Back to the Future

Back to the Future is a 1985 American science-fiction adventure comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox as teenager Marty McFly, who is sent back in time to 1955, where he meets his future parents in high school and accidentally becomes his mother's romantic interest. Christopher Lloyd portrays the eccentric scientist Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown, Marty's friend who helps him repair the damage to history by helping Marty cause his parents to fall in love. Marty and Doc must also find a way to return Marty to 1985.

Zemeckis and Gale wrote the script after Gale mused upon whether he would have befriended his father if they had attended school together. Various film studios rejected the script until the financial success of Zemeckis' Romancing the Stone. Zemeckis approached Steven Spielberg, who agreed to produce the project at Amblin Entertainment, with Universal Pictures as distributor. The first choice for the role of Marty McFly was Michael J. Fox. However, he was busy filming his television series Family Ties and the show's producers would not allow him to star in the film. Consequently, Eric Stoltz was cast in the role. During filming, Stoltz and the filmmakers decided that the role was miscast, and Fox was again approached for the part. Now with more flexibility in his schedule and the blessing of his show's producers, Fox managed to work out a timetable in which he could give enough time and commitment to both.

Back to the Future was released on July 3, 1985, grossing over $381 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film of 1985. It won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, the Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film, and the Academy Award for Best Sound Effects Editing, as well as receiving three additional Academy Award nominations, five BAFTA nominations, and four Golden Globe nominations, including Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy). Ronald Reagan even quoted the film in his 1986 State of the Union Address. In 2007, the Library of Congress selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry, and in June 2008 the American Film Institute's special AFI's 10 Top 10 designated the film as the 10th-best film in the science fiction genre. The film marked the beginning of a franchise, with two sequels, Back to the Future Part II (1989) and Back to the Future Part III (1990), as well as an animated series, theme park ride, and several video games.

Plot
At Hill Valley, California, Marty McFly goes to a utility shed until receiving a phone call from Dr. Emmett Brown, realizing that he is late for school. At Hill Valley High School, Marty meets his girlfriend, Jennifer Parker, and both are confronted by Mr. Strickland for showing up late. Marty attempts to audition for Battle of the Bands, but is rejected for being "too darn loud". Marty goes home, where his father, George, is bullied by his supervisor, Biff Tannen, while his mother Lorraine is an overweight, depressed alcoholic. Lorraine recalls one night, she met George when her father hit him with a car.

On October 26, 1985, Marty meets Doc at a shopping mall parking lot in the early morning hours. Doc unveils a time machine built from a modified DeLorean and powered by plutonium stolen from Libyan terrorists. Doc demonstrates the time navigation system by setting the date to November 5, 1955: the day he invented time travel. A moment later, the Libyans arrive and shoot Doc. Marty escapes in the DeLorean, but inadvertently activates the time machine, traveling to 1955 without enough plutonium to return.

There, Marty encounters the teenaged George, who is bullied by his classmate Biff. After Marty saves George from an oncoming car and is knocked unconscious, he awakens to find himself tended to by an infatuated Lorraine. Marty leaves and tracks down Doc's younger self to help him return to 1985. With no plutonium, Doc explains that the only power source capable of generating the necessary 1.21 gigawatts of electricity for the time machine is a bolt of lightning. Marty shows Doc a flyer from the future that recounts a lightning strike at the town's courthouse the coming Saturday night. Doc instructs Marty to not leave his house or interact with anyone, as he could inadvertently change the course of history and alter the future; because of this, Doc refuses to heed warnings from Marty about his death in 1985. Marty realizes that he has prevented his parents from meeting, and Doc warns Marty that he will be erased from existence if he does not find a way to introduce George to Lorraine. Doc formulates a plan to harness the power of the lightning while Marty sets about introducing his parents, but he antagonizes Biff and his gang in the process.

When Lorraine asks Marty to the upcoming school dance, Marty concocts a plan for George to "rescue" her from his feigned inappropriate advances. The plan goes awry when a drunken Biff attempts to force himself on Lorraine. George arrives to rescue her from Marty, but finds Biff instead. George knocks out Biff and Lorraine follows George to the dance floor, where they kiss and fall in love while Marty plays music with the band. Satisfied that he has secured his future existence, Marty leaves to meet Doc.

As the storm arrives, Marty returns to the clock tower and the lightning strikes on cue, sending Marty back to October 1985. He finds that Doc is not dead, as he had listened to Marty's warnings, and worn a bullet-proof vest. Doc takes Marty home, then departs.

Marty awakens the next morning to discover some changes: George is a self-confident, successful author, Lorraine is physically fit and happy, his brother David is a successful businessman, his sister Linda works in a boutique and has many "boyfriends" and Biff is now an obsequious auto valet. As Marty reunites with Jennifer, the DeLorean appears with Doc, dressed in a futuristic outfit, insisting they accompany him to 2015 to resolve a problem with their future children. The trio board the DeLorean and warp to the future.

Cast

 * Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly
 * Christopher Lloyd as Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown
 * Lea Thompson as Lorraine Baines-McFly
 * Crispin Glover as George McFly
 * Thomas F. Wilson as Biff Tannen
 * Claudia Wells as Jennifer Parker
 * James Tolkan as Mr. Strickland
 * Marc McClure as Dave McFly
 * Wendie Jo Sperber as Linda McFly