52 Reasons Why Back To The Future Might Just be the Greatest Film of all Time

By Gareth Bunkham /

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 - €œAs 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.

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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 Futureactually became a brilliant teaser for what was to come.