Back to the Future (franchise)

The Back to the Future franchise is an American comic science fiction-adventure film series written and directed by Robert Zemeckis, produced by Bob Gale and Neil Canton for Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, and distributed by Universal Pictures. The franchise follows the adventures of a high school student, Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox), and an eccentric scientist, Dr. Emmett L. Brown (Christopher Lloyd), as they use a DeLorean time machine to time travel to different periods in the history of Hill Valley, California.

The first film was the highest-grossing film of 1985 and became an international phenomenon, leading to the second and third films, which were back-to-back film productions, released in 1989 and 1990, respectively. Though the sequels did not perform quite as well at the box office as the first film, the trilogy remains immensely popular after a quarter-century and has yielded such spinoffs as an animated television series and a motion-simulation ride at the Universal Studios Theme Parks in Universal City, California; Orlando, Florida (now closed); and Osaka, Japan, as well as a Microsoft Windows, Macintosh, iPad, PS3, and Wii video game. The film's visual effects were done by Industrial Light and Magic. The trilogy was nominated for five Academy Awards all together, winning one (Best Sound Editing).

Back to the Future (1985)
Seventeen-year-old Marty McFly is accidentally sent back in time from 1985 to 1955 in a time machine built from a DeLorean by eccentric scientist Emmett "Doc" Brown, when Marty is attacked by Libyans from whom Doc stole the plutonium that gives the flux capacitor the 1.21 gigawatts it needs to time-travel. Soon after his arrival in 1955, Marty's mother Lorraine falls in love with him, rather than with his father George McFly, threatening to cause a paradox that would result in Marty's nonexistence. Without plutonium to power the time machine, Marty must find the 1955 Doc Brown to help him reunite his parents and return to 1985.

The efforts of Biff Tannen, George's bully and supervisor, further complicate 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 lightning strike that jump-starts the machine, Marty discovers a vastly improved situation for the McFly family, as Biff is now an auto detailer rather than George's supervisor. Despite 1955 Doc's insistence on not knowing details of the future, a note Marty leaves in his pocket saves him from being killed by the terrorists. But in the film's final moments, Doc Brown appears in a modified version of the DeLorean and tells Marty and his girlfriend Jennifer Parker that they must travel to the future to fix a problem caused by Marty and Jennifer's kids.

Back to the Future Part II (1989)
The series continues as Doc Brown travels with Marty and Jennifer 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 (1950–2000) worth of sporting events. However, Doc catches him and throws the almanac in the trash, where the 2015 Biff Tannen finds it. While Marty and Doc are at Marty's 2015 house, 2015 Biff steals the DeLorean time machine and gives the book to his 1955 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 sports almanac's knowledge for financial gain, which allows him to turn Courthouse Square into a 27-story casino, take over 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 2015 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 activates the time circuits, sending Doc back to 1885 and leaving Marty stranded once again in 1955.

Back to the Future Part III (1990)
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 by Biff's great-grandfather, Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen, Marty travels back in time to save Doc (who has become a blacksmith) and bring him back to the future. Arriving in the middle of a melee between the United States Cavalry and American Indians, an Indian arrow rips a hole in the DeLorean's fuel line, emptying the gas tank and rendering the engine useless. Inadvertently due to Marty's arrival in 1885, Doc falls in love with schoolteacher Clara Clayton, and considers staying in the past. 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 using a speeding locomotive to push the DeLorean to 88 mph, Marty returns to 1985 without Doc Brown, who stayed behind with Clara in 1885. When the DeLorean appears in 1985 on the same train track as planned, a modern train destroys the DeLorean, with Marty jumping out just in time. Marty reveals to Jennifer the time travel adventure and they visit the scene of the wreckage of the DeLorean. 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 Jennifer and 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 there." Doc's last words of wisdom is that nobody knows their future, so they "must make it a good one." The locomotive flies across the sky and disappears, ending the trilogy.

Characters and portrayers
Marty McFly and Doc Brown were included in Empire's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time, ranking No. 39 and No. 76 respectively.

Box office performance
, the Back to the Future series is the 14th-highest-grossing trilogy of all time at the domestic market (adjusted for inflation), 17th-highest-grossing trilogy of all time at the domestic market (not adjusted for inflation), and the 13th-highest-grossing trilogy of all time, worldwide (not adjusted for inflation).

Soundtrack albums
In 1985, MCA Records released the Back to the Future soundtrack. It featured 8 tracks performed by Huey Lewis and the News, Lindsey Buckingham, Eric Clapton, Marvin Berry and the Starlighters, and Etta James. Only two tracks were culled from Alan Silvestri's orchestral score.

In 1989, MCA Records released Back to the Future Part II soundtrack with 13 tracks.

In 1990, Varèse Sarabande released Back to the Future Part III soundtrack with 18 tracks.

In 1999, Varèse Sarabande released Back to the Future trilogy soundtrack with eight tracks from the first film, seven from the second, four from the third, and one from the ride.

In 2009, Intrada 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.

DVD release
In July 1997, Universal 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. In the USA, a fullscreen version was also released.

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."

Blu-ray release: "25th Anniversary Trilogy"
In June 2008, a special screening of the trilogy was held in Celebration, Florida. 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.

Release formats and features
The footage that was shot with Eric Stoltz 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.

Television series
An animated television series, Back to the Future: The Animated series, lasted two seasons, each featuring 13 episodes, and ran on CBS from September 14, 1991 to December 26, 1992.

Comic books
A comic book series was published by Harvey Comics detailing further adventures of the animated series.

Books
Each film in the trilogy also received a novelization that expanded on the movies by adding scenes, characters and dialog, often culled from early-draft scripts.

In 2012, Hasslein Books released A Matter of Time: The Unauthorized Back to the Future Lexicon, written by Rich Handley. The book was released in cooperation with BTTF.com, the official Back to the Future Web site. A second volume, Back in Time: The Unauthorized Back to the Future Chronology, by Greg Mitchell and Rich Handley, was released in 2013.

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 Atari ST Also ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 computers, the Sega Master System, the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, NES, and Super Nintendo system. Additionally the game trilogy has also been released for Windows (PC), for Apple (MAC) and for Apple (iPad).

Stage musical
On 31 January 2014, it was announced that a stage musical adaptation of the first film is in production. The show, which will be co-written by original writers Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, is expected to be performed in 2015. According to Gale, the musical will be "true to the spirit of the film without being a slavish remake". The musical is part of the 30th anniversary of the original film.

Theme park ride
Back to the Future: The Ride is a simulator ride based on and inspired by the Back to the Future films and is a mini-sequel to 1990's Back to the Future Part III. The original attraction opened on May 2, 1991, at Universal Studios Florida. It also opened on June 2, 1993 at Universal Studios Hollywood and on March 31, 2001 at Universal Studios Japan. The rides in the United States have since been replaced by The Simpsons Ride. The ride in Japan remains operational.

Nighttime Studio Tour (2015)
In celebration of Universal Studios Hollywood's 50th anniversary in 2015, the Nighttime Studio Tour will complement the popular daytime experience by offering a nighttime tour of the famous studio backlot. One of the new featured attractions will be a Back to the Future special effects stunt spectacular located at Courthouse Square.