Back To The Future:
25th Anniversary Trilogy (+ Digital Copy)
Pros: Transfers are marked improvement over the 2002 DVD release, most of the bonus features have been ported over. New documentary includes Eric Stoltz footage.
Cons: Missing trivia track and complete screenplays from prior DVD release.
Movie: 4 out of 5
Back To The Future: 4.5 out of 5
Back To The Future, Part II: 4 out of 5
Back To The Future, Part III: 3.5 out of 5
The 1980s. A time of Reaganomics, the crumbling of the Berlin Wall, the fall of communism, the rise of commercialism, the beginnings of the video revolution, and the birth of Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment. Amblin produced some of the decade's biggest and most memorable hit movies, such as Gremlins, The Goonies, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and Back To The Future.
Originally conceived as a stand-alone film by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, Back To The Future is a highly entertaining time-travel fantasy where teenager Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) is accidentally transported from 1985 to 1955, and through a mishap must get his parents to meet and fall in love, or else he will be erased from existence. The film is an excellent example (and lesson for budding filmmakers) on how to setup, deliver, and payoff sight gags and jokes (pay close attention to the opening title sequence), as well as the use of pop-culture references (designer underwear, Libyan terrorists, diet soda, etc.) that still manage to keep the film from becoming dated. Back To The Future also contains at least three career-defining roles in Michael J. Fox's Marty McFly, Christopher Lloyd's eccentric Doc Brown, and Thomas F. Wilson's dim-witted bully Biff Tannen. Although the cliffhanger ending was originally intended as a joke, the film's success and continued popularity brought about the announcement of a sequel when Back To The Future was first released on VHS and Beta in the Spring of 1986, with the addition of the words To Be Continued prior to the closing credits.
In 1989, fans were excited to hear that not one, but two sequels were being produced, set to be released in November 1989 and May 1990. In an homage to the serials of the 1930s and 1940s, Back To The Future, Part II begins with the final scene from the first film, but with additional footage. Apparently, Biff witnessed Doc Brown, Marty, and Jennifer fly off into the sky in the time-travelling DeLorean just as it jumps into the future. When they arrive in 2015, Biff sees the DeLorean again, and after overhearing Doc Brown's lecture to Marty for purchasing a Sports Almanac and how it could affect the space-time continuum, he steals the time machine and sets off a chain reaction that turns 1985 Hill Valley into a corrupt, polluted, and crime-ridden town controlled by Biff himself. Doc and Marty realize they must travel back to 1955 to stop Biff from using the Sports Almanac to build his future empire. Back To The Future, Part II is perhaps one of the most original sequels, by daring to revisit the first film from a different point of view. Bob Gale's screenplay builds on what worked in the first film, adding in more pop-culture references and introducing gags that ultimately won't payoff until the third installment. Director Robert Zemeckis keeps the pace brisk, but also brings a lot of the visual effects wizardry that Ken Ralston developed for Who Framed Roger Rabbit to ont only allow an actor to be onscreen multiple times, but also interact within the frame. Part II ends with a cliffhanger, with the words To Be Concluded, but also a brief teaser trailer for Back To The Future, Part III.
The third installment opens with Marty stranded in 1955, receiving a letter from Doc Brown dated 1885, with instructions on where to find the DeLorean so he can return home to 1985. But Marty has other ideas, and instead time travels to 1885 to rescue Doc Brown from the old west and bring both of them back to 1985. Mary Steenburgen is sweet and enduring as Clara, Doc Brown's love interest and Hill Valley's school teacher, and is a welcome addition to the cast. At times, Back To The Future, Part III feels like an excuse by Gale and Zemeckis to make a western, the pacing is much slower than the previous films, and feels overly long. It is still an entertaining and satisfying conclusion to the saga, yet pales in comparison.
The Back To The Future series has had its own influences on pop-culture. The DeLorean is almost always associated with time travel, as is traveling at 88 miles per hour with a flux capacitor. A recent episode of the television series Castle included references to the films. After 25 years, the films are just as popular as they were when they were first released.
Video: 4 out of 5
This is the third time the Back To The Future films have been released on DVD by Universal. The first time was as a 3-disc trilogy set in 2002 that was marred by minor framing issues on Parts II and III that were corrected in later pressings. The films were also released individually last year.
In honor of the first film's 25th anniversary, Universal has released a 7-disc trilogy set on both DVD and Blu-ray. Overall, this new DVD edition is a marked improvement over the original 2002 release, with increased detail and more vibrant and consistent colors, and each film is presented in its originally intended 1.85:1 aspect theatrical ratio with anamorphic enhancement. Owners of the previous edition will more likely opt to upgrade to the Blu-ray edition, however.
Audio: 4 out of 5
The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtracks, encoded at 448 kbps, sound very good for films of this era, and all three likely benefit from being originally mixed for 70mm and 35mm theatrical engagements. Dialogue is intelligible, and overall fidelity, especially in Alan Silvestri's score, is excellent. Surrounds and LFE are put to good use, where applicable.
Special Features: 4 out of 5
New to this 25th Anniversary set is the six-part documentary Tales of the Future, spread out over the three movie discs, and featuring new interviews with Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale, Steven Spielberg, Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Claudia Wells, Lea Thompson, Executive Producers Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy, Director of Photography Dean Cundey, co-producer Nick Canton, among others. The highlight of this documentary is the inclusion of footage with Eric Stoltz as Marty McFly, something fans have been requesting to see for years. Not much of this foiotage is shown (less than a minute, total), and it is presented without production audio. The discussion is done tastefully and respectfully towards Stoltz, never degrading him in any way, with Zemeckis taking much of the blame for casting him. The documentary is presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen.
Also new to this edition are Digital Copies of each film, spread out on their own individual DVD-Rom discs, and compatible with iTunes and Windows Media Player.
Most of the special features from previous editions have been ported over. The notable omissions are the trivia tracks and DVD-Rom features, such as the interactive screenplays.
Disc One: Back To The Future
Deleted Scenes (with optional commentary by Bob Gale)
Peanut Brittle (0:53)
Pinch Me (0:35)
Doc's Personal Belongings (1:41)
“She's Cheating” (1:03)
Darth Vader - Extended Version (3:01)
“Hit Me, George” (0:26)
“You Got A Permit?” (1:54)
The Phone Booth (1:16)
Tales From The Future: In The Beginning... (27:25)
Tales From The Future: Time To Go (29:54)
Tales From The Future: Keeping Time (5:46)
Q&A Commentary With Director Robert Zemeckis and Producer Bob Gale (1:39:00)
Feature Commentary With Producers Bob Gale and Neil Canton
Disc Two: Back To The Future, Part II
Deleted Scenes (with optional commentary by Bob Gale)
Old Terry and Old Biff (0:29)
“Dad's Home” - Extended Version (1:19)
Pizza Scene - Extended Version (1:10)
Jennifer Faints - Extended Version (0:19)
Old Biff Vanishes From Car (0:42)
Burned-Out High School (0:26)
Marty Meets Dave (1:22)
Tales From The Future: Time Flies (28:36)
The Physics of Back To The Future With Dr. Michio Kaku (8:25)
Q&A Commentary With Director Robert Zemeckis and Producer Bob Gale (55:02)
Feature Commentary With Producers Bob Gale and Neil Canton
Disc Three: Back To The Future, Part III
Deleted Scene (with optional commentary by Bob Gale)
The Tannen Gang Kills Marshall Strickland (1:20)
Tales From The Future: Third Time's The Charm (17:06)
Tales From The Future: The Test of Time (16:59)
Back To The Future: The Ride (with Play All option)
Lobby Monitor (15:00)
The Ride (16:02)
Q&A Commentary With Director Robert Zemeckis and Producer Bob Gale (30:01)
Feature Commentary With Producers Bob Gale and Neil Canton
Disc Four: Bonus Disc
Back To The Future Archival Featurettes
The Making of Back To The Future (14:29)
Making The Trilogy: Chapter One (15:30)
Michael J. Fox Q&A (10:31)
Original Make-up Tests (2:19)
Outtakes (2:51)
Nuclear Test Site Ending Storyboard Sequence (with with optional commentary by Bob Gale) (4:13)
Photo Galleries
Back To The Future, Part II Archival Featurettes
The Making of Back To The Future, Part II (6:41)
Making The Trilogy: Chapter Two (15:31)
Outtakes (0:50)
Production Design (2:55)
Storyboarding (1:32)
Designing The DeLoroean (3:32)
Designing Time Travel (2:42)
Hoverboard Test (0:59)
Evolution of Visual Effects Shots (5:43)
Photo Galleries
Back To The Future, Part II Archival Featurettes
The Making of Back To The Future, Part III (7:32)
Making The Trilogy: Chapter Three (16:19)
Outtakes (1:36)
Designing the Town of Hill Valley (1:08)
Designing the Campaign (1:18)
Photo Galleries
The Secrets of the Back To The Future Trilogy (20:40)
Music Videos
The Power of Love by Huey Lewis & The News (6:28)
Doubleback by ZZ Top (4:08)
Theatrical Trailers
Back To The Future Teaser (1:26)
Back To The Future, Part II (2:22)
Back To The Future, Part III (2:19)
FAQs About The Trilogy
Join Team Fox PSA (6:05)
Overall: 4 out of 5
The new documentary, in addition to the upgraded transfers, make this set worth the upgrade, although most fans who own the previous 2002 set will more likely want the Blu-ray version.
Studio: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
US DVD Release Date: October 26, 2010
Original Release Year: 1986/1989/1990
Rated: PG/PG/PG
Running Time: 116 minutes/109 minutes/119 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround (English, French, Spanish)
Subtitles: English (SDH), French, Spanish
