#10 MAR 9, 2017 · 9 yr ago
And I have just finished watching the film.
Absolutely a classic. Do not remake!
This is one of the most perfect films ever made. Not a frame is wasted. Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale were clearly taking several leaves out of Alfred Hitchcock's book when they made this. The way the whole film just plays through so effortlessly from start to finish owes a lot to Hitchcock classics like Strangers On A Train or North By Northwest - we did the latter in Movie Club late last year, anyone wanting to join in the discussion for that one is heartily encouraged to watch it. But I digress. Back to Back To The Future (!)
The opening scene is so low-key, there is lots going on but nothing really happening. It lasts for about 3min, the credits run over it without any music. You'd never get a scene like that these days. You could almost be forgiven for thinking that it's not essential to the plot, but you'd be wrong, as it establishes the friendship between Marty and Doc and tells us that something is brewing.
I said before how effortless it looks, but at the same time, you can see that an incredible amount of effort went into this. Especially the script, every detail was meticulously worked out. There are so many facts to establish about 1955 while we're still in 1985 before the time-travel happens. The state of the McFly family and their relationship with Biff, the lightning bolt, the farmland, how Doc came up with the Flux Capacitor idea. It's all there. And one by one, each of these little fireworks is set off and explodes in a dazzling brightness when the details are got out again when we go back to 1955.
That's another thing. The time machine is presented first of all as a very deliberate project, and it would have been so easy to make the featured time travel action deliberate, but no - in true Hitchcock style (again!), the action happens to the ordinary guy who doesn't know what he's getting himself into. When he hits 88mph, he's fleeing for his life, he has already forgotten the fact that the vehicle he's in can travel through time. It's understandable enough, if someone starts shooting at you, you jump in a car and drive away for dear life. You're too busy trying to save your neck from the people with guns to remember that you're in a time machine.
And back on the "getting out the details you planted earlier" bit - the lightning bolt is my favourite of these by a long way. "The only way to generate 1.21GW is with a bolt of lightning, and you never know when or where they're going to strike!" - "We do now!"
Then we get onto the 50s doings - especially with his parents' younger selves. Marty is freaked out by that, and rightly so - especially the way his mother has the hots for him. I remember watching the bonus features many years ago, and they were stuck with the script at the moment of the kiss, they didn't have a clue how to resolve it, and having Lorraine feel "like she was kissing a brother" was like a great weight being lifted from their shoulders.
I don't know if I'm sticking my neck out here, but watching it this time round, I got the impression that Marty did slightly fancy her as well, not in an Oedipal way, if anything it was the fact of her being his mother that meant he was never in a million years going to let her have her way with him. And yes I know, he had a girlfriend back in 1985 and didn't want to cheat on her. (But is it cheating if it happened before they were born? Suddenly I'm thinking of Nicholas Lyndhurst in Goodnight Sweetheart!) But that's a detail for conspiracy theorists!
The rock & roll bit too was great, especially when Marvin calls his cousin, Chuck Berry, who of course wrote Johnny B Goode in the first place. It's so much fun, I was clapping along with the drums.
And then the finale with the car going back to 1985, again, pure Hitchcock in its suspense. I've seen this film so many times, but I always gasp at this bit, are they going to make it? The credit for this lies with composer Alan Silvestri as much as director Zemeckis.
Which brings me to the music. The music - for the whole film - is pitch perfect. There's actually a lot of 1950s flourishes to the incidental music here. Not just the songs that are played in the background, but the actual incidental music. Some of these bits of music would not seem out of place in a Hitchcock film. Mr Silvestri, I take my hat off to you.
And then we get home to 1985, and suddenly everything is looking a lot better for the McFly family. They're a lot more successful in all areas. And, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I noticed for the first time tonight - is George wearing the same suit at the end that Biff was at the beginning?
All in all, yes, 10/10. I would say "five stars", but with what I'm reviewing, I don't need stars!
