Back to the Future trilogy
Encyclopedia
The Back to the Future trilogy is a comedic
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...

 science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 adventure
Adventure film
Adventure films are a genre of film.Unlike pure, low-budget action films they often use their action scenes preferably to display and explore exotic locations in an energetic way....

 film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

 series written by Bob Gale
Bob Gale
Michael Robert "Bob" Gale is an American screenwriter who co-wrote the science fiction film Back to the Future with writing partner Robert Zemeckis, and the screenplays for the film's two sequels. Gale also co-produced all three films....

 and Robert Zemeckis
Robert Zemeckis
Robert Lee Zemeckis is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Zemeckis first came to public attention in the 1980s as the director of the comedic time-travel Back to the Future film series, as well as the Academy Award-winning live-action/animation epic Who Framed Roger Rabbit ,...

, directed by Zemeckis, produced by Amblin Entertainment
Amblin Entertainment
Amblin Entertainment is an American film and television production company founded by director and producer Steven Spielberg and film producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall in 1981. Amblin is only a production company, and has never distributed its own movies, nor has it fully financed its...

 and distributed by Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...

. The main plot follows the adventures of a high school student Marty McFly
Marty McFly
Martin Seamus "Marty" McFly, Sr. is the protagonist in the Back to the Future film trilogy, and is portrayed by actor Michael J. Fox. Marty was also the protagonist in the animated series where he was voiced by David Kaufman...

 (portrayed by Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox, OC is a Canadian American actor, author, producer, activist and voice-over artist. With a film and television career spanning from the late 1970s, Fox's roles have included Marty McFly from the Back to the Future trilogy ; Alex P...

) and eccentric scientist
Mad scientist
A mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if...

 Dr. Emmett Brown
Emmett Brown
Doctor Emmett Lathrop "Doc" Brown, Ph.D. is a fictional character and one of the lead characters in the Back to the Future film trilogy, in which he is the inventor of the first time machine, which he builds out of a DeLorean sports car...

 (portrayed by Christopher Lloyd
Christopher Lloyd
Christopher Allen Lloyd is an American actor. He is best known for playing Emmett Brown in the Back to the Future trilogy, Uncle Fester in The Addams Family and Addams Family Values, and Judge Doom in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. He played Reverend Jim Ignatowski in the television series Taxi and more...

) as they use a modified DeLorean automobile
DeLorean time machine
The DeLorean time machine is a fictional automobile-based time travel device featured in the Back to the Future trilogy. In the feature film series, Dr...

 to time travel
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...

 to different periods of the history of Hill Valley, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

.

The first film was the highest-grossing film of 1985 and became an international phenomenon, leading to the second and third films which were filmed back-to-back and released in 1989 and 1990 respectively. Though the two sequels did not perform quite as well at the box office as the first film, the trilogy remains immensely popular after a quarter of a century and has yielded such spin-offs as an animated television series
Back to the Future: The Animated Series
Back to the Future: The Animated Series is an animated series for television based on the Back to the Future trilogy of feature films. The series lasted two seasons, each featuring 13 episodes, and ran on CBS from September 7, 1991 to November 28, 1992. It reran until August 14, 1993...

 and a motion-simulation ride
Back to the Future: The Ride
Back to the Future: The Ride is a simulator ride based on and inspired by the Back to the Future trilogy and is a mini-sequel to 1990's Back to the Future Part III. In the United States, it was replaced by The Simpsons Ride...

 at the Universal Studios Theme Parks in Universal City, California
Universal Studios Hollywood
Universal Studios Hollywood is a movie studio and theme park in the unincorporated Universal City community of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is one of the oldest and most famous Hollywood movie studios still in use...

 (now closed); Orlando, Florida
Universal Studios Florida
Universal Studios Florida is an American theme park located in Orlando, Florida. Opened on June 7, 1990, the park's theme is the entertainment industry, in particular movies and television. Universal Studios Florida inspires its guests to "ride the movies," and it features numerous attractions and...

 (now closed), and Osaka, Japan
Universal Studios Japan
, located in Osaka, is one of four Universal Studios theme parks, owned and operated by USJ Co., Ltd. . The park is similar to Universal Orlando Resort, since it contains many of the same rides. Most visitors are Japanese tourists or tourists from other Asian countries such as Taiwan, Hong Kong,...

, as well as a Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...

, Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...

, iPad
IPad
The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and...

 and PS3 video game
Back to the Future: The Game
Back to the Future: The Game is a graphic adventure video game based on the Back to the Future film franchise. The game was developed by Telltale Games as part of a licensing deal with Universal Pictures. Bob Gale, co-creator, co-writer and co-producer of the film trilogy, assisted Telltale in...

. The film's visual effects were done by Industrial Light and Magic
Industrial Light and Magic
Industrial Light & Magic is an Academy Award-winning motion picture visual effects company that was founded in May 1975 by George Lucas and is owned by Lucasfilm. Lucas created the company when he discovered that the special effects department at 20th Century Fox was shut down after he was given...

. All together, the trilogy was nominated for five Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...

, winning one (Best Sound Editing
Academy Award for Sound Editing
The Academy Award of Merit for Best Sound Editing is an Academy Award granted yearly to a film exhibiting the finest or most aesthetic sound editing or sound design...

).

Back to the Future

Seventeen year old Marty McFly
Marty McFly
Martin Seamus "Marty" McFly, Sr. is the protagonist in the Back to the Future film trilogy, and is portrayed by actor Michael J. Fox. Marty was also the protagonist in the animated series where he was voiced by David Kaufman...

 is accidentally sent back in time from 1985 to 1955 in a time machine
Time Machine
A time machine is a fictional/hypothetical device used to achieve time travel. The term may also refer to:-Novels and films:* The Time Machine, an 1895 novel by H. G...

 built from a DeLorean by eccentric scientist Emmett "Doc" Brown, when attacked by Libyans from whom Brown stole the plutonium
Plutonium
Plutonium is a transuranic radioactive chemical element with the chemical symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, forming a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four oxidation...

 which gives the flux capacitor the 1.21 gigawatts needed for time travel. Upon arriving in 1955, Marty inadvertently causes his mother Lorraine to fall in love with him, rather than with his father George McFly, beginning a paradox
Paradox
Similar to Circular reasoning, A paradox is a seemingly true statement or group of statements that lead to a contradiction or a situation which seems to defy logic or intuition...

 that would cause Marty to disappear from existence. With no additional plutonium to power the time machine, Marty must find the 1955 version of Doc Brown to help him reunite his parents and return to 1985.
The efforts of Biff Tannen
Biff Tannen
Biff Howard Tannen is a character in the Back to the Future trilogy, serving as the primary antagonist of the first two films. He is played by Thomas F. Wilson in all three films as well as the ride, and Wilson voiced the character in the animated series....

, George's bully and future employer, further complicates Marty's situation, until Marty successfully causes his parents to fall in love and simultaneously convinces George to finally stand up to Biff. Returning to the future via a 1.21 gigawatt lightning strike that jumpstarts the machine, Marty discovers a vastly improved future for the McFly family, as Biff is now their auto detailer rather than George's boss. Despite Doc's insistence on not knowing details of the future, a note Marty leaves in his pocket in the past saves him from being killed by the terrorists. However, in the film's final moments, Doc Brown appears in a modified version of the Delorean, and tells Marty that he must travel to the future to undo some situation caused by Marty's children.

Back to the Future Part II

The series continues as Doc Brown travels with Marty to the year 2015 where he has discovered Marty's family is in ruins. Marty buys a sports almanac containing the outcomes of 50 years worth (1950–2000) of sporting events. However, Doc catches him and throws the almanac in the trash, where the aged Biff Tannen finds it. While Marty and Doc are at Marty's future house, Old Biff steals the DeLorean time machine and gives the book to his younger self just before he goes to the dance at the end of the first movie. When Doc and Marty return to 1985, they find that Biff has used the almanac's knowledge for financial gain, which allows him to turn Courthouse Square into a 27 story casino, "own" Hill Valley, get away with the murder of Marty's father, and later marry Marty's mother. Marty learns that Biff was given the book by old Biff on November 12, 1955, so he and Doc go back to that date in order to steal the almanac from Biff before he can use it to destroy their lives. They accomplish this in a complex fashion, often crossing their own past-selves' paths. When the duo are about to travel back to 1985, a lightning bolt strikes the DeLorean and scrambles the time circuits, sending Doc back to 1885 and leaving Marty stranded once again in 1955.

Back to the Future Part III

After finding out that Doc Brown is trapped in 1885, Marty sets out to find the 1955 Doc to help him fix the DeLorean (which has been waiting for him in a mineshaft for 70 years) and restore it to working order. Learning that Doc gets shot in 1885, Marty travels back in time to save Doc (who has become a blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...

) and bring him back to the future. Unfortunately, an arrow has ripped a hole in the fuel line, emptying the gas tank and rendering the DeLorean engine useless. Furthermore, Doc falls in love with schoolteacher Clara Clayton, and considers staying in 1885. Marty must convince Doc to come back with him and find a way to get back to his time before it's too late. After several dramatic action scenes involving a speeding locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...

, Marty returns to 1985 in the restored DeLorean. It appears on a train track as planned, and Marty jumps out just in time to see the DeLorean time machine destroyed by a modern train. He worries that Doc has been lost in the past forever, when suddenly Doc Brown appears in a new time machine, modeled after a locomotive. He introduces Marty to Clara (to whom he is now married) and his two sons, Jules and Verne. When Marty asks if Doc and his family are going to the future, Doc replies that he's already been to the future. The locomotive flies across the sky and disappears, ending the trilogy.

Main cast

Character Film
Back to the Future
Back to the Future
Back to the Future is a 1985 American science-fiction adventure film. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, produced by Steven Spielberg, and starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover and Thomas F. Wilson. The film tells the story of...

Back to the Future Part II
Back to the Future Part II
Back to the Future Part II is a 1989 American science fiction comedy film and the second installment of the Back to the Future trilogy. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, and starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Thomas F. Wilson and Lea Thompson...

Back to the Future Part III
Back to the Future Part III
Back to the Future Part III is a 1990 American science fiction comedy Western film. It is the third installment of the Back to the Future trilogy. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis and starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Mary Steenburgen, Thomas F. Wilson and Lea Thompson. The film...

Marty McFly Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox, OC is a Canadian American actor, author, producer, activist and voice-over artist. With a film and television career spanning from the late 1970s, Fox's roles have included Marty McFly from the Back to the Future trilogy ; Alex P...

Dr. Emmett Brown Christopher Lloyd
Christopher Lloyd
Christopher Allen Lloyd is an American actor. He is best known for playing Emmett Brown in the Back to the Future trilogy, Uncle Fester in The Addams Family and Addams Family Values, and Judge Doom in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. He played Reverend Jim Ignatowski in the television series Taxi and more...

Biff Tannen Thomas F. Wilson
Thomas F. Wilson
Thomas F. Wilson is an American actor, writer, musician, painter, voice-over artist and stand-up comedian. He is best known for playing Biff Tannen in the Back to the Future trilogy and Coach Ben Fredricks on NBC's Freaks and Geeks.-Early life:Thomas Francis Wilson, Jr. was...

Lorraine Baines Lea Thompson
Lea Thompson
Lea Katherine Thompson is an American actress and director. She is best known for her 1990s NBC situation comedy Caroline in the City and her portrayal of Lorraine Baines McFly, Marty McFly's mother, in the Back to the Future trilogy...

George McFly Crispin Glover
Crispin Glover
Crispin Hellion Glover is an American film actor, director and screenwriter, recording artist, publisher, and author. Glover is known for portraying eccentric people on screen such as George McFly in Back to the Future, Layne in River's Edge, unfriendly recluse Rubin Farr in Rubin and Ed, the...

Jeffrey Weissman
Jeffrey Weissman
Jeffrey Weissman is an American actor. He has appeared in dozens of motion pictures, and TV shows. Most notably as George McFly in Back to the Future Part II and III with Michael J...

 
Crispin Glover
Crispin Glover
Crispin Hellion Glover is an American film actor, director and screenwriter, recording artist, publisher, and author. Glover is known for portraying eccentric people on screen such as George McFly in Back to the Future, Layne in River's Edge, unfriendly recluse Rubin Farr in Rubin and Ed, the...

 (archive footage)
Jeffrey Weissman
Jeffrey Weissman
Jeffrey Weissman is an American actor. He has appeared in dozens of motion pictures, and TV shows. Most notably as George McFly in Back to the Future Part II and III with Michael J...

Jennifer Parker Claudia Wells
Claudia Wells
Claudia Grace Wells is a Malaysian-born American actress.Born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, she spent her early childhood years growing up in Punto Fijo, Cariubana, Falcón, a Venezuelan city, later graduating from high school in San Francisco, California, where she was also raised...

Elisabeth Shue
Elisabeth Shue
Elisabeth Judson Shue is an American actress and producer, most famous for her roles in the films The Karate Kid, Adventures in Babysitting, Cocktail, Back to the Future Parts II and III and Leaving Las Vegas, for which she won five acting awards and was nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden...

Dave McFly Marc McClure
Marc McClure
Marc A. McClure is an American actor. McClure was born in San Mateo, California. He is not, despite a popular misconception, related to the late Doug McClure.-Superman film series:...

Marc McClure
Marc McClure
Marc A. McClure is an American actor. McClure was born in San Mateo, California. He is not, despite a popular misconception, related to the late Doug McClure.-Superman film series:...

 (Deleted Scene and Mentioned Only)
Marc McClure
Marc McClure
Marc A. McClure is an American actor. McClure was born in San Mateo, California. He is not, despite a popular misconception, related to the late Doug McClure.-Superman film series:...

Linda McFly Wendie Jo Sperber
Wendie Jo Sperber
Wendie Jo Sperber was an American actress, best known for her performances in the films I Wanna Hold Your Hand , Bachelor Party and Back to the Future as well as the television sitcom Bosom Buddies .-Life:Sperber was born in Hollywood and aimed for a performing-arts career from high school onward...

(Mentioned Only) Wendie Jo Sperber
Wendie Jo Sperber
Wendie Jo Sperber was an American actress, best known for her performances in the films I Wanna Hold Your Hand , Bachelor Party and Back to the Future as well as the television sitcom Bosom Buddies .-Life:Sperber was born in Hollywood and aimed for a performing-arts career from high school onward...

Mr. Strickland James Tolkan
James Tolkan
James S. Tolkan is an American actor, often cast as a strict, overbearing, bald-headed authority figure.-Personal life:He was born in Calumet, Michigan, the son of Ralph M. Tolkan, a cattle dealer, and attended the University of Iowa, Coe College, the Actors Studio and Eastern Arizona College...

3-D Casey Siemaszko
Casey Siemaszko
Casey Siemaszko is an American actor and the brother of actress Nina Siemaszko. He was born in Chicago, Illinois on March 17, 1961 to a Polish American father, a fighter in the Polish Underground who survived the Sachsenhausen concentration camp and an English mother.Siemaszko's best known film...

Match Billy Zane
Billy Zane
William George "Billy" Zane, Jr. is an American actor, producer and director. He is probably best known for his roles as Caledon Hockley in Titanic, The Phantom from The Phantom, John Wheeler in Twin Peaks and Mr...

Skinhead J.J. Cohen
Needles Michael "Flea" Balzary
Marty McFly Jr Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox, OC is a Canadian American actor, author, producer, activist and voice-over artist. With a film and television career spanning from the late 1970s, Fox's roles have included Marty McFly from the Back to the Future trilogy ; Alex P...

Marlene McFly Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox, OC is a Canadian American actor, author, producer, activist and voice-over artist. With a film and television career spanning from the late 1970s, Fox's roles have included Marty McFly from the Back to the Future trilogy ; Alex P...

Griff Tannen Thomas F. Wilson
Thomas F. Wilson
Thomas F. Wilson is an American actor, writer, musician, painter, voice-over artist and stand-up comedian. He is best known for playing Biff Tannen in the Back to the Future trilogy and Coach Ben Fredricks on NBC's Freaks and Geeks.-Early life:Thomas Francis Wilson, Jr. was...

Seamus McFly Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox, OC is a Canadian American actor, author, producer, activist and voice-over artist. With a film and television career spanning from the late 1970s, Fox's roles have included Marty McFly from the Back to the Future trilogy ; Alex P...

Maggie McFly Lea Thompson
Lea Thompson
Lea Katherine Thompson is an American actress and director. She is best known for her 1990s NBC situation comedy Caroline in the City and her portrayal of Lorraine Baines McFly, Marty McFly's mother, in the Back to the Future trilogy...

Clara Clayton Mary Steenburgen
Mary Steenburgen
Mary Nell Steenburgen is an American actress. She is best known for playing the role of Lynda Dummar in Jonathan Demme's Melvin and Howard, which earned her an Academy Award and a Golden Globe.-Early life:...

Buford 'Mad Dog' Tannen Thomas F. Wilson
Thomas F. Wilson
Thomas F. Wilson is an American actor, writer, musician, painter, voice-over artist and stand-up comedian. He is best known for playing Biff Tannen in the Back to the Future trilogy and Coach Ben Fredricks on NBC's Freaks and Geeks.-Early life:Thomas Francis Wilson, Jr. was...

 (photograph)
Thomas F. Wilson
Thomas F. Wilson
Thomas F. Wilson is an American actor, writer, musician, painter, voice-over artist and stand-up comedian. He is best known for playing Biff Tannen in the Back to the Future trilogy and Coach Ben Fredricks on NBC's Freaks and Geeks.-Early life:Thomas Francis Wilson, Jr. was...

Chief Marshal James Strickland James Tolkan
James Tolkan
James S. Tolkan is an American actor, often cast as a strict, overbearing, bald-headed authority figure.-Personal life:He was born in Calumet, Michigan, the son of Ralph M. Tolkan, a cattle dealer, and attended the University of Iowa, Coe College, the Actors Studio and Eastern Arizona College...



Marty McFly and Doc Brown were included in Empire
Empire (magazine)
Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008...

s 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time, ranking #39 and #76 respectively.

Crew

Film Year Director Writers Producers Executive Producers
Back to the Future
Back to the Future
Back to the Future is a 1985 American science-fiction adventure film. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, produced by Steven Spielberg, and starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover and Thomas F. Wilson. The film tells the story of...

1985
1985 in film
-Events:* 3 December - Roger Moore steps down from the role of James Bond after twelve years and seven films. He is replaced by Timothy Dalton.* The Academy Award for Best Picture was won by Out Of Africa, while the highest grossing film was Back to the Future.* Bliss wins AFI Award for best Movie...

Robert Zemeckis
Robert Zemeckis
Robert Lee Zemeckis is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Zemeckis first came to public attention in the 1980s as the director of the comedic time-travel Back to the Future film series, as well as the Academy Award-winning live-action/animation epic Who Framed Roger Rabbit ,...

Robert Zemeckis
Bob Gale
Bob Gale
Michael Robert "Bob" Gale is an American screenwriter who co-wrote the science fiction film Back to the Future with writing partner Robert Zemeckis, and the screenplays for the film's two sequels. Gale also co-produced all three films....

Neil Canton
Neil Canton
Neil Canton is an American film producer from New York City. The film Caddyshack II was nominated for the unsolicited Razzie Award for Worst Picture...


Bob Gale
Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...


Kathleen Kennedy
Frank Marshall
Back to the Future Part II
Back to the Future Part II
Back to the Future Part II is a 1989 American science fiction comedy film and the second installment of the Back to the Future trilogy. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, and starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Thomas F. Wilson and Lea Thompson...

1989
1989 in film
-Events:* Batman is released on June 23, and goes on to gross over $410 million worldwide.* Actress Kim Basinger and her brother Mick purchase Braselton, Georgia, for $20 million...

Story:
Robert Zemeckis
Bob Gale
Screenplay:
Bob Gale
Back to the Future Part III
Back to the Future Part III
Back to the Future Part III is a 1990 American science fiction comedy Western film. It is the third installment of the Back to the Future trilogy. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis and starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Mary Steenburgen, Thomas F. Wilson and Lea Thompson. The film...

1990
1990 in film
The year 1990 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* CGI technique is expanded with motion capture for CGI characters, used in Total Recall .* The first digitally-manipulated matte painting is used, in Die Hard 2....


Box office performance

Film Release date Box office revenue Budget Reference
United States Foreign Worldwide
Back to the Future July 3, 1985 $210,609,762 $170,500,000 $381,109,762 $19,000,000
Back to the Future Part II November 22, 1989 $118,450,002 $213,500,000 $331,950,002 $40,000,000
Back to the Future Part III May 25, 1990 $87,727,583 $156,800,000 $244,527,583 $40,000,000
Total $416,787,347 $540,800,000 $957,587,347 $99,000,000
List indicator(s)
  • (A) indicates the adjusted totals based on current ticket prices (by Box Office Mojo
    Box Office Mojo
    Box Office Mojo is a website that tracks box office revenue in a systematic, algorithmic way. Brandon Gray started the site in 1999. In 2002, Gray partnered with Sean Saulsbury and they grew the site to nearly two million readers when, in July 2008, the company was purchased by Amazon.com through...

    ).


, the Back to the Future series is the fourteenth highest grossing trilogy of all time at the domestic market (adjusted for inflation), seventeenth highest grossing trilogy of all time at the domestic market (not adjusted for inflation), and the thirteenth highest grossing trilogy of all time, worldwide (not adjusted for inflation).

DVD release

In July 1997, Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....

 announced that Back to the Future would be one of their first 10 releases to the new format, though it ended up being delayed for five years. It was finally released in 2002 in widescreen
Widescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....

, with a black box. In the USA, a fullscreen
Pan and scan
Pan and scan is a method of adjusting widescreen film images so that they can be shown within the proportions of a standard definition 4:3 aspect ratio television screen, often cropping off the sides of the original widescreen image to focus on the composition's most important aspects...

 version was also released.

Framing issues

In December 2002, when the DVD was released, the video of the widescreen version of Parts II and III contained many shots that had been framed incorrectly, either because the shots were too high or low to center the image correctly, or because they zoomed in on the image, eliminating portions of the image on all sides. One notable example is when Marty's futuristic jacket adjusts itself to fit him, the misframed version does not show the sleeves changing size, thus ruining the visual gag.

In May 2003, Universal corrected the problem and prepared "V2" (Version 2) DVDs, that could only be distinguished from the original, flawed DVDs by the mark of a small "V2" near the edge of the discs themselves (and, of course, by comparing the corrected video). In Region 2
DVD region code
DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...

, the discs were called "R1" for revision 1.

However, Universal did not initially begin packaging the V2 discs with the trilogy box set that was being sent to retailers, and the original discs were not recalled
Product recall
A product recall is a request to return to the maker a batch or an entire production run of a product, usually due to the discovery of safety issues. The recall is an effort to limit liability for corporate negligence and to improve or avoid damage to publicity...

. Instead, Universal set up a toll-free phone number which owners of the original DVDs could call, and ask for a postage-paid envelope to be sent to them. Owners would send their flawed discs to Universal in the envelope, and would soon thereafter receive the corrected "V2" discs by mail.

However, although Parts II and III now contained corrected framing, a new problem appeared with Part III, in that the video contrast was set incorrectly, resulting in scenes that were too dark. Universal then released a third version of the DVD for this film (known in Region 2 as "R2"), and this was sent out as described above.

In January 2005, Universal began a nationwide promotional campaign, announcing that they would reissue the DVDs of the trilogy at a special low price (about half the set's original retail price) on January 25, 2005, and then put the entire trilogy on moratorium a week later, on February 1, 2005, with new stickers on the box declaring "Lowest Price Ever: Own It Before Time Runs Out!" The discs in this release contained no new content or bonus features from the original release: even the packaging was almost identical, except for including the promotional sticker and excluding the multi-page, full color DVD menu booklet. No booklet or chapter insert is included in the revised release, but did finally contain the corrected V2 discs. Curiously, only the disc for Part II displays the "V2" marking on its edge; the Part III disc does not, but fans have analyzed its video carefully and concluded that, despite the lack of the "V2" marking, the Part III disc is the corrected one.

Second DVD release

On October 21, 2008, BTTF.com broke the story that Universal will be releasing each of the "Back to the Future" films individually. The DVDs were released on February 10, 2009. "Back to the Future" became a 2-disc set featuring the documentary "Looking Back to the Future" and "Back to the Future: The Ride
Back to the Future: The Ride
Back to the Future: The Ride is a simulator ride based on and inspired by the Back to the Future trilogy and is a mini-sequel to 1990's Back to the Future Part III. In the United States, it was replaced by The Simpsons Ride...

."

Blu-ray release: "25th Anniversary Trilogy"

In June 2008, a special screening of the trilogy was held in Celebration, Florida
Celebration, Florida
Celebration is a census-designated place and a master-planned community in Osceola County, Florida, United States, located near Walt Disney World Resort and originally developed by The Walt Disney Company...

. Bob Gale told the crowd they were seeing the digitally remastered version that was going to be used for the Blu-ray version of the movies. Gale also spoke to potential supplemental features on a Blu-ray version of the trilogy, saying only that never-before-seen bonus materials may appear, though he stopped short of offering any specifics. On June 28, 2010, Universal announced that the Blu-ray edition of the films would be released on October 26, 2010, twenty-five years to the day from the date of the fictional events from the first film. There have been numerous complaints about the R1 packaging, leading to the release of an instruction sheet on how to safely remove and insert discs. In addition, the end credits for the first movie, on both the Blu-ray and the 25th anniversary DVD, are presented in the wrong aspect ratio (squished in to a 4:3 frame by an exact 25% horizontal amount), recognizable by the decidedly non-circular "O"s and MPAA logo; Universal has so far not recognized the problem or offered a replacement program.

Release formats and features

Box Audio Scene Specific Commentary Framing Enhanced MJ Fox interview
1986 (Part I) CED Tan with Marty and DeLorean Stereo No ? No
1986 (Part I) VHS Blue with Marty and DeLorean Stereo No Correct Widescreen No
1993 Japanese Laserdisc Charcoal with logo Stereo No Generous No
VCD Blue with Marty and DeLorean Stereo No Correct Widescreen No
2002 R1 DVD Blue with Marty and Doc with DeLorean Dolby 5.1 Yes Incorrect Widescreen Yes
2002 R2/R4 UK DVD Black with DeLorean Dolby 5.1 and DTS No Incorrect Widescreen No
2003 "V2" (Part II & Part III) DVD No box Dolby 5.1 Yes Corrected Widescreen Yes
2005 R1 DVD Blue with Marty and Doc Dolby 5.1 Yes Corrected Widescreen Yes
2005 R2/R4 UK DVD Blue with DeLorean Dolby 5.1 and DTS Yes Corrected Widescreen Yes
2006 R2 UK DVD Blue with DeLorean Dolby 5.1 and DTS Yes Corrected Widescreen Yes
2008 R2 UK DVD Black Steelbook Case with DeLorean Dolby 5.1 and DTS Yes Corrected Widescreen Yes
2009 R1 Individual DVDs BTTF: Marty with DeLorean
BTTF II: Marty and Doc with DeLorean
BTTF III: Marty, Doc, and Clara with DeLorean
Dolby 5.1 Yes Corrected Widescreen Yes
2010 25th Anniversary R1 Blu-ray/Digital copy Blue with Marty and Doc with DeLorean DTS-HD 5.1 Yes Corrected Widescreen (squished credits on Part I) Yes
2010 R2 Blu-ray Blue with Marty with DeLorean DTS-HD 5.1 Yes Corrected Widescreen ?
2010 Limited Edition Collector's Tin R2 Blu-ray Tin blue with Marty with DeLorean DTS-HD 5.1 Yes Corrected Widescreen ?
2010 25th Anniversary R2 DVD Blue with Marty with DeLorean Dolby 5.1 Yes Corrected Widescreen Yes


The footage that was shot with Eric Stoltz
Eric Stoltz
Eric Hamilton Stoltz is an American actor, director and producer. He is widely known for playing the role of Rocky Dennis in the biographical drama film Mask, which earned him the nomination for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture...

 in the role of Marty McFly before he was replaced with Michael J. Fox was not included in Universal's original DVD release in 2002 or in 2009, despite many fans hoping that Universal would include it. Some very brief footage has been released in the Blu-ray version in 2010.

Soundtrack album

In 1985, MCA Records
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...

 released the Back to the Future soundtrack. It featured 8 tracks performed by Huey Lewis and the News
Huey Lewis and the News
Huey Lewis and the News is an American rock band based in San Francisco, California. They had a run of hit singles during the 1980s and early 1990s, eventually scoring a total of 19 top-ten singles across the Billboard Hot 100, Adult Contemporary and Mainstream Rock charts...

, Lindsey Buckingham
Lindsey Buckingham
Lindsey Adams Buckingham is an American guitarist, singer, composer and producer, most notable for being the guitarist and male lead singer of the musical group Fleetwood Mac. Aside from his tenure with Fleetwood Mac, Buckingham has also released six solo albums and a live album...

, Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...

, Marvin Berry and the Starlighters, and Etta James
Etta James
Etta James is an American blues, soul, rhythm and blues , rock and roll, gospel and jazz singer. In the 1950s and 1960s, she had her biggest success as a blues and R&B singer...

. Only 2 tracks were culled from Alan Silvestri's orchestral score.

In 1989, MCA Records
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...

 released Back To The Future Part II soundtrack with 13 tracks.

In 1990, Varèse Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums as well as newer releases by artists no longer under a contract...

 released Back To The Future Part III soundtrack with 18 tracks.

In 1999, Varèse Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums as well as newer releases by artists no longer under a contract...

 released Back to the Future trilogy soundtrack
The Back to the Future Trilogy (soundtrack)
The Back to the Future Trilogy is the licensed soundtrack to the classic movie series of Back to the Future. It was released under Varèse Sarabande on September 21, 1999. The album consists of numerous Alan Silvestri cues from all three Back to the Future films and a rare track from Universal...

 with 8 tracks from the first film, 7 from the second, 4 from the third, and 1 from the ride.

In 2009, Intrada
Intrada Records
Intrada Records is an American record company based in Oakland, California. Intrada Records is an American record company based in Oakland, California. Intrada Records is an American record company based in Oakland, California...

 released a two-CD Back to the Future set as Intrada Special Collection Volume 116. It features the complete original motion picture soundtrack (that is, Alan Silvestri's entire orchestral score) from Back to the Future (Part I) with 24 tracks, 15 tracks of alternate early sessions and one unused source cue from the scoring sessions.

Games

Various video games based on the Back to the Future movies have been released over the years for home video game systems, including the ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...

 and Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...

 computers, the Sega Master System
Sega Master System
The is a third-generation video game console that was manufactured and released by Sega in 1985 in Japan , 1986 in North America and 1987 in Europe....

, the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, NES
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...

, and Super Nintendo
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...

 system.
  • LJN
    LJN
    LJN was an American toy company and video game publisher. It created toy lines and video games based on movies, television shows, and celebrities. It was headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and later in Lyndhurst, New Jersey.-Founding:...

     released two NES games: Back to the Future
    Back to the Future (1989 video game)
    Back to the Future is a 1989 video game released by LJN Toys for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The game is loosely based on the 1985 film of the same name...

    in 1989, a poorly received game with multiple modes of play, and Back to the Future Part II & III in 1990, which was a side-scrolling adventure game that allowed traveling back and forth between the different time periods from the trilogy as Marty attempts to correct the timeline and get back to the real 1985. In reference to the first NES game, Bob Gale said it was "one of the worst games ever," and even insisted in interviews that fans should not buy it.
  • A Japanese-only release for the SNES
    Super Nintendo Entertainment System
    The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...

     was released, entitled Super Back to the Future II
    Super Back to the Future II
    For other Back to the Future games, see List of Back to the Future video games is a video game released for the Super Famicom based on the film Back to the Future Part II...

    . The game was a side-scroller that allowed the player to control Marty on the hoverboard while he battled enemies.
  • A pinball
    Pinball
    Pinball is a type of arcade game, usually coin-operated, where a player attempts to score points by manipulating one or more metal balls on a playfield inside a glass-covered case called a pinball machine. The primary objective of the game is to score as many points as possible...

     game based on the trilogy was designed by Joe Kaminkow and Ed Cebula and released by Data East
    Data East
    also abbreviated as DECO, was a Japanese video game developer and publisher. The company was in operation from 1976 to 2003, when it declared bankruptcy...

     in 1990. This game features three songs that were featured in the movies: "Back in Time" and "Power of Love" (originally performed by Huey Lewis and the News
    Huey Lewis and the News
    Huey Lewis and the News is an American rock band based in San Francisco, California. They had a run of hit singles during the 1980s and early 1990s, eventually scoring a total of 19 top-ten singles across the Billboard Hot 100, Adult Contemporary and Mainstream Rock charts...

    ), and "Doubleback
    Doubleback
    "Doubleback" is a song by ZZ Top from their album Recycler, which was featured in the film Back to the Future Part III. The band had a cameo in the movie playing an "Old West" version of the song along with some local musicians. The regular version of the song plays over the credits."Doubleback"...

    " (originally performed by ZZ Top
    ZZ Top
    ZZ Top is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "That Little Ol' Band from Texas". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based boogie rock, has come to incorporate elements of arena, southern, and boogie rock. The band, from Houston Texas, formed in 1969...

    ).
  • The Nintendo GameCube
    Nintendo GameCube
    The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...

     game, Universal Studios Theme Parks Adventure
    Universal Studios Theme Parks Adventure
    Universal Studios Theme Parks Adventure, known in Japan as , is a video game developed and published by Kemco for the Nintendo GameCube. Set in a Universal Studios park, the object of the game is to complete several mini-games based on the real-life attractions Back to the Future: The Ride, Jaws,...

    , featured Back to the Future: The Ride
    Back to the Future: The Ride
    Back to the Future: The Ride is a simulator ride based on and inspired by the Back to the Future trilogy and is a mini-sequel to 1990's Back to the Future Part III. In the United States, it was replaced by The Simpsons Ride...

     as a level.
  • Back to the Future: The Game
    Back to the Future: The Game
    Back to the Future: The Game is a graphic adventure video game based on the Back to the Future film franchise. The game was developed by Telltale Games as part of a licensing deal with Universal Pictures. Bob Gale, co-creator, co-writer and co-producer of the film trilogy, assisted Telltale in...

    was released as five episodes  by Telltale Games
    Telltale Games
    Telltale Games is a leading independent digital first publisher and game developer founded in June 2004 as Telltale, Incorporated. Based in San Rafael, California, the studio includes designers formerly employed by LucasArts...

     for the PS3, Mac, iPad, and PC, with Christopher Lloyd reprising his role as Doc Brown, Claudia Wells reprising as Jennifer, and Michael J. Fox making two cameo appearances. AJ Locascio provided the voice for Marty McFly and Bob Gale assisted with the script. This is the first of two Universal titles to receive an episodic game adaptation from Telltale, to be followed by Jurassic Park
    Jurassic Park (franchise)
    The Jurassic Park franchise is a series of books, films, comics, and videos centering on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of cloned dinosaurs...

    .

External links

  • Interview with cast and director reunited on The Today Show
    The Today Show
    Today is an iconic American morning news and talk show airing every morning on NBC. Debuting on January 14, 1952, it was the first of its genre on American television and in the world. The show is also the fourth-longest running American television series...

    for the 25th anniversary of the release of the first movie
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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