

13. Michael J. Fox’s performance of a lifetime

Michael J. Fox is a great actor and people often forget that – see his performance in Peter Jackson’s underrated ‘The Frighteners’ or his recent Emmy-nominated guest run on the brilliant ‘Rescue Me’ if you need proof that he can actually act rather than coast by on charm.

And while Marty McFly may not have required him to flex his thespian muscles too much, this is undoubtedly the performance he will always be remembered for, and deservedly so.

When they made ‘Back to the Future’, Fox was filming practically 24 hours a day – with ‘Family Ties’ during the day and then ‘Back to the Future’ through the night yet he still exudes his trademark charm & charisma and brings a sparkle to the role that is rarely emulated on screen.

14. The teaser ending

Nothing frustrates me more than when a film blatantly ends with a sequel in mind.

When ‘Back to the Future’ was originally released the ending wasn’t meant to set-up a sequel, in fact had they had a sequel in mind the ending would have no doubt been somewhat different. Having Jennifer in the car at the end of the film presented the writers no end of problems with ‘Part II’, especially when Claudia Wells didn’t return.

The ending was meant to show the endless possibilities that Doc and Marty now had with their time machine, not specifically to set up ‘Part II’. So when the decision to make sequels was made, the To Be Continued… graphic was added in to all cuts of the original film.

When that graphic flashes up it’s almost impossible to not want to pop Part II into the DVD player, so although it wasn’t originally intended to be a bridge to Part II, the ending of Back to the Future actually became a brilliant teaser for what was to come.

15. The theme park ride

I’m lucky enough to have ridden the Back to the Future ride at Universal Studios a couple of times before it was criminally replaced by a Simpsons ride, but sadly I have only been on it once since I became a ‘Back to the Future’ mega-geek. Suffice to say though I appreciated every miniscule detail that last time.

As with all the theme park rides at the US parks, the attention to detail on the ride was second to none and even featured appearances By Christopher Lloyd and Tom Wilson.

The theme park ride and the events it encompasses are actually considered canon by some in the ‘Back to the Future’ universe, and the animated series that came in the 90s actually used the theme park ride as a bridge between the films and itself.

Gone but not forgotten, the ‘Back to the Future’ ride was like a wet dream for geeks everywhere.

16. Pop culture defined

“If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits 88mph, you’re gonna see some serious shit.”

The first scene in which we see the DeLorean time travel is not just iconic for the genius line above from Doc, everything about the scene is recognisable and defines the movie; from the flaming tyre tracks to the most awesome licence plate in movie history: ‘OUTTATIME’ spinning round, this is one of the coolest and most recognisable scenes in the film.

17. Einstein

The most unsung dog in cinema.

Doc’s long-suffering pet becomes the world’s first time traveller and if that doesn’t make him the greatest movie canine then I don’t know what does.

Looking impossibly adorable in a little yellow rain coat following his time travelling escapades, ‘Einy’ even tries to alert his naïve owner to the presence of some rather angry Libyan terrorists, sadly too late, but at least he tried!

Einstein, like most characters in the film, even has his own 1955 counterpart in the form of Doc’s dog (and Einstein’s likely predecessor) Copernicus.

18. It won an OSCAR

Okay, it was for sound-editing, but still.

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