The Back to the Future Blu-Ray release is a moment thirty years in the making. In honor of the 30th anniversary of the date that Doc and Marty set their time machine DeLorean to, October 21, 2015, Universal has released the ultimate Back to the Future fans’ dream come true: The entire trilogy on Blu-Ray.
Stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, director Robert Zemeckis, Executive Producer Steven Spielberg and producer/screenwriter Bob Gale started their time-bending tour-de-force trilogy in 1985 with Back to the Future, followed it up with Back to the Future Part II in 1989 and closed out the beloved series in 1990 with Back to the Future Part III. With it, they had unleashed a trilogy on the world that would become instantly cherished and go down in pop culture history as one of audiences most favorite.
For fans of the three-part movie series, the release of all three in one package could not be better news this holiday season… or during any season for that matter.
The story seemed simple, but the response and its power were profound. Fox plays Marty McFly, a teenager in the mid-80s who works closely with a local scientist named Doc Brown (Lloyd). One night, Marty is summoned to the parking lot of the local mall where he will video-document what Doc has promised will be an earth shattering experiment. He has turned a DeLorean into a time machine. All they have to do is hit 88 miles-per-hour and… they’re history.
Doc sets the coordinates for 1955 and just as he’s about to test it himself, armed terrorists who sold him the uranium he needs to make it work descend upon the scene and send bullets flying. In an effort to get away, Marty hops in the car and, you guessed it, he hits 88 miles per hour and lands back in the days before his parents meet.
You all the know the story and how his arrival has seriously messed up his chance of ever being born and the effort he and the 1950s Doc Brown have to do to make history right again. The film also spawned several hit songs from Huey Lewis and the News and instantly became one of Hollywood’s most beloved outputs.
All three movies rightfully stand on their own, but to get them in one fantastic set is a true treat for fans everywhere. As part of the anniversary celebration, the bonus features total over two hours of content that takes us deeper than ever into the making of a treasured classic.
First, the collectible packaging could not do a better job at capturing the series and why people adore it so much.
Then, after ingesting the terrific trilogy, that Back to the Future Blu-Ray bonus features journey has to start with Looking Back to the Future. It is a nine-part retrospective documentary the film’s legacy. It is a fantastic look at how the film went from Amblin Entertainment release to cultural phenomenon that made an impact as soon as it first arrived in theaters. We not only hear from those involved in the production, but there is a larger scope feel to the documentary that truly chronicles the resonance of Back to the Future and its two sequels.
Even though Fox was already a household name when Back to the Future arrived on screens (thanks to his work on Family Ties), Back to the Future made him a movie star. The Michael J. Fox Q&A is a must-see as it gives us a first-hand account of his experience making the trilogy, and how the films have affected and influenced his life from their initial release to this 30th anniversary set.
The other half of why the film series works so well is the casting of Lloyd s Doc Brown and his characterization that permeates all three films. Lloyd returns in an all-new short film, Doc Brown Saves the World, which shows how Back to the Future Part II was right about our present, and how it missed the mark in terms of the high-tech gadgets. It’s a fascinating look at a movie that was literally ahead of its time.
One of the stars of the series is not a living, breathing actor. OUTATIME: Restoring the DeLorean looks at the 2012 restoration effort to what many would argue is one of the most iconic cars in movie history. This bonus feature’s greatness starts with the title (OUTATIME is the license plate in the film for the automobile) and continues through taking viewers inside the car that started Marty and Doc on their fateful journey.
For those who enjoy the actual science of science fiction, The Physics of Back to the Future is for you. Even though it is clearly fiction, there are elements of physics that found renowned physicists consulted for the script so that the element of realism was not too far away from the science of this science fiction icon. This bonus features is enlightening and entertaining.
The Deleted Scenes and Eight Archival Featurettes from the film’s original VHS and DVD release are also must-see for fans and to have them all in this one package is sublime. The deleted scenes are of particular interest because as many fans know, Fox was not the original choice to play McFly. A certain actor was fired days into filming… and his work is seen in one of the deleted scenes. The eight featurettes from the original release are also just as compelling as they were when we first saw them years ago. And again, to have them all in this package is priceless, just like the trilogy itself.
Back to the Future: A
Back to the Future Part II: B
Back to the Future Part III: B+
30th Anniversary Blu-Ray Bonus Features: A