Back in Time

Dir: Jason Aron

2015

**

Jason Aron's documentary Back in Time has had a lot of coverage in the media, mainly thanks to it's timely release that coincided with the 30th anniversary of the first Back to the Future film but also because absolutely everybody loves the franchise. A definitive documentary regarding one of the most loved films of all time was surely always going to be a success, with interviews with writers, director and the leading stars, it's what the fans wanted and they said as much, Aron's kickstarter campaign reaching it's funding target with ease and well before time. I put my money on the table and was one of those kickstarters. The unnecessary customs charge I accrued when I did indeed receive my copy of the film, which was completely avoidable, was not a good start. I was already a little disgruntled that it had arrived long after the 30th anniversary day, had already been aired on TV and was ready to buy online for a third of the price that I originally pledged. However, I will put all that aside and will review the film on its own merits. Back in Time is hugely disappointing. The first chapter sees Dan Harmon tell us how much he loves the first film (and declares that everyone knows the second and third parts suck) and Adam F. Goldberg explain to us how iconic the franchise is. Who are these men and more importantly, who cares? Steven Spielberg (producer) explains how clever Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis are, Bob Gale explains how clever Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis are and Robert Zemeckis explains how clever he is. Claudia Wells and Donald Fullilove, regulars on the fan circuit (and rather lovely they both are too), play mini golf. Claudia Wells and Donald Fullilove say how great the film is. Huey Lewis tells us how great the music was. Then, for pretty much 65% of the film, we follow people who own DeLoreans. Complete stranger tell us how much they love the film and how much they love DeLoreans. Around 5% of the film is made up of talking head interviews with Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd. Christopher Lloyd answers the same questions he's been asked a million times in the last 30 years in exactly the same way he usually does. Michael J. Fox however, is quite funny. The best bit of the film by far is when they ask Fox, during the final credits, where in time he would travel to if he had a time machine. His answer, which he got when he once asked Woody Allen the same question was 'No time before the invention of penicillin'. It's the highlight of the film. It lasts five seconds. Right at the end of the film. Now, I like Back to the Future too. It's the reason why I pledged, bought, got excited about and eventually watched the film. I like DeLoreans too. The problem is, I learned absolutely nothing I didn't already know. I'm no Back to the Future expert, I know about the same as everyone else who likes the film. So much was left out of the documentary it's shocking. Watching 90 minutes of people repeatedly telling me how much they love the film actually made me like it less. A documentary about a film I love should have made me want to watch said film right after it had finished but it had quite the opposite effect. This is barely a documentary. Aron should buy a dictionary with his profits. If it was an extra as part of a complete box set it would still be rather disappointing. They had these people agree to sit for them and they asked them the most inane questions they could think of. The constant twang of the rather twee acoustic version of the theme tune made my left eye bulge. A waste of opportunity, a waste of time and a waste of my, and every other kickstarter's money. If I had a time machine I'd go back to early 2015 and advice myself not to bother.

Back to the Future Part III
Dir: Robert Zemeckis
1990
*****
Just as it looked like Marty and Doc Brown had saved the day at the end of Back to the Future Part II, the time machine is suddenly struck by lightening, sending the Doc to Hill Valley in 1885. Minutes after this tragic scene, we see a man from the Western Union arrive and deliver a letter to Marty from Doc that he had sent seventy years previous. It's a brilliant piece of writing that led into the third and final film of the series perfectly. Part II and Part III were filmed back to back, which I think helped overcome many of the continuity issues they encountered between the first and second installments. The third film is a little less serious than second and returns to the feel and format of the original film somewhat. However, this time the story revolves around Doc Brown more so than Marty, which I personally like most about the film, especially as we never got to see a future Doc of 2015. Again, the film compares lifestyles of 1880's and 1980's people of Hill Valley and recreates many scenes from the first and second films but without being a contentious copy. The idea of traveling back to the old west was actually Michael J. Fox's when Gale asked him during the first film which era he would travel to if he had a time machine. Gale and Zemeckis were clearly fans of the genre and cast and crew were all said to be keen to make what is a solid western in it's own right as well as a tribute film. The film has many appealing features such as the cameos of Western veterans Pat Buttram, Harry Carey and Dub Taylor who give the film an element of credibility, the birth of many aspects of Hill Valley the viewers had enjoyed in the two previous films, Marty McFly's ancestors (all played by Fox, much like his future relatives were in Part II), a ZZ Top cameo performance (something all films should include) and a romantic story line for Doc Brown. Mary Steenburgen was cast as Doc Brown's love interest, although she passed at first until her kids, huge fans of the first film, pestered her to take it on. It's a rather lovely love story between the two characters, completely different from the norm and definitely one of the film's highlights. The many references to classic westerns were brilliantly handled and never overdone. The film is more simple than the previous films, allowing for the characters to really come alive and develop far more than they had before. It's a rewarding finale to the trilogy with an equally rewarding conclusion. The final scene is a little cheesy and doesn't really make a lot of sense but it contains the heart of the trilogies message and gives the viewers what they really wanted. It's a great conclusion of what is a (the) perfect trilogy.

Back to the Future Part II
Dir: Robert Zemeckis
1989
*****
Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale had no intention to make a sequel to their original Back to the Future film. The 1985 hit ended nicely, with the present being changed for the better and a comedic appearance from Doc Brown who declared that Marty had to come with him to the future to sort out a problem with his kids. The film would have remained an iconic family favorite if they had left it there but the fans wanted more and after the amount of money the first film made, so too did the studio. Zemeckis and Gale agreed that they'd make two sequels as long as Fox and Lloyd returned, although it was Gale who wrote most of the story while Zemeckis was busy filming Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Zemeckis and Gale have said since that they really regretted certain decisions they made in the first as it made continuity a real headache but continuity was only one of several issues they would have to overcome. While most of the original cast agreed to reprise their roles, Claudia Wells and Crispin Glover did not. Wells turned down the part due to her mothers ill health while Glover had other issues. Because the last scene of the original film is the beginning sequence of the second, and featured Wells, it had to be re-filmed frame by frame, with Elisabeth Shue as Marty's girlfriend, Jennifer Parker. Crispin Glover was offered less than half the salary of both Thomas F. Wilson and Lea Thompson. The three actors had level billing and Glover, quite rightly, suggested that this was unfair. Glover had clashed somewhat with Zemeckis and Gale in the first film and Zemeckis became particularly angry when Glover criticized the original ending of the second film, which was eventually changed. The original ending saw particular characters gain financial reward at the end of the film and Glover felt that this undermined the overall message of the film. When an agreement couldn't be met, Glover walked. Zemeckis and Gale overcame this by reducing his character's screen time and by using state of the art special effects to put Glover's face on the new actor. Understandably, Glover took umbrage to this and successfully sued the pair and changed certain laws within the Screen Actors Guild forever. It's a shame that Glover didn't return but the story written around his absence is strong, maybe even better than would could have come before. There are lots of familiar scenes in the second but it isn't the carbon copy that it could have been but much like the first film, it compares the lifestyles of youth in the 50's, 80's and in 2015. The 1989 vision of 2015 captured the imagination of many. It's a shame they got it completely wrong but they did get certain aspects right. They certainly got the fact that certain traits, particularly in the youth, are somewhat timeless. I think I'm right in saying that they got the science regarding time travel correct as well (apart from the fact future Marty would know that his past self was hiding in his house, unless he'd forgotton but I think this can be excused) and the ideas behind an alternative 1985 and a return to events seen in 1955 is creative writing at it's very best. It's complicated stuff but they've made it easy to follow and enjoy. The sequel is even more iconic as the original, it is complex, intelligent and heaps of fun. It's hard to say which is my favorite film of the trilogy but I think I favor Part II's conclusion over the other two as we see Doc Brown met by Marty straight after he's just sent him back to 1985 as seen in the first film in 1955. Phenomenal writing with excellent performances to match.

Back to the Future
Dir: Robert Zemeckis
1985
*****
Back to the Future was developed after writer/producer Bob Gale was going through his Dad's old year book and wondered to himself whether he and his father would have been friends had they gone to school together. His friend and partner Robert Zemeckis liked the idea and then mused whether his mother, who claimed she never kissed a boy in high school, was secretly promiscuous. I think of the two, I'd rather be stuck in a lift with Gale but hats off to the pair of them, they made one of the most icon films of all time. Early versions of the film's story weren't all great. The original concept for the time machine was a fridge. In order to get back from 1955 in the original 'refrigerator' draft, Marty would have had to get inside said fridge in the middle of the Nevada nuclear test site. A fairly silly idea, although Mr. Spielberg clearly didn't think so (see 2008's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull). It was indeed Steven Spielberg who came to Gale and Zemeckis rescue as the pair had failed to sell the script to any of the main studios for five years. Gale and Zemeckis had two flops under their belts, Used Cars and I Wanna Hold Your Hand, both great films but 1978-1980's audiences didn't think so (but their kids loved it). They were at the end of their tether and reluctantly asked their bearded friend for advice. After a few rewrites and a shift in teen comedy trends people became interested, then Zemeckis made Romancing the Stone which became a big hit and suddenly the offers came flooding in. Ford were interested in the script and saw an opportunity for a bit of product placement but as tempted as they were, both Gale and Zemeckis knew that the Doc Brown they had written would never have driven a Mustang, it had to be something special, like a DeLorean. The casting was perfect, although it could have been very different. It's well known that Michael J. Fox was first choice for Marty but at first his contract with the TV show Family Ties forbade it. Eric Stoltz filmed almost half of the film until everyone realised that it just wasn't working out. After negotiations, the rest of the cast had their contracts extended to re-film the scenes and Michael J. Fox worked in the evenings and at night to finish the film around his TV duties. What a lot of people don't realise is that John Lithgow was originally cast as Doc Brown but became unavailable at the last minute. Christopher Lloyd was approached but passed on the offer. It was Lloyd's wife's insistence that he took the part that finally made him reconsider. I think Stoltz and Lithgow are both brilliant actors but it's hard to imagine them both in the two iconic roles. Fox and Lloyd make an unlikely but brilliant pairing. That said, the film wouldn't have been as successful without the other brilliant lead performances from Crispin Glover, Lea Thompson, and Thomas F. Wilson. The set, props, visuals and overall direction are perfect. It's a great comparison between the 80's and 50's pop culture, attitude and lifestyles. It's very clever, full of action, is pretty funny and has some of the best continuity a film of its genre could possibly have. So much of the film has been immortalized in modern culture, from the clothes, to the set pieces but most memorably the lines. There are countless lines of dialogue from the film which are now common place in people's vocabulary, the ultimate test that determines the success of a film. It's the perfect sci-fi adventure fantasy film.