BACK TO THE FUTURE: The Ultimate 4K Trilogy (Universal, 1985, 89, 90) Universal Home Video
After a decade of disillusionment with pop entertainment, audiences once again fell in love again with going to the movies in the 1980s. Bolstered by a renewed positivism from the Reagan presidency, Hollywood marked its move away from the bleak symbolism of the 1970’s, rebounding with a string of light-hearted comedies that played up the devil-may-care, laissez faire, 'what me worry?' charm that would come to envelope and embody the decade. Today, 80s cinema gets a knuckle wrap from most critics as utterly plastic, totally simplistic fluff and nonsense, perhaps because our present pop culture and more dire political climate seem to favor apocalyptic visions of America’s future without much hope or redemption. Thankfully, 80’s cinema has never entirely fallen out of favor with audiences. Some, find it harmless hokum, while others - such as myself who grew up during that time - appreciate its unabashed verge for 'feel good' entertainment value. To those latter many, who review movies from this period through the afterglow of fond remembrances and, yes, a bit of the rose-colored tint usually ascribed all nostalgia, one of the fondest warm-hearted and fuzzy ‘feel goods’ is undoubtedly Robert Zemeckis' Back to the Future (1985), an utterly implausible time travel fantasy/comedy/adventure that effectively draws a fitting parallel between its own light-hearted present and that of - arguably - the greatest pop culture decade of them all - the 1950’s.
However, Back to the Future hails from another
epoch entirely: that absolutely impossible fantasia, numerically summed up as
the 1980’s. And it is from this whack-tac-u-lar vantage that these exhilarating
roller coaster rides continue to charm and assuage our fears about what lies
ahead in our own very uncertain future.
The past? Well, it is sweet and familiar, or – at least in these movies –
uneasily positioned to be altered by the intrusion of a time traveler who
brings with him a Winnebago of pent-up sexual frustrations and moral turpitude
from a less innocent era, destined to confuse and offset this nostalgic
throwback with a lot of ‘fish out of water’ ambiance and ‘what if?’ scenarios.
I mean, ‘what if’ you could travel back in time and meet your parents,
long before they actually ‘were’ your parents?
Would they live up to their present stature? Or would you find them,
merely, as people - as vulnerable, confused and on the cusp of failing to
actually ‘become’ your parents without a little nudge in the right direction? Odd
and unsettling to reconsider where we might be had fate taken just one minor
misstep to create a life-altering hiccup in the wrong direction! And thus, such
is the case with our Marty McFly, winningly realized by Michael J. Fox – one of
the 80’s irrefutable box office titans.
Fox’s journey, from everybody’s favorite
uber-conservative ‘Alex P. Keaton’ on TV’s popular, Family Ties
(1982-89), to crusader against Parkinson’s Disease, afflicting the actor since
the age of 29 in 1991, has been peppered in meteoric highs and crushing lows. As
the progression of his disease has worsened, Fox’s resolve to be a staunch
advocate for its eradication has only ripened into a one-man passion as its
most high-profile ‘face’. It has also, regrettably, prematurely forced Michael
J. Fox off our movie and TV screens, a void marginally filled by the actor’s
iron-willed resolve to keep working, as a voice-over actor, and, also by his
prolific authorship – at present, 4 books strong. Around our house, we have long adored Michael
J. Fox as the ever-optimist he projects in the face of stifling adversity. Fox is at his best when he is allowed to just
‘be’ himself: a bundle of energy, briefly contained by circumstances that, at
first, appear to be beyond his control, only to suffer a retrenchment, then a
bombastic release of this kinetic brio, always to win us over with his shy and
winning personality, otherwise to make everything he does, if not always
palpable, then, in fact, most gratifying to be around. Fox’s Marty McFly in Back
to the Future is just such a creature – a teenager, who undervalues his
parents in the present because he cannot conceive, they were ever young or
suffering from the same social angst he is going through in the present. And
thus, Marty’s real journey begins – to find and fix his parents’ relationship
of yore in order to preserve his own existence in the present.
Scripted by Robert Zemeckis and screenwriter, Bob Gale,
Back to the Future initially began its lengthy gestation after Gale
discovered one of his father's old yearbooks in the basement of his family home
and wondered, if he had been in school at that time would he have been friends
with his father? Pitching this loose idea to Zemeckis - the two secured a deal
to develop the project at Columbia Studios in 1980. Alas, after numerous
rewrites the deal fell through. In the meantime, Zemeckis worked in close
partnership with Steven Spielberg on two films that proved to be less than
lucrative for either collaborator. Concerned, his name might become synonymous
with flops, Zemeckis agreed to a deal at Fox to shoot Romancing the Stone
(1984) - a huge hit that marked a turning point in his career. After its
success, and numerous rejections from Columbia and Disney, Back to the
Future acquired newfound interest at Universal Studios. But casting proved
problematic when first choice, Michael J. Fox, bowed out, citing prior
commitments to Family Ties. Zemeckis recast with Eric Stolz. But after a
month of filming, both the director and his star realized Stolz's serious take
on the character was in direct opposition to the more light-hearted narrative.
Stolz graciously departed and a new deal was struck with Fox whereby the actor
would shoot his television series by day and Back to the Future at night
- surviving on a scant 5-hours of sleep between schedules.
To keep production costs down, and spare Fox overwork,
some scenes involving Marty were skillfully shot without Fox, the actor, later,
shooting his pieces to be seamlessly inserted into the final cut. This not only
freed up Fox, but also allowed Zemeckis the opportunity to see if a scene
worked without wasting his star’s energies, and, to implement new ideas along
the way. Given the exhaustive pace of the production, Fox managed to keep
everyone’s spirits up on the set and on location. At the end of its 107-day
shoot, Fox was spent. But at least the raw elements were in the can and
ready for Zemeckis and his editor, Arthur Schmidt to work their magic. Herein, Arthur
F. Repola became the de facto post-production supervisor, subbing for
producers, Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall, involved in numerous projects simultaneously.
A pre-screening of Zemeckis’ first rough assembly at the Century 22 Theater did
not go over well. But a second bite at the apple, with major revisions, so impressed
Uni exec, Sid Sheinberg he moved the general release up to July 3, 1985, inadvertently
to foreshorten Industrial Light and Magic’s commitments on the movie’s SFX to a
mere nine weeks. Despite this, Zemeckis and company managed to pull together
and meet this seemingly impossible deadline, even more miraculously to remain
within the original $19 million budget.
Back to the Future opens with Marty McFly (Michael J.
Fox) a troubled teen living in Hill Valley. His father George (Crispin Glover)
is subservient to an oafish supervisor, Biff Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson), while
Marty's overweight mother, Lorraine (Lea Thompson) has a drinking problem. In
essence, the McFlys are an unhappy family, contented in their misery by
occasionally recalling the glory days of their past. Lorraine recounts for
Marty how she fell in love with George after her father accidentally hit George
with his car. If the home front seems bleak and depressing, it pales to Marty's
own existence - trapped, as he seems to be, in a life that is passing him by.
Despite obvious talent for music and a passion to better himself, Marty just
cannot seem to get a break. At school, he is constantly taunted by Mr.
Strickland (James Tolkan) who relishes telling Marty, just like his father, he
will never amount to anything. Marty's girlfriend, Jennifer (Claudia Wells) is
encouraging and supportive of Marty's dreams. But Marty's most engaging
friendship is with scientist, Dr. Emmett 'Doc' Brown (Christopher Lloyd). Regarded
as a kook by the status quo, Doc has developed a vehicle for time travel. The
DeLorean, powered by plutonium, has a device he calls a 'flux capacitor'. Doc
asks Marty to film his first ‘time travel’ excursion for posterity. However,
before Doc can take his experimental trip into history, terrorists descend upon
on the scene and murder him, forcing Marty to use the DeLorean as his getaway
vehicle. The car leaps into hyperspace and Marty is cast 25-years back in time
to Nov. 5, 1955.
After the shock of his journey wears off, Marty is
introduced to his father as a young man, still being bullied by Biff. But when
Marty saves George from being hit by Lorraine's father's car, he accidentally
takes the hit himself, thereby altering his own future as his teenage mother
slowly begins to fall in love with him instead of George. Meeting up with Doc
as a young man, Marty convinces him he is from the future and Doc, already
predisposed to flights of fancy, tells Marty that unless he can bring his
parents back together, he - Marty - will cease to exist. Marty encourages
George - who is smitten with Lorraine - to plot a ruse to win her affections.
Marty will attempt to take advantage of Lorraine at the high school dance and
George will gallantly come to her rescue. Regrettably, a drunken Biff shows up
first and tries to rape Lorraine. When George arrives, he is bullied once more
by Biff. Nevertheless, George follows through with the plan, knocking Biff
unconscious. A smitten Lorraine takes George by the hand and together they
slowly begin to fall in love - ensuring Marty's future as their child will
endure. Meanwhile Doc, having figured out only a direct lightning strike will
provide sufficient energies capable to send Marty and his DeLorean back to the
future, has rigged an elaborate charge to the town's clock tower. The bolt
strike the car and Marty is zapped into the present, arriving too late to save
Doc from his assassination. However, as Marty hovers over his fallen friend,
Doc stirs to life - revealing he was wearing a bulletproof vest all along. Our story
ends with Marty discovering his intervention in his parent's past has improved
their present - they are self-confident and physically fit. However, just as
Marty and Jennifer are about to go on their merry way, Doc arrives to inform
them there is a future problem with their children - thus setting up the
possibility for a sequel.
Back to the Future is unapologetic hokum of the
highest order - taking itself just seriously enough to make the whole
implausible enterprise believable. The first film remains the best. Initially,
Zemeckis had no interest in directing a sequel. Indeed, it would be almost a
full 4-years before Back to the Future Part II (1989) found its way to
movie screens. By then, the bright-eyed optimism of the 80’s had begun to cool,
and, in the interim, a more introspective form of rom/com had replaced the
fantastic and flighty escapisms that had fueled the bulk of the decade.
Somewhat reluctantly, Zemeckis agreed to helm Part II, once more working
with Bob Gale to create a story. Indeed, Gale wrote most of the sequel apart
from Zemeckis, who was then putting the finishing touches on Who Framed Roger
Rabbit (1988). In this development, however, both men deeply regretted
incorporating Marty’s gal/pal into the final scene of the first movie as it now
necessitated including her in the sequel for continuity’s sake. Worse, a major
negotiation stall with Crispin Glover resulted in the use of previously filmed
footage of Glover from the first film, as well as substituting actor, Jeffrey
Weissman, who wore multiple prosthetics to resemble Glover in long shots. And
Glover, still bitter at not having his salary demands met, sued producers,
claiming they did not own his ‘likeness’ without his permission. Similarly, Zemeckis was faced with another casting
dilemma when Claudia Wells’ – the original Jennifer Parker – refused to partake
of the sequel, citing ‘personal reasons.’ Instead, Zemeckis cast Elisabeth Shue
who has since made a splash in Adventures in Babysitting (1987). This
meant the preamble to Part II of Back to the Future (basically, a
reprise of the ending of the original movie) obliged only a minor reshoot in which
Marty and ‘the new’ Jennifer board the DeLorean for their next big adventure.
Back to the Future Part II begins with a
bit of confusion, as the picture is supposedly set in the ‘then’ present of
1985, even though the movie itself was made in 1989. This time around, Dr.
Emmett Brown persuades Marty and Jennifer to travel to the future with him to
help their future children. Alas, Biff witnesses their departure. To expedite
their mission in 2015, Doc electronically incapacitates Jennifer, leaving her anesthetized
in an alley. Marty poses as his own son to refuse an offer to participate in a
robbery with Biff's grandson Griff, thus avoiding a prison sentence as Doc has
already deduced would have resulted from their botched attempt. Griff goads
Marty and a subsequent hoverboard chase ensues. Griff and his gang are
arrested, saving Marty's future children. Alas, now the real plot to this
sequel kicks in. Marty purchases an almanac revealing the results of all major
sporting events from 1950 to 2000. Doc forewarns about profiting from time
travel and thus, an elderly Biff, having overheard everything, manages to swipe
the discarded almanac. Meanwhile, Jennifer, discovered in the alley by police
and taken to her home, circa 2015, now realizes what has become of the McFly
clan. She witnesses Marty being goaded by his co-worker, Douglas Needles (Michael
Peter Balzary, professionally known as ‘Flea’), into a shady deal, resulting in
Marty's firing. Jennifer faints after encountering her 2015 self. While Marty
and Doc tend to her, Biff returns in their time machine and gives the almanac
to his younger self. Unaware of Biff's actions, Marty and Doc find the time
machine where they left it and return to 1985, depositing a still unconscious
Jennifer on her front porch.
Regrettably, the 1985 they return to has changed
dramatically. Biff, with the almanac’s aid, has become one of Hill Valley’s
most influential and corrupt citizens; the quaint little town, transformed into
a nightmarish dystopia. Marty learns Biff also traveled back even further in
time, to 1973, murdering George in order to wed Lorraine and commit Doc to an
asylum. Realizing what Marty knows, Biff now tries to kill Marty. Instead,
Marty and Doc retreat to 1955, the year in which Biff’s discovery of the
almanac began. After several fruitless attempts, Marty retrieves the almanac,
leaving Biff soiled by a manure truck. Marty destroys the almanac, nullifying its
changes in the natural order of things. Now, Doc hovers overhead in the time
machine. But before Marty can rejoin him, the DeLorean is struck by lightning
and vanishes. A Western Union courier immediately arrives, delivering a
70-year-old telegram to Marty in which Doc explains Marty must get back to town
in order to link up with Doc from 1985, presently preparing to send Marty back
to the future. When Marty arrives, Doc faints.
As a sequel, Back to the Future II is not
terrible. Certainly, from a technical standpoint, it is very ambitious. But the
story is a hodge-podge of half-baked scenarios lacking any spark of originality
that buoyed the original. Worse, the essence for comedy here is lacking. The picture’s
premise is very dark. Doc and Marty are presented at every turn with the
genuine threat they will sincerely fail to undo all the harm Biff’s elderly
self has inflicted upon all their lives. The movie’s every fluctuating
timeline, from past, to present, to recent present, and distant past, then back
again, leaves the first-time viewer with an equilibrium-upsetting experience
that, at moments, if not difficult to follow, nevertheless, only appears to
make sense from the fanciful vantage of movie-land lore. Evidently, none of
this seemed to matter to audiences who made Part II the third-highest grossing
movie of the year, and thus, prompting Universal to re-visit the well yet a
third time. And so, Zemeckis dove into Back to the Future III (1990)
perhaps a bit too hastily. The origins of Part III’s western plot are,
in fact, anchored by Zemeckis and Fox’s interest in the old west and Zemeckis’s
ambitious plans to rebuild the town of Hill Valley from scratch. Thus, Oak
Park, California, and Monument Valley would serve as locations; also, Jamestown,
Red Hills Ranch and Railtown State Historic Park. Part III represents a thematic
departure from the first two movies – Zemeckis more invested in the storytelling
as a ‘human journey’ of self-discovery.
As both sequels were shot a scant 11 months apart,
with only a 3-week hiatus between them, the overlapping work for Zemeckis and
his technical crew proved exhaustive. Nevertheless, cast found the switch to the
‘old west’ refreshing. New to the cast, Mary Steenburgen as Doc’s love
interest, Clara Clayton; a role, the actress resisted until her own children –
enamored by the original movie – goaded her into accepting. Steenburgen would
mildly regret her commitment when, during a vigorous dance sequence, she tore a
ligament in her foot. Production was also halted twice; first, when Michael J.
Fox’s father passed away, then, to allow Fox to be present at his own son’s
birth. Alas, this final installment to the franchise proved decidedly dull: a
nonsensical regression to the old west after Marty travels to 1885 to rescue
Doc from an assassination attempt by Bufford 'Mad Dog' Tannen (again Thomas F.
Wilson). Doc, regrettably, has fallen in love with Clara Clayton (Mary
Steenburgen). Rather than take her back with him to the present, he elects to
remain with her in the past, sending Marty back to Jennifer, circa 1985, but with
the prophetic message that 'the future is what we make it'.
And now, we have Back to the Future: The Ultimate Trilogy, reissued in 4K
via Universal Home Video. The first two movies were shot photochemically on 35mm,
employing Panavision and VistaVision cameras. For Part III, Arriflex
cameras were also employed with all 3 movies released in 1.85:1. For its UHD
debut, Uni has scanned all of these original camera negatives in native 4K
(including all of the visual effects, independently) to author a new Digital
Intermediate with advanced color grading in HDR10, HDR10+, and, Dolby Vision.
Curiously, of the 3 movies, only the original yields impressive results in
ultra hi-def. This, likely is the result, not only of a high-quality scan, but
also owing to the fact all of its visual effects were done with analog optical
compositing and model work, more seamlessly integrated in 4K. The non-special
effects shots reveal a stunning amount of image clarity with richly saturated
colors. Unfortunately, a handful of
shots appear to have had some DNR applied, artificially homogenizing film grain.
Part II has other issues, as it was an early adopter of ILM’s CG
animation and digital compositing, scanned back to photochemical IP film stock,
resulting in visual effects that now appear very soft in comparison to the rest
of the live-action footage. To assuage these shortcomings, and the jarring
effect from one shot to the next, Uni has again applied DNR to smooth out the
edges, resulting in a decided loss of fine detail and grain. While Part II
looks the best I have ever seen it on home video, its presentation here pales
to the original movie’s quality in 4K. Part III wins the ‘most improved’
award. Apart from its digital shots, the image here is crisp and reinvigorated,
with bold colors, tight details that appear solid, with a light smattering of
film grain factored in.
Uni provides us with new Dolby 7.1 Atmos mixes on all 3 movies. The
results are, by far, superior to anything any of these movies have sounded like
on home video before, with a wider dynamic range that really celebrates Alan
Silvestri’s score and gives the SFX a walloping kick in bass tonality. Uni has gone the extra mile too, by
remastering all 3 movies, not only in native 4K, but also offering a standard
Blu-ray upgrade of each movie, remastered from these same 4K improved images. Extras
are, arguably, the only disappointment. Nothing to see here, folks – especially
of you own the old trilogy, as virtually all of its original content gets regurgitated
here. So, on the original movie, Zemeckis and Gale’s audio commentary, another
with Gale and Neil Canton, and, deleted scenes. In HD, the two ‘documentaries’
on the making of the movie, totaling an hour in run time, plus a vintage ‘making
of’, and a brief featurette, a ton of ‘behind the scenes’ make-up tests, screen
tests, etc., Huey Lewis & the News ‘Power of Love’ music video,
trailers and teasers. On Part II,
more commentaries, deleted scenes, a half-hour ‘return’ documentary, and
featurettes devoted to special effects, production design, storyboarding, and
other aspects of the production, plus trailers. On Part III…wait for
it…another pair of commentaries from Zemeckis, Gale and Neil Canton, a
deleted scene, five featurettes which attempt to round out our appreciation of,
not only this movie, but the franchise, outtakes, and a featurette on re-designing
Hill Valley, ZZ Top’s Doubleback Music Video, trailers, and an homage to
the Back to the Future theme park ‘ride’. Uni has included these extras on both 4K and
standard Blu-ray – much appreciated. There is also a ‘bonus’ Blu-ray, with well
over 3hrs. of content too involved to properly critique here. Suffice it to
say, what you get now is the most comprehensive Back to the Future home
video release to date, with virtually no stone left unturned and no curiosity
about the making of these movies to remain unfulfilled. Universal has put their
very best foot forward on this 4K compendium and thus, it is decidedly time to
double dip on this deep catalog release. In all likelihood, folks, it will be
the last time on physical media in the foreseeable future. Bottom line: very
highly recommended!
FILM RATING (out of 5 – 5 being the best)
Back to the Future: 5+
Back to the Future II: 3.5
Back to the Future III: 2.5
VIDEO/AUDIO
Back to the Future: 4.5
Back to the Future II: 3.5
Back to the Future III: 4
5+
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