Back to the Future

"He was never in time for his classes... He wasn't in time for his dinner... Then one day... he wasn't in his time at all."

1985 1h 56m EN

🙌

8.3

BANGER

🔥

93%

CERTIFIED FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

8.5

IMDB

★8.3TMDB · 22,509🍅93%Rotten Tomatoes●88Metacritic★8.5IMDB · 1,450,794

AdventureComedyScience Fiction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Eighties teenager Marty McFly is accidentally sent back in time to 1955, inadvertently disrupting his parents' first meeting and attracting his mother's romantic interest. Marty must repair the damage to history by rekindling his parents' romance and - with the help of his eccentric inventor friend Doc Brown - return to 1985.

“He was never in time for his classes... He wasn't in time for his dinner... Then one day... he wasn't in his time at all.”

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Cast

Michael J. Fox
Marty McFly
Christopher Lloyd
Emmett Brown
Crispin Glover
George McFly
Lea Thompson
Lorraine Baines
Claudia Wells
Jennifer Parker
Thomas F. Wilson
Biff Tannen
Marc McClure
Dave McFly
Wendie Jo Sperber
Linda McFly

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Robert Zemeckis
Writers: Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $392M — a 20.6× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

41 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Back to the Future Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Robert Zemeckis, shot by Dean Cundey. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Alan Silvestri. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Editor Harry Keramidas shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd and Crispin Glover carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "He was never in time for his classes... He wasn't in time for his dinner... Then one day... he wasn't in his time at all.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Robert Zemeckis directs. Dean Cundey behind the camera. Alan Silvestri scores. Harry Keramidas cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Grossed $392M — a 20.6× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
241 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Part of the "Back to the Future Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Robert Zemeckis, shot by Dean Cundey. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Alan Silvestri. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Harry Keramidas shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd and Crispin Glover carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "He was never in time for his classes... He wasn't in time for his dinner... Then one day... he wasn't in his time at all.".
9IMDB entry: tt0088763 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
1022,509 TMDB user ratings logged — serious cultural footprint.
11Classified under 26 themes, including "flying car", "race against time", "clock tower", "car race".
12Released under 24 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Dean Cundey
Original score: Alan Silvestri
Editing: Harry Keramidas
Production design: Lawrence G. Paull
Costume design: Deborah L. Scott
Makeup / hair: Dorothy Byrne
Sound: Takeo Ogawa
Stunt coordinator: Walter Scott
Runtime: 116 min · 1h 56m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.78:1 (16:9)
Status: Released
Budget: $19,000,000
Box office: $391,546,852
Return: 2061% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Back to the Future (1985)
Rotten Tomatoes: 93% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 88/100
IMDB rating: 8.5/10 · 1,450,794 votes
MPAA: PG

Awards

Won 1 Oscar. 27 wins & 25 nominations total

Jupiter Awards
Saturn Award for Best Actor
Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film
Academy Award for Best Sound Editing
Goldene Leinwand
David di Donatello
Saturn Award for Best Special Effects
International Film Music Critics Association Awards
Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation
National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

Back to the Future Collection

An American science fiction–comedy film series that follows the adventures of a high school student, Marty McFly and an eccentric scientist, Dr Emmett L. Brown as they use a DeLorean time machine to time travel to different periods in the history of Hill Valley, California.

Also by

Robert Zemeckis

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Selected frames

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Ian Beale2017-02-23
★ 8/10
Entertaining A man goes back in time to save his mother - or something like that anyway - I was too entertained to fully grasp what was going on. Seriously, this film moves so fast that you will find yourself having to try your hardest to keep up with it. Great movie. Great soundtrack. Great performances. A shame that the sequels did not live up to this one. - Ian Beale
John Chard2019-07-21
★ 10/10
Earth Angel And The Nuclear DeLorean. It's 1984 and director Robert Zemeckis, fresh from the success of Romancing The Stone, is trying to film Back To the Future - a film about a young teenager called Marty McFly who is accidentally sent back in time to 1955 and inadvertently risks the future of his family. Zemeckis is troubled by his leading man, Eric Stoltz, who just isn't capturing the youthful teenager exuberance that he wants for Marty McFly. Stoltz is jettisoned and in comes Michael J. Fox who was busy wowing audiences in the hugely popular sit-com Family Ties. Fox had been first choice anyway but couldn't get a release slot from shooting with Family Ties. Luckily the wasted time with Stoltz created an opening for Fox to play Marty McFly as well as work on the show - the result of which would turn out to be one of the most beloved fantasy trilogies of the modern era. It's honestly hard to find anyone who seriously doesn't like Back To The Future part one. The second one has its critics, because, lets face it, it's a bridge between two better films, while the third film loses some people because of its Western themed plot (the heathens that they are). Yet really this trilogy opener is as near perfect cinema for all the family as you could wish to view. It's a water tight script from Zemeckis and Bob Gale that not only encompasses witty time travel paradoxes, but also dares to be dramatic into the bargain. The first 15 minutes contains a real shocker that is as cheeky as it bold, something that really gives Marty's 1955 quest a real urgency that the audience can buy into as the comedy relief then comes in spades. The set pieces are first rate - hello skateboard - hello rock "n" roll 101, and the makers have fun in winking towards other notable sci-fi pictures along the way. Hell they even manage to deal in an Oedipal strand that is tasteful, handled superbly and garners guffaws aplenty. No mean feat that last one actually. Alan Silvestri provides a whirring & pleasing score and the theme song, The Power Of Love, by Huey Lewis & The News, is infectiously enjoyable. Finally it's the cast that seal the deal for why this is as good as it gets for fantasy escapist cinema. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Thomas F. Wilson & Crispin Glover are the perfect quintet, each feeding off each other and doing justice to the excellently constructed story. Made for $19 million, Back To The Future went on to make a worldwide gross of over $381 million, and those are the kind of figures you really can't argue with. It's snappy, happy and down right funny, so really, if you don't like Back To The Future then seek medical help immediately. 10/10
The Peruvian Post2020-02-17
★ 9/10
"Robert Zemeckis remains the beating heart of modern science-fiction films" The first time I have ever redacted a critic was down in 2015, since then, I learned how impressive productions could change lives and start movements throughout the world. Back To The Future represents one of those films, such a powerful, inspirational, comical, heartwarming, and innovative one. Probably, McFly and Doc Brown proffer the best duo-interaction I have ever beheld in an 80s film (which, happily, could end up being top-notch of all time). There are almost no blunders to be found because the flick essentially represents an instant classic of cinematic history as if to say, pure perfection. From this moment on, you might be thinking about the reason of having assessed the film as absolute perfection score. First and foremost, we discuss relating to breaking formulas and experiencing new paths, in other words, means opening new cinematic genres and improving them, that is to say, films which leave a significant legacy. Back To The Future follows the proper steps to provide that brand-new feature we were all hoping. Secondly, we balance the film's highest moments and ordinary moments with humour, some 50's nostalgia, some drama and (even) some action moments which results in a win-win the film provides a mixture of genres carefully well-managed and accurately-needed. Third, if the goal is the production of an instant classic, we will need to focus on the cast, because they are the ones who will perform during the whole film, they embody the heroes and villains; therefore, they become fundamental. Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd are the film's core, as excellent as Vince Vaughn-Owen Wilson's 2005 Wedding Crashers, I daresay. Finally, but not least, the soundtrack and the environment, in spite of ending up being complementary, provides not only a trusting reality but an opportunity to show the audience the plot's main incidents. During the display, we will notice the most recurrent spots are the 80's and 50's at school, at traditional coffee shops and the streets, not forgetting the excellent pop-culture references introduced. The audience ought to congratulate Robert Zemeckis' mind and, also, the crucial support of his staff (one of whom was Steve Spielberg) owing to this masterpiece. The montage is proof that everyone who has an incredible imagination is capable of creating chef-d'oeuvres, delivering the audience such an extraordinary time. What is more exhilarating is the fact that then-president Ronald Reagan loved the film to the point that he used famous BTTF quotes, for example, during his 1986 State of Union Adress. What an achievement ladies and gentlemen! (90/100)