Back to the Future, A past perspective! by Indie-Ana Jones

In a world (yes, please read this in that dark deep low voice of movie trailer fame) In a world before cellphones, social media and $4.00 coffee there was a film that took us away from portable cassette players, MTV and cold war worries to a simpler time of atomic fallout, the emerging space race and TV dinners.   In 1985, Robert Zemeckis with Bob Gale teamed up with producer Steven Spielberg to create one of the most fantastic time travel tales in history since H. G.Wells’ novel The Time Machine.  Back to the Future is one of those iconic films of the 80’s you just can’t forget.  Having watched it as a teen for the first time in 1985 at the theater, and countless times since then and most recently sharing it with my own kids, it is one of those films that never gets old.  Though obviously I have!   

It is the classic hero setup; average teen mentored by an old and wise sage, a romance and a fantastic situation which finds the hero in peril and he has to save the world.  However never before did the kid have to save his own existence from being erased with the mad inventor who put him into this mess, while at the same time deflecting the advances of a beautiful young woman who later becomes his mom and insisting his future dad to find the guts to fall in love with his future mom.   How can you miss?  You would think this was an easy sell to any studio.  Interestingly enough the script was rejected 40 times before it finally had a chance for the big screen.  Disney even turned it down because of the questionable “makeout scene” between Marty and his future mom.  Other studios rejected it as it wasn't raunchy enough like the film Porky’s.  Goes to show you can’t please everyone.  Finally Universal and Amberlin took the film and the rest is well film history.

So why do we love Back to the Future still today?  Well for one, the story is truly timeless.  Why?  Well I think regardless of what decade you are in, there is always that discord between teens and their parents.  Teens think parents don’t know what it’s like or can’t remember being their age when in fact we remember all too well and just want to eliminate the painful mistakes we ourselves made.   Another point is the idea of time travel is as inspirational today as it was more than 1200 years ago.  Even before Wells, there are tales in various ancient cultures of the fantastic ability to travel through time.  Whether to make amends for past mistakes, or preventing future disasters from happening, we always wonder “what if...”  Lastly, it allows us to share in the adventure of a mad, crazy inventor with the boy next door and a quest to just survive. 

Since its release in theaters in 1985 and later on VHS – yes kiddos it came out on VHS first, the film can be found on dvd’s and online and even on early weekend cable channels. But when was the last time you saw it on the big screen, if ever?  Even better than watching it on the big screen, why not travel back with Marty to the 1950’s and watch it in an honest to goodness drive-in theater.  The Blue Starlite Drive-In Theater at Coconut Grove will be screening Back to the Future several nights this August, as a last hurrah to summer.  So whether it’s your 300^th time or your first time seeing it or sharing it with your own kids, this is definitely one film that will always be a trip.  Even after almost 30 years, (and yes, October 21, 2015 is the correct travel date for Marty McFly's next adventure in Back to the Future II) the film still delivers a fantastic story and a fun ride for audiences of all ages.

Rev up your DeLoreans for my film segment of did you know? 

·       ·      Did you know that Eric Stoltz was originally going to play Marty McFLy.  Though Michael Fox (no relation to Megan Fox) was first choice, his TV series Family Ties kept Michael tied up in production.  However, Zemicks felt something was missing with Stoltz’s performance and Fox was brought in working double shifts with the film and the series.  Johnny Depp had also auditioned for the film but apparently was not the right fit for the character of Marty.  I guess being ripped up by Freddie Krueger has its shortfalls. C. Thomas Howell was also considered for the role.

·      Did you know in the film, Stoltz is still in one of the scenes?  When the DeLorean takes off at the mall parking lot trying to get away from the terrorist group, it was Stoltz who was in the DeLorean not Fox.   
·      Did you know another character switch up happens in Back to the Future II where Elizabeth Shue plays Marty’s girlfriend Jennifer instead of Claudia Wells the original actress?  Due to family illness she did not take part in the second film and stayed out of the film industry for 20 years.
·      Did you know that Ronald Reagan liked the film so much because it made reference to him; he actually used the closing quote by Doc Brown in the 1986 State of the Union address. “Where we are going, we don’t need roads.” Ah President Reagan I remember him well, the first president who really seemed in touch with popular culture, even used a reference to "Star Wars" for the Strategic Defense Initiative and the evil empire.
·       Did you know Christopher Llyod (Doc Emmit Brown) was a well known character actor and can be seen in other iconic films such as One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Taber) and another cult sci fi classic, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai (Big Bootee).  He like Fox also came from another popular TV series, Taxi where he played the inebriated, good hearted Reverend Jim Ignatowski.
·       Did you know that other Hollywood notables also contended for the role of Doc Brown including Dudley Moore, Jon Lithgow and Jeff Goldblum.   I personally wouldn’t mind seeing Goldblum as Doc Brown for just a couple of scenes.  “Yes, yes it’s the flux capacitor... that thing that make time travel possible and well…time finds a way.”