Everything Great About BTTF Part 1
0:00:22-The ticking clocks immediately set the mood for the movie and establish the very central theme of time present throughout the whole film.
0:00:46-This long shot with all these clocks, each one unique, all synced up but with different ticking patterns. It not only sets up Doc’s fascination with time, but one could also say that the clocks represent how each timeline is flowing, some more similar than others.
-Also the font used for the credits is named Futura
0:01:01-This clock in particular is a reference to the Harold Lloyd (no relation) film “Safety Last” and also serves as foreshadowing for the clocktower sequence at the end of the movie!
0:01:17-These newspaper clippings set up Doc’s backstory so well, and we haven’t even met him yet! He must have gotten a lot of insurance money when his family mansion burned down, but it must have not been enough to fund his inventions, so he sold the rest of the land when he ran out of money.
0:01:29-The framed portraits of his heroes from 1955, the video camera that Marty is asked to pick up later, the Burger King trash just to hammer home the messiness of the lab, and that bed is actually Marty’s bed, not Doc’s.
0:01:31-The radio turning on and starting the sequence that would be Doc’s morning routine complete with watching the morning news, brewing coffee, making toast, and feeding Einstein. Doc’s a busy guy and probably would forget to take care of himself if it weren’t for this setup.
0:01:41-Although he can forget a few important things like remembering that milk/cream doesn’t last long outside refrigeration.
0:01:55-Anyone paying attention would hear this news story and begin to ask why this is important and what it could mean, but we’ll see in about a minute the answer to those questions.
0:02:13-That toast is practically charcoal at this point. More evidence that Doc’s been gone for a while.
0:02:47-As disgusting as it is, at least we know that wherever Doc is, Einstein is with him.
-Also there’s a funny story about this dog food scene. At first they were gonna use a different brand that slid out of the can and splatted easier, but that brand backed out at the last minute. When they got the new dog food, they had some trouble getting it to come out, so they had to blowtorch the bottom of the can before shooting to warm it up and make it all soupy so it could give that splat they were looking for.
* *-This whole long take took an entire 12 hour shooting day to do with all the rehearsing to get the timing right, and the resetting. In the end, they managed to get it in just 2 takes. Dedication win!
0:03:00-Marty slipping the key under the mat to show he’s a trusted friend of Doc’s and he comes over quite often.
0:03:05-Haha I wonder if Marty picked that up from Biff or if Michael J Fox picked that up from Tom Wilson.
-Also those Nike Bruins are actually Fox’s shoes! When he was getting fit for wardrobe, the costume designer forgot to bring shoes with her, so Robert Zimeckis just said that the shoes Fox was already wearing would be just fine. Trouble was, they needed extra pairs for shooting and Nike had discontinued those shoes, but they struck a deal and Nike ended up making 30 pairs of Bruins just for the movie.
0:03:17-And here’s the answer to the plutonium question! See how everything comes full circle? Although, why Doc would store radioactive material under Marty’s bed, I’m not sure.
0:04:07-The reveal of the giant amp (which was probably Marty’s idea to build) shows us just how extra Doc can be sometimes. That plus the messy tables and more clutter just adds to all the little details that tell us about Doc’s personality and character before we even so much as hear his voice!
0:04:43-Rock ‘n’ Roll indeed!
0:05:06-Implying Marty has come by every morning looking for his friend to make sure he’s okay! Aw!
0:05:20-See, there’s Doc’s bed in the back there!
0:05:44-I always wondered what this experiment he’s talking about was, but I have a theory. I think the first test with time travel was with all these clocks just to see if the time machine worked before showing it off to Marty that night. Even if that’s not what happened, This little piece of dialogue just makes this world seem actually lived in and that these characters live and breathe when we’re not looking.
0:05:55-Kicking off with this amazing track to show Marty getting to school, and to highlight one of the main themes of the movie: the power of love!
0:06:40-Mountain Dew hat guy is the movie’s stunt coordinator!
0:06:59-And there’s what confirms it for me. “Four tardies in a row.” It’s Friday right now, so he must have gone over to Doc’s after school on Monday, saw he and Einstein weren’t there, and then kept coming in before school and just losing track of time.
-Also supportive partners are always a win!
0:07:17-I just love the way Jennifer takes the tardy slip here.
0:07:30-More clues to what the town may think of Doc based on what Strickland says here.
0:07:59-And it quite literally will!
0:08:01-There’s Huey Lewis!
0:08:13-The Pinheads bassist played by Paul Hanson was actually Fox’s guitar coach for this movie. Fox wanted his finger placements to match the actual guitar notes. Dedication win!
0:08:21-My brother pointed this out to me my second time watching this movie ever that the Pinheads are doing their own version of “The Power of Love” which makes me wonder if that song exists in universe and is actually their song. Either way, I love it.
0:08:47-That line was actually Huey Lewis’s idea!
0:09:05-He just grabs the leaves!
0:09:17-I just love how supportive Jennifer is of Marty’s music. Again, supportive partners are always a win!
0:09:21-We never actually see or hear Doc say this which just points to how this universe is lived in and we’re just looking in on what’s going on for a while. Also we see that Jennifer knows Doc too, although probably not as well as Marty does. She doesn’t get invited to the time travel party unfortunately.
0:09:33-Marty’s insecurity and worries about being rejected helps to humanize him. Yeah he’s a cool guy, but he’s still a teenager with teenager anxieties.
0:09:47-4x4-shadowing
0:10:24-I just love Marty and Jennifer. They’re so cute!
0:10:33-Clock Tower Lady is always a win!
0:10:43-There’s so much exposition in this first half hour, but it’s just natural with the flow of the world. It would totally make sense that she would have this whole spiel prepared to convince people to donate to the cause since she is part of the preservation society. I feel like this movie is like a distant cousin to Whodunit mysteries with how many details are packed in that come into play for one big ending.
0:11:13-The flyer has all the information Marty needs for later, but he only keeps it because it has the number to contact Jennifer. That’s what makes it important enough to hold on to.
0:12:12-The beginning of Marty’s characterization of saying “Perfect” when things are decidedly not perfect. I’m so glad they kept this throughout not just this movie, but the whole trilogy.
0:12:57-Man, Biff is just… the worst. Even after high school, he’s still just a big bully. Getting George’s insurance to pay for the damages when it’s his fault (which would certainly make his rates go up, and they’re already struggling financially as it is), getting George to pay his cleaning bill, and shoving all his work onto George on top of everything else. George is just so worn down, he doesn’t even protest.
0:13:18-Huge props to Tom Wilson here. He’s stated before that he was bullied in high school and used that experience for his performance as Biff. He’s actually really nice in real life, but man does he do a great job playing an intimidating bully.
-And let’s just take a moment to appreciate the makeup artists. It’s easy to make someone look super old, but it’s not so easy to make a young adult look middle aged. Adding 30 years onto everyone was much easier said than done.
0:13:26-Crispin Glover’s mannerisms as George really help sell how awkward he is and just adds so much extra flavor to his character!
0:13:42-Rubbing in just how much of a jerk Biff is.
0:14:14-George is really trying his best here, but never learned to stand up for himself, and it really comes out with Glover’s performance here.
0:14:49-Maybe this was just normal in the 80s, but everyone important is wearing a watch, bringing in that theme of time again.
0:15:06-So this scene was actually blocked so everyone could rehearse and do closeups while Fox was working on Family Ties during the day, but it tells so much about the McFly family. Marty is by himself and distanced from the rest of his family. He’s also so quiet with only getting one line in this scene with “Uncle Jailbird Joey?” and even that is only 3 words. He’s a stranger in his own home, and probably why he hangs out with Doc so much.
0:15:44-Lorraine jumping for Marty’s throat here says a lot too. I know it’s important for more exposition, but Marty doesn’t even get a chance to defend himself here, he just takes it as if this is a regular occurrence.
0:15:59-Hypocrisy win? No? Okay.
0:16:11-I just love Linda’s reaction here!
0:16:42-The way Lorraine is reminiscing here is evident that she still very much loves George, even if their relationship seems to be losing that spark they once had.
0:17:02-Another detail adding to how air-tight this movie is written. Everything is connected to each other and it all results in one great climax at the end!
0:17:18-George's laugh is always a win.
0:17:41-You can see the head of Marty's guitar behind him on the bed there. Again, just goes to show the attention to detail and characterization that the background can bring. When I noticed that, I started to think about why the guitar was there? It most likely has no greater meaning other than just being there. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, but that doesn't mean I can't imagine Marty just having a little jam session in his room to keep himself busy until it's time to go to the mall to meet Doc. It's stuff like that that keeps me coming back to these movies!
0:17:52-Honesty
0:18:10-It was 12:28 when Doc called, and now it's 1:15 when he's just arriving at the parking lot, showing how long it takes for Marty to skate all the way to Doc's and back.
0:18:34-Doc's bumper sticker says, “A nuclear bomb can ruin your whole day” Nice to know Doc has a sense of humor too!
-Also this whole reveal is truly something. I definitely felt how Marty was probably feeling in that moment when I first saw this movie, and sometimes I still get that feeling! It's just a great introduction to both Doc and the DeLorean, I don't even care about how the hell Doc managed to get inside to drive it out, but I'm sure he found a way.
0:19:23-Just the way Doc stumbles out of the DeLorean says so much about him too. He's by no means graceful, and it totally goes with his character. Christopher Lloyd does an amazing performance throughout the entire trilogy, and I could honestly see no one else as Doc other than him.
0:19:27-The way that Doc and Marty really light up when they see each other after Doc's been away the whole week! This was also one of the first scenes Lloyd and Fox filmed together after the recasting of Marty, and they play off each other so well during the entire parking lot scene, you'd swear they really were long-time best friends!
0:19:50-Doc has two watches!
0:21:12-SUCH an iconic line!
-And, yes, I know about the theory that Doc was actually planning on killing himself and Marty with the DeLorean if the experiment didn't work, and, I just don't think that's true at all. Doc and Marty have been friends for a long time, and he would never put Marty or Einstein in any direct danger. We see later that he pulls Marty out of the way when the DeLorean returns, so I don't think the aforementioned theory really holds any water. Remember the beginning phone call when Doc said he “made a major breakthrough” and when the clocks all chimed in unison he was happy that his experiment worked? I know he says that this experiment in the parking lot is the first one, but maybe he meant that it's the first one on camera with a live test subject. Doc may be a bit scatterbrained, but he's not irresponsible.
0:22:48-The blocking here for this scene and a few others later down the line is just pure genius. Robert Zimeckis did it this way to offset the height difference between Fox and Lloyd, but it also works to show that Marty is always just doing his best to keep up with Doc, even if it takes him a bit to catch up to him.
0:22:57-Also Marty's bewilderment at what he just witnessed offset by Doc's pure excitement about Einstein becoming the first ever time traveler just brings so much to this scene!
0:23:15-Can't argue with that!
0:24:09-I just love this interaction here. Even though Marty can clearly see that the DeLorean is covered in ice, when he asks if it's hot, Doc doesn't belittle him or make him feel stupid, he just answers the question like it's any other question Marty's been asking.
0:24:40-More evidence that Doc and Marty are such close friends. He not only trusts Marty with the knowledge that he has a time machine, but he also shows him how it works, complete with Dymo labels on all the panels and machinery so that they're plenty legible. Doc's handwriting is really messy, but he can read it himself. He could have easily made his own labels by hand with some tape and a sharpie, but he went the extra mile because he wanted to share his invention with his friend!
0:25:44-Again, you gotta hand it to Christopher Lloyd's performance here. He has the thankless task of directly spouting exposition and explaining to the audience how the time machine works, and he pulls it off effortlessly.
0:28:00-Just don't buy an almanac with all that information and let it fall into the wrong hands, and you'll be fine!
0:28:35-Aw even Einstein gets his own radiation suit.
0:29:59-Ugh the thoughts that must be going through Marty's head right now. He just saw his best friend murdered right before his eyes, but he can't go back for his body or else he'll be killed too. He has to make a split second decision that's life or death. He can't save Doc now, but he can save himself, and that's what he decides to focus on.
* *-Also can we just take a moment to appreciate Alan Silvestri's score for the movie? How it perfectly matches the tension of the scene when needed, and more subdued and quiet in other scenes where there isn't much action? This movie was nominated for three Oscars and came home with just one win, but none of the nominations were for best score, which I personally think is a crime. Seriously, where's Alan Silvestri's Oscar for this movie?
0:32:16-Space Zombies from Pluto is a reference to when one of the producers, Sid Sheinberg, wanted to change the name of the film from Back to the Future to Spaceman from Pluto. Steven Spielberg replied to that memo thanking him for the humorous joke, and the proposed title change was dropped afterwards.
0:33:01-Politeness win!
0:33:24-I guess you could say it's a Lone Pine now
0:35:23-This whole sequence does an amazing job showing how out of place Marty is, and not a single line of dialogue is spoken. From the price differences in the movie tickets and gas, to the different Texaco logo, to even the way people are staring Marty as they pass by him all accentuate that he's way out of his element here.
0:36:35-It would totally make sense that Marty would be startled by hearing the chime of the clock tower! It's been out of order since before he was born, he's literally never heard it work until now!
0:38:43-Ah like father like son. To George though, it just seems like that's the position he took by default, but notice how Marty is petting his own hair. He's freaking out right now, and appears to be calming himself down. He does the same move where he covers the back of his neck in stressful or uncomfortable situations, and I love that consistency with his character. No joke, I started doing the same thing after seeing this movie for the first time, and it really works as a self-soother.
-Also you can see Marty's guitar pick on the counter with his pocket change.
0:38:48-There's Billy Zane in his first movie role ever!
0:39:07-There's a lot about Biff that Tom Wilson actually improvised. This line was one of them!
0:39:21-Gotta love George's hesitation here because yes, he would want Biff kicked out of school.
0:40:38-Marty's face journey as he figures out who Goldie is and comes to the realization that he's the mayor he knows from 1985 is just priceless!
0:41:34-Fun fact, this is the same neighborhood where some scenes in Teen Wolf were filmed. No, not the CW series, the original movie. In fact, Michael J. Fox was on site for Teen Wolf at the time the location scouts for Back to the Future came around. He had no idea that he was actually the first choice to play Marty, but wasn't able to at first because of his increased role on Family Ties at the time.
0:43:23-Nice save.
-It's also worth pointing out that Fox was legitimately nervous while filming this scene with Lea Thompson, which just helps with the overall awkwardness and secondhand embarrassment this scene is supposed to portray.
0:43:36-Okay was this a thing in the 50's? Did people actually do this? Well, either way, that along with the posters in the background really help build how boy crazy Lorraine really was in the 50's and start to reveal how much of a hypocrite she is. I don't think removing a boy's pants is really necessary if he has a bad bruise on his head.
0:44:50-He just rolls with it!
0:45:15-He's even wearing black and white stripes like an old prison uniform!
0:45:26-50's parenting win?
0:45:32-Jeez the look Marty gives Lorraine... you can really see the panic in his eyes as his mother acts this way. I think he may have a feeling she's enamored with him, but doesn't really want to face that possibility since, “Dude, it's your MOM!”
0:46:38-Subtlety
0:47:19-The way Marty instantly tries to get out of staying with them. Yeah he's gotta find Doc, but this whole situation is making him extremely uncomfortable and it really shows.
0:47:29-Well he definitely knows now! Even if he doesn't fully realize it, instincts have kicked in and he wants to get as far away from Lorraine as possible. All the alarms are going off in his mind that this is WRONG.
0:48:52-He's technically not wrong during this part. Marty has come from a great distance both third dimensionally and fourth dimensionally. The newspaper, well that's a bit of a reach, but he did pull a newspaper out of the bin from when he arrived and seeing the date printed out like that would stick out in his memory. The donations and coast guard make sense because Marty made a donation to the clock tower preservation fund, and he told Lorraine's mother that he was in the Coast Guard. The mind reading helmet does work, just not as well as Doc would want it to.
-And again, Christopher Lloyd's performance as Doc is stellar. He doesn't know Marty yet, and is perfectly comfortable with interrupting him and squandering any chance for him to speak or ask questions, and frankly, he's quite rude about it here. He thinks Marty is just playing a trick on him. It's only when Marty has proof that he is from the future is when Doc takes him seriously.
0:49:48-Doc's hand drifting to the wound on his head when he starts thinking about the time machine
0:50:09-Casually setting up the time limit that Marty has.
0:51:03-Doc's realization that this might not be a prank after all.
0:51:55-And then his overjoyed reaction when he finds out that it really works! He's only just come up with the idea that day, but then he finds out it will actually work!
0:52:14-And on top of everything else, the complete 180 he takes. He goes from not trusting Marty at all, to realizing the gravity of the situation and jumping right to working on getting him home.
0:53:32-Another peak into what Doc's life must have been like before he met Marty. He doesn't have anyone to talk to other than Copernicus and the photos on his mantle. Just goes to show how alone he must have felt before Marty entered his life, and how much Marty has changed Doc's life by the end of the movie.
0:53:53-Interesting how Marty's first thought is Jennifer right now. Again, I know it leads right into the flyer and everything, but just because subtext wasn't intended doesn't mean it isn't there. We already know Marty's home life isn't the best, so him bringing up only Jennifer right now further solidifies that.
0:55:00-Doc isn't just pointing forward relative to himself and Marty, but he's also pointing to us, the viewer! And where are we relative to Doc and Marty? The future! And for a while, October 27, 1985 was the future for people watching this movie. Even though that date is long in the past, in this moment right here, we will always be in the future relative to where Doc and Marty are.
0:55:50-The look between Doc and Marty really says it all. Marty went from being a complete stranger to Doc's equal all within the span of maybe an hour or so? This is where they're both on the same page and the start of their friendship from Doc's perspective.
0:56:13-Keen eared viewers would catch the joke here since the dialogue is pretty quiet, but the explanation Doc gives here does its job of catching up any viewers who may be lagging behind as well as giving Marty a refresher since it's been a few days since Marty's arrival in 1955 now.
0:56:55-And here's where it all clicks for Marty. He's heard the story so many times, he's probably tuned it out and tried to forget it, so he didn't quite connect the dots at Lorraine's house, but now it's all coming together in Marty's mind.
0:58:16-Doc sure has a way with words.
0:59:40-Marty was genuinely surprised when he found out George had creative interests, and he understands that George worries about being rejected for his works. I'm not going to read too deep into this, but this may be one of the few times Marty has had a real heart-to-heart with his dad at all. They're the same age. They're on equal footing, and they're both struggling with a similar internal conflict. Marty learns a lot about his mom during this movie, but he also learns a thing or two about his dad, and I don't think a lot of people touch on that.
0:59:52-Look at the way he smiles and his eyes are constantly darting between Lorraine and Marty! I know there are tales of Crispin Glover being hard to work with and just being an odd person overall, but he's just so heartwarmingly charming in this movie. I can't not love him!
1:00:26-Self-defense win! Lorraine isn't messing around. She knows how gross Biff is and wants nothing to do with him.
1:00:37-You can see in the background that George has already taken off. He knows there's gonna be trouble, and he wants no part in it.
-Also saving your mom win!
1:00:42-The way that Biff just towers over Marty even though Tom Wilson isn't that much taller than Christopher Lloyd just emphasizes how threatening and intimidating he is. In a few scenes, Tom Wilson was actually asked to take his shoes off just so that he could be in frame properly.
1:01:06-Another line improvised by Tom Wilson!
1:02:30-Well that's certainly one way of waking up your dad—I mean melting someone's brain.
-Also the flashlight is still on meaning George must've fallen asleep reading one of those magazines!
1:03:02-Marty trying to twist the top off just again shows how much he doesn't really belong in 1955. Plastic bottles with twistable caps weren't around back then, and even when you take into consideration Lorraine's alcoholism in the original timeline, the only alcohol in the house we see either has a twistable cap or is in a can with a pull-tab, so it's fairly reasonable that Marty's just never really seen how to use a bottle opener much less used one himself.
1:03:57-He sounds so sincere when he says this! He must've said that to Jennifer at some point. Even when they're separated, they're still adorable.
1:04:03-And more foreshadowing for his first novel later on!
1:04:18-Goldie dancing in the background is always a win!
-Also I love the deliberate choice to stay away from Rock 'n' Roll for the soundtrack. It had already been invented, but might not have made its way to Hill Valley quite yet, making Marty's performance of “Johnny B. Goode” at the end all the more mesmerizing to the students at the dance. They'd never heard anything like that before, and it amazed them. Y'know, before Marty kinda went a little overboard with the guitar solo.
1:04:29-Marty in the background watching George and making sure he doesn't screw up!
1:05:07-Biff's gang entering in the background and out of focus. Since George is taking up most of the frame and is the one talking, it really feels like Biff just came in out of nowhere when he calls George out. For the longest time I thought he had entered off screen, but nope! He was there the whole time hidden in plain sight! Have I mentioned how much attention to detail this movie has?
1:05:25-The music even cuts out to let Biff have the audience's full attention.
1:05:49-It’s a blink and you’ll miss it moment, but that was actually Eric Stoltz that punched Biff there!
1:05:52-And it starts right back up when he gets punched!
1:06:34-Gotta love that iconic and triumphant main theme playing during the skateboard chase scene. Seriously, where's Alan Silvestri's Oscar?
1:08:06-Aw... you can see George just give up when he sees that trying to pry Lorraine's attention away from Marty is just hopeless. Everything Marty does to try to keep Biff away from her just makes her want Marty more, and since George is still too afraid to stand up to Biff himself, he just gives up and leaves.
1:08:33-The lack of music really makes that part of the tape hit different. It's almost spooky how quiet this scene is what with Doc's expression looking like he's seen a ghost, which, yeah he kinda has. Who knows how long he's been sitting there rewinding the tape obsessively, trying to decipher what it could mean for the future. Maybe he's even started to piece together what it does mean, but can't afford to face that right now. Right now, he's got to focus on Marty and getting him home.
1:08:46-Oof and Marty just trying desperately to save his friend by warning him, but again, Doc can't afford to face whatever realities await him in the future. It just hurts them both so much on the inside.
1:09:07-I love that reassuring pat that Marty gives Doc. He's been living alone for so long, and is likely seen as a pariah by the town. Marty probably doesn't give a second thought about it, but it just means so much to Doc to hear something positive for a change.
-Also this model Hill Valley took quite a long time for the prop designers to actually make, so definitely hats off to them for making such an incredible piece!
1:09:52-Behind Marty off to the right of the screen are the blueprints for Doc's mind reading helmet!
1:11:27-I love the look on Doc's face here, and for the entire scene really. That quiet panicked look directed right at Marty. Again, I don't think anyone else could play Doc like this other than Christopher Lloyd. He just nails the character!
1:12:31-Giving Marty the idea on how to get his parents back together since now Lorraine likes Marty for more reasons than just feeling sorry for him. George has to take on a more active role instead of a passive one if this is going to work between them, and I think that's true for a lot of relationships. Both parties have to be active and take initiative if it's going to work.
1:12:40-I don't know if this was scripted, but I love Doc's little nod in agreement here. How bout just another win for Doc in general, he's great!
1:13:08-Nice save.
1:13:29-Oh jeez the look of horror on Marty's face and his loss of confidence in his voice as he realizes what he's gonna have to do with his mom to save his own existence. He's clearly not comfortable with this plan, and for good reason too, but he also doesn't really have any better ideas.
1:14:50-Marty's actions in the past having influence on more than just his parents. Who knows how long it took for Doc to really get things going in the original timeline, but now this Doc is inspired and excited to see something he invents actually working, and it was all thanks to Marty acting as a positive influence on his life. Their friendship truly knows no bounds.
-And then we get hit with the punch in the gut that, oh yeah, Doc is going to die that night. It hurts Marty so deep, and Doc's not making it any easier by talking about how much he looks forward to seeing 1985 and beyond. He just looks so sad knowing that this may be the last time he'll ever see Doc.
1:15:18-Damn, right in the feels. That's gotta be confusing for Doc at the time, though. Maybe he has a feeling that something bad will happen that night, but still doesn't want to face it for the sake of the universe. Either way, that look he pulls says it all. He's probably thinking, “Why would Marty miss me if I was there that night too?” It's the one time Marty knows more than Doc about something and it's just eating both of them up inside.
1:15:27-Bob Gale has denied this in the commentary track for this movie, but I still choose to believe that the man on the bike back there is Doc from part 2 on his way to Biff's Grandmother's house. The hat and dark jacket match Doc's outfit pretty well at least.
1:15:39-Ugh and the way he explains it all to Marty too, trying to reassure him that everything will be okay, it still just gets me, y'know? I'm not crying, you're crying!
1:16:36-Now who keeps permits in their wallet—Oh he's bribing the cop! Sneaky, sneaky. Emmett Lawless Brown haha.
1:17:39-And everything Marty thought he knew about his mother just comes crashing down around him, and his anxiety skyrockets. If he wasn't uncomfortable before, he certainly is now!
1:17:50-Well, the whole plan is coming apart and Marty may be doomed to be erased, but other than that, everything's peachy! Lorraine is just so sweet and sincere, too. She's not stupid, of course she can see how much Marty is freaking out right now, but she still does her best to stay calm and collected.
1:18:24-I think Marty's shock here is genuine; we don't see Lorraine smoke in 1985, and based on Marty's reaction, I don't think he's seen her smoke before either.
1:19:52-Marty's face here is just gold.
1:20:04-And good on Lorraine for figuring out herself that perhaps she and this Marty kid wouldn't be such a good couple after all.
1:22:14-The screeching violins just add to the tension and true horror that's in this scene. While he may be funny at the cafe at the beginning and when he gets manure dumped on him, Biff isn't a good person, and this just shows how much of a bad guy Biff really is. George knows that he can't just walk away, he has to stand up to Biff or Lorraine is going to get seriously hurt. It's now or never, and George has decided it's now.
1:22:33-Now my friend who's actually well versed in martial arts says that this is a very bad method of breaking someone's arm, but it definitely looks like it's hurting George a lot, and I think that's what matters to Biff in the end. It's making George suffer and drawing it out as long as he can because that just means he gets to be in power and control. So... this is more of a win for character depth than anything else really. Biff is still terrible and bad.
1:22:46-Always thank the people who rescue you!
1:22:52-Lorraine doesn't stand idly by either, she cares about George not being hurt just as much as George cares about her not being hurt. She's a fighter!
1:23:12-YES! And that satisfying punch as the music swells and George comes out on top! Plus he did it mostly all on his own since Marty was incapacitated and there was nobody else around. He did the right thing and it's all thanks to Marty's words of wisdom from Doc.
1:23:30-That shift from adrenaline from laying out Biff in one punch to sincere attention to Lorraine is just so smooth and charming. I don't think Crispin Glover gets nearly enough credit for his performance in this movie. Seriously, he really sells the lovable, dorky, awkward nerd that is George McFly.
1:24:58-The prop department actually built a larger guitar head just for these closeup shots with the photograph. Another dedication to the craft win!
1:25:23-Piano guy checking in on Marty since he's very much not alright.
1:25:43-Screeching violins paired with Marty's hand fading out is the fastest way to freak my 8-year-old self out and almost give them nightmares! Almost. Seriously, even though Zimeckis wasn't quite happy with this effect, it still looked real enough to convince and scare my child brain.
1:26:07-The score swelling up before cutting off to let “Earth Angel” come back in to finish as George and Lorraine kiss for the first time and restore the timeline.
-On top of that, the way Marty comes back to us in timing with the song and sees all the timeline unraveling reversed. Even though there's still one last big hurdle for Marty, the main issue is resolved, and he can finally relax a little before he hits crunch time.
1:27:12-I just love Marvin's expression here, that's all.
1:27:28-While that isn't Michael J. Fox playing (or singing) on the backing track, he is actually playing the notes on screen like I mentioned before. Another dedication win!
1:28:55-I love that the band keeps playing, but slowly stops one-by-one as Marty starts going a little ham with the guitar solo.
1:31:01-Looking out for your future self. Past self? Whatever. Self care is telling your parents when they're teenagers to go easy on your 8-year-old self when they do something stupid.
1:31:55-This part really confused me as a kid. I never quite understood what Doc meant by, “Never?” but now I do. He's realizing that the future can be changed because it isn't written yet. George has already changed the timeline by himself with just a nudge from Marty in the right direction. Of course, he doesn't have time to think about that now since Marty does have a lightning bolt to catch and everything.
1:33:11-AAH! This whole bit right here. That's probably my favorite part of the whole movie. Marty isn't just thanking Doc for all his help, he's thanking him for being his friend, and Doc is doing the same thing. They're both thanking each other for being in their lives and making a real difference. Then there's the hug. Now, Doc and Marty haven't really been keeping their distance, but this is the first we see them actually hug. In 1985, this is probably part of their normal dynamic, but when was the last time 1955 Doc was hugged? And of course we can't forget “In about thirty years?” “I hope so.” Doc probably thinks that Marty is nervous about everything going according to plan, but Marty is just hoping Doc will be alive in thirty years.
1:34:20-Gah I just love how quickly Doc shifts into business mode when he needs to and how quickly he comes up with a solution to the new problem they have to deal with. And Marty understands too. They both realize that all the stuff about the future can wait, and that they need to focus on what's in front of them right now otherwise Marty really will be stuck there.
1:36:02-Awesome slide across the hood of the car. Marty can still be cool in a time of crisis!
1:36:13-Doc's chef's kiss is *chef's kiss*
1:37:26-Now I know some people might be asking, “Why only give himself 10 minutes? Why not a day or a whole week?” and to that I say: you try thinking logically under pressure as a teenager with an underdeveloped prefrontal cortex! Plus, he wasn't accounting for the car crapping out on him when he got back, so he was expecting to drive back to the mall. I don't know about you, but I think driving 2 miles is a lot faster than running 2 miles.
1:38:03-There's that “Safety Last” homage I mentioned earlier. Although this time it's played for tension rather than laughs. Doc is in genuine terror here!
1:40:11-Once again Doc switching from panic mode to business mode as he sees Marty coming down the road. He knows there isn't much time left, so he has to act fast, and act fast he does!
1:41:18-The fire tracks line up with the DeLorean's path when it arrives back to 1985.
1:41:46-The damage done by Doc in 1955 is still there in 1985.
1:42:38-”But how can that be Red Thomas?” I hear you ask. Well, he's not really. Michael J. Fox improvised that bit.
-Also love how Marty says everything looks great even though everything looks objectively worse than it did in 1955. Marty's just used to the urban decay, and he's glad to see it again!
1:43:17-Can we take a moment to appreciate that Marty ran two miles in less than 10 minutes all in an attempt to save his best friend? Two miles and a bit extra, wearing all those layers, and he just barely misses his opportunity to warn Doc. And it was no easy feat either. He's struggling to breathe, which, yeah Marty's not really that athletic. Sure, he can skateboard, but that doesn't necessarily translate into running skills.
1:43:33-And he's so distraught seeing Doc “die” again. He doesn't shy away from showing emotion, and I think that's something a lot of male main characters are lacking these days. I'm not saying the 80's were a better time (because they weren't), but more that I wish more male characters in mainstream media were allowed to cry onscreen and be shown feeling sad emotions.
1:43:39-Can't forget the Lone Pine Mall sign change. Y'know since Marty ran over that pine tree back in 1955?
1:44:36-Oh man... okay even though Doc is revealed to be okay, Marty's voice cracking as he mourns the loss of his friend a second time just hits hard. In his eyes, he failed his mission. Sure he's back in 1985, but at what cost?
1:45:18-We have no idea how soon Doc taped together the letter, whether it was right after that night in 1955, or literally the night before this night in 1985, but regardless, he held onto the scraps for 30 years and brought it with him because he knew Marty would want answers. Friendship win!
1:46:05-I just love this quieter moment they have as the score plays over it. Doc and Marty had just been yelling at the top of their lungs to be heard over the gusts of wind from the storm, and now, it's quiet. Our heroes can rest now that their main journey is over. A nice decrescendo before the music surges triumphant as Doc makes his trip to the future before cutting off to let the DeLorean's sounds finish it off. It's quiet again as Marty finally goes back inside to sleep in his own bed after being gone for so long.
1:46:57-Marty's guitar is still on his bed where he left it.
-Also he's not only sleeping in his clothes, but on top of the covers too! Poor guy must've been so tired, he flopped on his bed and just went comatose.
1:47:11-And since Marty's room is more or less unchanged, he has pretty good reason to believe everything was just an intense dream, but...
1:47:21-It wasn't a dream!
1:48:33-Nice to see that Lorraine approves of Jennifer now, and Marty doesn't have to go behind his parents' back anymore just to see her!
1:48:51-Yeah... Biff got off the hook way too easy. I know it's to show that now George has enough self-respect to stand up to Biff even after high school, and that Biff wouldn't really make it far in corporate America without George doing all his work for him, but he still has his own business. He's just doing manual labor instead of shuffling paperwork for some faceless corporation. It honestly just feels icky to have him hanging around the McFlys still after what he did to Lorraine. I'm sorry, I'm gonna have to take away a win for this.
1:49:53-There have been some complaints that the new timeline equates wealth to success, and I don't think that's necessarily the message that they were going for here. In fact, I know it's not because Bob Gale talked about this on the commentary track. I won't spoil what he has to say, so I'll give my take instead. It's not so much that their lives are better now that they're living in the upper middle class as opposed to lower middle class. Marty's influence on Lorraine caused her to quit drinking and smoking while she was still young and became addicted. His influence on George caused him to stand up for himself and follow his dreams and passions. His parents' relationship is built on a strong foundation now where both of them have an active role rather than an active and a passive role. Their lives improved when they were young, so that logically led to their lives being better as adults. The higher class is just a side-effect of what changes already took place in 1955.
1:50:42-But of course the adventure isn't over that easy! Doc's back and with a snazzy new wardrobe from the future too!
1:51:37-What a line to end the movie on. And look! You can see the alarm clock is still there too! Now, Robert Zimeckis and Bob Gale never intended on making any sequels, so I'm really curious to see how fans theorized the adventure would continue back when this movie first came out. I kinda like that Doc kept things vague just so the audience could come up with how they'd continue the story. Now, when I watched this for the first time, all three movies had already been released, and I was so excited, I wanted to see what happened next right then and there, so I never came up with any continuation myself, but now I'm sort of tempted to disregard the sequels for a moment and come up with my own version of Part 2.
1:51:49-The DeLorean flying into the camera leading into “Back in Time” playing is quite possibly the best way to bring in the credits. It's just an awesome shot and an awesome song, what else do I need to say?