Back to the Future (franchise)

Back to the Future is a film trilogy written by Bob Gale, the producer, and Robert Zemeckis, the director.

The films follow the adventures of time-travelling high-school student Marty McFly and inventor Doctor Emmett Brown (Doc Brown) throughout several time periods in the past, 1885 and 1955; present 1985; and future 2015. The first film was the highest grossing film of 1985 and became an international phenomenon, leading to two sequels which were filmed back-to-back and released in 1989 and 1990 respectively. The trilogy is widely noted for its irreverent comedy, eccentric characters, and ability to incorporate complex theories of time-travel without confusing the audience. Though the two sequels did not perform as well at the box office as the first film, the trilogy remains immensely popular after 20 years and has yielded such spin-offs as an animated television series and a motion-simulation ride at the Universal Studios theme parks in Orlando, Florida; North Hollywood, California; and Osaka, Japan.

Films

Main cast

Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly, Marty McFly Jr. (son of Marty), Marlene McFly (daughter of Marty), and Seamus McFly (great-great-grandfather of Marty). In Back to the Future Part III, Marty's great-grandfather is seen in an old family photo. Marty comments that he's a "good looking guy." (As with most of the McFlys, it is Michael J. Fox in the photograph.)
Christopher Lloyd as Dr. Emmett Brown
Thomas F. Wilson as Biff Tannen, Griff Tannen (grandson of Biff) and Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen (great-grandfather of Biff)
Lea Thompson as Lorraine Baines (McFly/Tannen) and Maggie McFly (Seamus' wife, Marty's great-great-grandmother)
James Tolkan as Mr. Strickland and Chief Marshal James Strickland (grandfather)
Claudia Wells and Elisabeth Shue as Jennifer Parker (McFly)
Crispin Glover and Jeffrey Weissman as George McFly
Mary Steenburgen as Clara Clayton

Storylines

Template:Spoiler Back to the Future In Part I, 17-year-old Marty McFly is accidentally sent back in time to 1955 in a time machine built into a DeLorean by eccentric scientist Doc Emmett L. Brown. Upon arriving in 1955, he inadvertently causes his parents to never meet. To make matters worse, Marty did not bring back any extra plutonium to power the time machine, so he must find the 1955 version of Doc Brown to help him out. Not only is his own existence in danger, Marty must get his parents back together before a lightning bolt strikes the clock tower; the only power source capable of sending him back to the future.

Back to the Future: Part II

In Part II, Doc Brown travels with Marty to the year 2015, where he has discovered Marty's family is in ruins. Marty, using an idea given to him in the first film by Doc, buys a sports almanac which he plans to use to gamble and make a fortune. However, Doc catches him and throws the almanac in the trash, which old Biff Tannen finds. While Marty and Doc are at 2015 Marty's house, Biff steals the DeLorean and gives the book to himself at some point in the past. When Doc and Marty return to 1985, they find that Biff has used the almanac's knowledge to make himself rich and control Hill Valley. Finding out that old Biff went back to 1955, Marty and Doc set out to steal the almanac from Biff in 1955 before he can use it to destroy their lives.

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 find the DeLorean and restore it to working order. Instead of going back to 1985 as Doc wished, Marty travels back to 1885 to bring his friend back to the future. Unfortunately Marty rips a hole in the fuel line, rendering the DeLorean immobile. Further, Doc has fallen in love with the schoolteacher Clara Clayton, and insists on 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.

Themes

A hallmark of the Back to the Future trilogy and a contributor to its popularity is its use of running gags, similar events, catch phrases, and parallel situations that recur in the different time frames from film to film. Note that, due to simultaneous productions of Part II and Part III, they have the most themes that occur. The following is a list of these, sorted by the movies in which they occur.

In all three movies

In Part I, in "Lou's Cafe" of 1955, Biff says to George McFly: "Hey, McFly, I thought I told you never to come in here." In Part II, that same space is occupied by "Cafe '80s" of 2015, where Biff's grandson Griff says to Marty Jr. (having previously seen him walking in after seeing his father from 1985 inside): "Hey, McFly, I thought I told you to stay in here!" And in Part III, that same space is occupied by the Palace Saloon, where Biff's ancestor Buford says to Marty (mistaking him for Marty's great-great-grandfather Seamus): "Hey, McFly, I thought I done told you never to come in here."
In Part I there is a car dealership in 1985 Hill Valley named Statler Toyota. In 1955 the same store front is occupied by a Statler Studebaker dealership. In Part II, the 2015 store is the Statler Pontiac dealership that sells hover conversions, and in Part III, a horse and buggy business named "Statler" is in the same spot.
In Parts I and II Biff crashes his car into a manure truck. In Part III Buford collapses into a manure cart. In each situation he comments "I hate manure". In 1955, the manure truck displays the name "D. Jones". In 1885, the manure cart displays the name "A. Jones", implying that the family was in the manure business for at least seven decades.
The phrase "back to the future" is used at least once in all three movies. The phrase also gets used in the closing scene of all three movies.
All three movies involve a chase scene early on in the movie through downtown Hill Valley. In Parts I (1955) and II (2015) these scenes involve variations of a skateboard, which Marty uses to escape. In Part III (1885), Marty has no such transportation aid and loses the chase to Mad Dog Tannen's gang.
All three movies have a scene where a slightly bewildered Marty walks through Hill Valley observing the inhabitants and variations of that current time. The inhabitants are also slightly bewildered by Marty's odd appearance.
In each movie, Marty is knocked out and wakes up at the house of a relative. In Part I, it is his teenage mother in 1955, in Part II it's his mother in 1985A, and in Part III it's his great-great grandmother in 1885. Each time, Marty wakes up groggily after several hours, thinking the previous events were only a dream. Each time he is reassured that he is safe and sound by Lea Thompson's character, "in good old 1955", "on the good old 27th floor", or "at the McFly Farm". Each time, the location shocks Marty to full awakeness.
The Hill Valley Clock Tower has some kind of role. In Part I, it is a key component in sending Marty "back to the future"; in Part II it is a glass mall building in which Marty tricks Griff's gang into running into; and in Part III it has just been built, and Marty nearly gets hanged on it by Buford. Marty and Doc also take a picture in front of it, which Doc later gives to Marty as a souvenir.
At some point in each of the various time periods, Marty angers the Tannen of the age and usually tries to get out of it with the old gambit of pretending there's something behind him. ("Whoa, Biff, what's that?" while pointing beyond his shoulder.) What's worth noting is that, ultimately, this only works on Biff Tannen specifically: although Biff falls for it in both 1955 and in the alternate 1985 (and his goons also do, on one occasion), Biff's bioandroid grandson Griff doesn't and Buford Tannen never gives him a chance (thanks to his trigger finger).
In each of the three films, when Marty confronts the Tannen of the era in the cafe/saloon, there is a scene where he stands up to them and, due to his small stature, he looks up and over their shoulder as they extend to their full height.
In all three movies the Tannen of the era pushes a girl or woman to the ground while confronting someone. In Parts I and II it's Biff pushing Lorraine down with George as his target (the same scene, from different view points). In III it's Buford pushing Clara with Doc as the target. On the other hand, every time Marty pushes the three bullies and makes them fall on the ground, they always collapse with the same domino-like pattern.
All three movies show the famous lightning bolt hitting the clock tower on November 12, 1955, at 10:04 PM, although in the third it is simply an opening review of the previous film.
All three movies also show the clock stopped at 10:04. In Part I, it's shown at the beginning when Marty and Jennifer are sitting in front of it, and again at the end when Marty returns to 1985. In Part II, in 2015, the clock is still stopped on 10:04. In Part III, in 1885, when Doc and Marty are looking at the map at the train station, the clock is visible in the background, having recently been delivered by train to Hill Valley. It is of course non-functional, as it has not been hooked up yet, and the hands are stopped on 10:04.
In 1985 and 1955, Mr. Strickland (played by James Tolkan) is the high school's disciplinarian. In 1885, Tolkan plays Marshal Strickland, Mr. Strickland's grandfather.
The "Enchantment Under the Sea" dance plays a role in both Part I and Part II, and takes place on the same night the clock tower is hit by lightning. In Part III, a music & dance festival is taking place in Hill Valley, in order to pay for the construction of the clock tower.

Within Part I

In 1985, Biff tells George, "Hello? Hello? Anybody home? Huh? Think, McFly. Think! I gotta have time to get 'em retyped. Do you realize what would happen if I hand in my reports in your handwriting? I'll get fired. You wouldn't want that to happen, would ya?" In 1955, Biff tells George, "Hello? Hello? Anybody home? Hey, think, McFly. Think. I gotta have time to recopy it. Do you realize what would happen if I hand in my homework in your handwriting? I'll get kicked out of school. You wouldn't want that to happen, would ya?" In both cases, George then promises to work on it all night and hand them to Biff in the morning, to which Biff replies "Not too early, I sleep in...". After both conversations between Biff and George, Biff immediately turns to Marty and asks him "What are you looking at Butthead?"
In 1985, Marty is scared of sending his audition tape to record companies saying "What if they didn't like it? What if they say I was no good?" In 1955, when Marty asks to read some of George's stories, George refuses, giving exactly the same excuse.
In 1985, a campaign truck is seen advertising the re-election campaign of Mayor Goldie Wilson. In 1955, another campaign car is seen, advertising the re-election campaign of Mayor Red Thomas. In 1955, future mayor Goldie Wilson is a janitor at Lou's cafe, while in 1985, former-mayor Red Thomas is a homeless alcoholic bum.
The site of Twin Pines Mall in 1985 was, back in 1955, the farm of Old Man Peabody, who had bred twin pines. When Marty goes back to 1955, he knocks down one of the pine trees. When he goes back to 1985, the mall is called the Lone Pine Mall.
Each time Marty checks his watch (when Doc rings Marty after the opening credit sequence and tells him his clocks are all exactly 25 minutes slow, when 1985 Doc states the time while Marty is filming him at Twin Pines Mall at the beginning of the film, when 1955 Doc and Marty syncronize watches, when Dave reminds Marty of the time at the end of the film, etc), he gives it a slight double-take and shakes his wrist as if the watch is not working. This is amusing because it is such a slight and subtle recurring gag, and the idea that the world's first human - and most active - time traveler (at that point) doesn't even have a working timepiece is quite ironic.

In Part I and Part II

Marty buys a soft drink in downtown Hill Valley and has difficulty opening it the first time (at the Texaco gas station in 1955) because it is old-fashioned, and the second time (at the Cafe '80s in 2015) because it's futuristic.
Biff hits George on the head while saying "Hello? Hello? Anybody home? Huh?" in Part I, in 1985 and 1955. In Part II, Biff does the same to Marty (thinking he's Marty Jr.) in 2015.
In Part I, when Marty returns home to see that Biff crashed the family car, Biff tells Marty "Say 'Hi' to your mom for me." In Part II when Marty meets the elderly Biff in the '80s Cafe, Biff says "Say 'Hi' to your grandma for me", thinking that Marty is actually Marty Jr.
When Marty returns to 1985 in Part I, crashing the DeLorean into the Assembly of Christ, Red Thomas, the homeless drunk on a park bench, comments, "Crazy drunk driver". Red is still a homeless drunk in 1985A, Marty bumps into him while exploring 1985A, and Red tells him "Watch where you're going. Crazy drunk pedestrian."
In Part I, when Marty enters Hill Valley in 1955, one of the first signs he passes is for a showing of the Cattle Queen of Montana starring Barbara Stanwyck and Ronald Reagan. Later, Doc doesn't believe Marty when he tells him Reagan is president, but comes around when he sees the "portable TV studio" (i.e. video camera). In Part II, in 2015, the Café '80s video-waiter is a simulacra of Reagan, and the memorabilia in the restaurant include a Reagan mask and a picture of Reagan. Finally, on the front page of the paper Doc checks in the DeLorean to see the timeline being restored, the news item "Nixon to Seek Fifth Term" gets replaced with "Reagan to Seek Second Term".
In 1955, Biff chases Marty around the Courthouse square, and Marty escapes on a skateboard. In 2015, Griff chases Marty around the Courthouse square, and Marty again escapes, this time on a hoverboard. As an older Biff looks on, he comments "there's something very familiar about this..."
Volunteers from the historical society looking for donations to save the Clock Tower are seen in Part I 1985 and Part II 2015.
Mayor Goldie Wilson's grandson is seen in an advertisement for hovercar upgrades.
In the end of Part I, Biff tries to weasel out of putting a second coat of wax on the McFlys' BMW. In Part II 2015, Griff berates Biff for not putting a second coat of wax on his car.
In Part 1 1955 Biff tells Marty to "Make like a tree and get outta here." In Part 2 he uses the same phrase again and is berated by Old Biff (his future self) for getting it wrong.

In Part I and Part III

In Part I, 50s Biff calls George an "Irish bug". In Part III, we learn his ancestors were indeed Irish.
Marty uses the name of someone famous in his time, but not yet known in the time he's visiting, instead of his own. In Part I (1955), his mother mistakes the name "Calvin Klein" on his underwear for his and later when he scares his father he calls himself "Darth Vader" from the planet Vulcan. In Part III (1885), he claims to be named "Clint Eastwood".
Marty's 80s catch phrases are quite confusing to the inhabitants of other time periods. In 1955, Marty uses "heavy" twice. Once Doc comments that weight has nothing to do with it, and the second time he gets confused by Marty's repeated use of it and asks if there's something wrong with the Earth's gravity in 1985. In 1885, when Marty picks up a pie plate and sees the word "frisbee" in it, he exclaims "far out!", and Seamus and Maggie McFly comment that it wasn't far at all, but in fact "right in front of him". Also, when Marty tells Tannen "Hey, lighten up, jerk!", Buford looks at his cronies for clarification, and they shake their heads, mystified. Tannen pretends to know what it means, though.
In Parts I and III, Doc builds a model to demonstrate to Marty how the time travel will be done. In Part I, Doc shows how the speeding DeLorean will intersect to capture the lightning bolt. In Part III, in 1885, Doc shows how the speeding locomotive will push the unfuelled DeLorean up to 88 mph as it reaches the incomplete bridge. In Part I, Doc apologizes, "Sorry, it's not to scale or painted." In Part III, Doc begins to say "Please excuse the crudity of this model-" and Marty interrupts saying, "Yeah I know, it's not built to scale."
In Part I, Marty is about to kiss Jennifer when someone interrupts them for donations for the clock tower, and again when her father honks the horn of his car. At the end of that movie, Marty is about to kiss Jennifer again, but is interrupted by the sonic booms that precede entry of the time machine. Towards the end of Part III, Marty and Jennifer finally kiss on the veranda of her family's house.
In Part I, after the DeLorean makes its first trip through time, the license plate (OUTATIME) is shown to be spinning on the ground after the car departs. In Part III, after the DeLorean's final trip through time, the new barcode license plate is shown to be spinning on the ground.
In Part I 1985, Doc tries to fight off the Libyans with an antique pearl-handled gun, but it turns out to be empty. In Part III 1955, Doc fires that gun (with the pearl handle painted black) repeatedly to signal Marty to start racing towards 88 MPH, finally showing us why he was out of bullets.
In Part I 1985 and 1955, George offers to go over a report with Biff, but Biff tells him "not too early, I sleep in". By opposition, Buford wants to duel Marty at 7 AM, because "I do my killing before breakfast".
In Part III, Clayton Ravine, named after the surname of a schoolteacher who fell in it in 1885 (did not fall in it anymore because she was saved by Doc Brown) now carries the name Eastwood Ravine (visible on a sign by the track when Marty reaches 1985 after the DeLorean was pushed by the speeding locomotive). One can presume that the ravine is now named after "Clint Eastwood" (Marty McFly) who fell in it with a complete stolen train engine in 1885 and mysteriously vanished.
In Part I Doc says, "Where we're going we don't need roads." In Part III 1955 Doc says, "Where you are going there are no roads."
Early in Part 1 1985 Biff complains after having wrecked the McFly's car about the cleaning bill from having spilt beer on his jacket. In Part III Buford is angry after being thrown off his horse and breaking a bottle of "fine Kentucky red-eye". In both instances both Biff and Buford want reimbursement.

In Part II and Part III

Marty McFly is called "chicken" in Part II by both Needles and Griff, and replies with "Nobody calls me chicken!" He's called "Yella" (yellow) by Buford in Part III and replies the same way with the same dramatic music cue.
In 1985A, Biff watches A Fistful of Dollars. Marty walks in on the scene where Clint Eastwood uses a piece of metal as a bullet-proof vest during a duel. In 1885, Marty, going by the name Clint Eastwood, uses that exact same trick to survive a duel with Buford. It is also noticeable that when Marty gets hanged by the Buford gang, Doc Brown cuts the rope at the critical moment with a sniper rifle, a clear allusion to the same action performed regularly by the character played by Clint Eastwood in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
In Part II, after 1985-Jennifer and 2015-Jennifer pass out, Doc is saddened because after he thinks he'll destroy the time machine, he'll "never get a chance to visit my favorite era: The Old West. Better to devote myself to that other great mystery of the universe: women." Later, the DeLorean gets struck by lightning and Doc actually winds up in his favorite era and, ironically, encounters "that other great mystery of the universe", Clara Clayton.
Marty shows off his video game shooting skills. In Part II it's in the '80s Cafe on the Wild Gunman arcade game, and in Part III it's at a demonstration booth for the Colt Peacemaker. In Part II, one of the 2015 boys declares that the Wild Gunman is "like a baby's toy", while in Part III, the Colt Peacemaker salesman tells Marty that his gun is so easy even a baby could use it, then taunts him with, "Surely you're not afraid of something a baby can do?"
Parts II and III have Marty throwing something with a Frisbee technique at a Tannen. In Part II it was a tray at Biff when he was Marty's step father. In Part III it occurred at the party when Mad Dog was going to shoot Doc and Marty uses an empty pie pan from "The Frisbee Pie Company".
In Part II, in 1985A, Marty finds his father's grave in Oak Park Cemetery. In Part III, in 1955, Marty finds Doc's grave in Boot Hill Cemetery.
In Part II 1955, Mr. Strickland's office door has the word "discipline" written under his name. In 1885, Marshall Strickland tells his son to "Remember that word: 'discipline.'"
In Part II 2015, Loraine and Marlene are heard talking about how, 30 years ago, Marty tried to prove he wasn't chicken and ended up in an automobile accident with a Rolls Royce. That single event ruined his life - the driver pressed charges, and Marty broke his hand, forcing him to abandon his dream of a music career. In Part III 1885, Doc warns Marty not to lose his judgement every time somebody calls him a name, as "that's exactly what gets you into that accident in the future." Finally, in Part III 1985, Needles calls Marty a chicken to push him into street racing. Marty keeps his cool and doesn't race Needles, then looks on to see that, had he raced, he would have hit a Rolls Royce.

Other relevant notes

The movie makes use of several oxymorons and contradictions, including in the title itself and in the name of the city, Hill Valley. Likewise, when the time machine travels through time, it always leaves fire trails where its tires would have been; however, when it appears in the destination time, it is "damn cold" according to Doc Brown and frost is visible on the surface of the vehicle. Additionally, the term "flux capacitor" can be seen as an oxymoron.
Three sonic booms are always heard when it appears in the destination time. After each trip, the delay between the three sonic booms becomes larger.
Throughout the movies, Doc Brown frequently exclaims, "Great Scott!", and Marty frequently says, "This is heavy!" (a colloquialism which Doc Brown never seems to understand). In Part III, a comedic reversal occurs when, after a predicament manifests itself, Marty exclaims, "Great Scott!", to which Doc Brown replies, "I know, this is heavy!"
In Part II, Old Biff steals the Time Machine and goes back in time to give "50's Biff" the book. Old Biff then returns to the future to return the machine. However, the Doc says that if they go into the future from the altered past (1985A) it will be the future of 1985A, not the normal 1985. By this, Old Biff should have arrived in 2015A, when Biff was rich, and not the normal 2015. - A deleted scene however reveals that Biff did in fact return to 2015A, and immediately vanished from existence upon arriving back to the future. It is explained by Zemeckis that Loraine must have shot Biff sometime between 1985 and 2015, after getting tired of their marriage, resulting in old Biff's lack of existence from the future Hill Valley.
In several films, Biff Tannen is shown to have no understanding of sayings. For example, in Part II, the 1955 Biff says that his rejection by Lorraine is as funny as screen doors on a battleship whereas the correct phrase would be as funny as a screen door on a submarine. This extends to the non-canonical Back to the Future ride at Universal Studios where he tries to steal a time machine and trips the guards with marbles saying "Have a nice trip, see you next winter!"
Biff (young or old) is frequently shown to use the pejorative phrase "Butthead." As seen in the Back to the Future: The Animated Series, his ancestors and descandants also use the term, most notably Tannen great grandfather, a Confederate officer in the Civil War, who calls his enemies "buttocks brains" but changes it to but head after being corrected by one of Doc Brown's sons.

Template:Endspoiler

DVD Release & Framing Issues

In July 1997, Universal Studios announced that Back to the Future would be one of their first 10 releases to the new format. The footage that was shot with Eric Stoltz in the role of Marty McFly (before he was replaced with Michael J. Fox a few weeks into shooting) has never been officially released. This footage was not included in Universal's original DVD release in 2002 or in 2005, despite many fans hoping that Universal would include it.

Region 1

The Back to the Future trilogy was first released on DVD at the end of 2002 in both widescreen and fullscreen versions (in a blue box with Marty and Doc on the cover). Devoted fans of the films quickly noticed that the video of the widescreen version of Parts II and III contained numerous 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. (Because the movies were originally shot in open matte, the fullscreen version was unaffected by this.) Outraged fans quickly organized petitions demanding that Universal Studios correct the problem and re-release the DVD set.

In May 2003, Universal corrected the problem and issued "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). However, they did not initially begin packaging the V2 discs with the trilogy box set that was being sent to retailers. Instead, Universal set up a toll-free phone number ((888) 703-0010 in the US) which owners of the original DVDs could call, and ask for a postage-paid envelope to be sent to them. The owner would send their flawed discs to Universal in the envelope, and would soon thereafter receive the corrected "V2" discs by mail. Because Universal did little to publicize this offer outside of the Internet and devoted fan circles, many have criticized Universal's refusal to issue a straight recall of the flawed discs and instead force concerned customers to jump through hoops just to get the correct video of the film.

In January 2005, Universal began a nationwide promotional campaign, announcing that they would re-issue 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 merely a week later, on February 1, 2005. (New stickers on the box declared "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 (indeed, even the packaging was completely identical, except for the promotional sticker), 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. (This is also supported by the date of creation of the disc, which matches that of the "V2" release.)

Release Format Feature Comparison

	Box	Audio	Scene Specific Commentary	Framing	Enhanced MJ Fox interview
1986 CED	?	?	No	?	No
1986 VHS	Blue with Marty and DeLorean	Stereo	No	Correct Widescreen	No
1993 Japanese Laserdisc	Charcoal with logo	Stereo	No	Generous	No
2002 R1 DVD	Blue with Marty and Doc	Dolby 5.1	Yes	Incorrect Widescreen	?
2002 R2 UK DVD	Black with DeLorean	Dolby 5.1 and DTS	No	Incorrect Widescreen	No
2002 R2 German DVD	Black with DeLorean	Dolby 5.1 and DTS	No	Incorrect Widescreen	?
2003 "V2" DVD	No box	Dolby 5.1	Yes	Corrected Widescreen	Yes
2005 R1 DVD	Blue with DeLorean	Dolby 5.1	Yes	Corrected Widescreen	Yes
2005 R2 UK DVD	Blue with DeLorean	Dolby 5.1 and DTS	Yes	Corrected Widescreen	Yes
2005 R2 German DVD	Blue with DeLorean	Dolby 5.1 and DTS	No	Corrected Widescreen	?
2005 R2 Japanese DVD	Blue with DeLorean	?	?	Corrected Widescreen	?

Trivia

Back to the Future Part II and Part III is the fourth set of movies ever shot back to back. See: List of films produced back-to-back.

Back to the Future Part II is Elijah Wood's first movie. He is one of the two boys trying to play the videogame ("Wild Gunman") at Cafe '80s (in 2015).

Doc Brown circa 1955 always refers to the vehicle as a "time vehicle". Doc Brown circa 1985 always refers to it as a "DeLorean".

The actor that plays Jennifer, Claudia Wells, in the original Back to the Future doesn't appear again, and is replaced by Elisabeth Shue in the sequels.

In the Danny Phantom episode Double Cross My Heart, a scene in the bookstore shows a book by George McFly.

In one Fairly Odd Parents episode, after Timmy Turner time travels to the 1980's, the DeLorean is seen.

In Family Guy, Peter Griffin built a time machine out of a DeLorean and intended to travel to the past. He crashes into a wall right after starting the car and gets out. When people run out of the building in flames, Peter said, "Everyone in 1955 was on fire!"

Multiple time vehicles in 1955

At one point in Part II, four DeLoreans are present more or less simultaneously in 1955:
- the "new" one from Doc Brown's lab in which Marty first arrives in Part I (remains until its departure at the 10:04 lightning strike);
- the "used" one old Biff parks briefly somewhere in 1955 to deliver his younger self the sports almanac, and then "drops off" in 2015;
- the one in which Marty and Doc follow Biff shortly thereafter to retrieve the almanac (parked behind a billboard in front of the future Lyon Estates). This is the vehicle which will transport Doc to 1885 after the almanac is destroyed, during the same 10:04PM thunderstorm, briefly removing the last of the four De Loreans from 1955, and stranding Marty.
- the one buried in the old Delgado mine by Doc in 1885 awaiting the 1955-Doc and Marty to be restored and taken back to rescue him (instead of forward to 1985 without the 1985-Doc as were his wishes)

Promotional posters

Back to the Future
Back to the Future Part II

Back to the Future Part II
Back to the Future Part III

Back to the Future Part III

All three posters were done by noted poster artist Drew Struzan. Each poster features a variation on the same pose, and has the same number of characters present as each movie is numbered (one character for Part I, two for Part II, and three for Part III). It should also be noted that the DeLorean's wheels change in each poster: in Part I they're normal wheels, in Part II they're hover wheels, and in Part III they're bare rims (without the tires) on train tracks. In the Part I and Part II posters, Marty and the Doc (in Part II) look at their wristwatches and lift glasses and a visor respectively, whereas in Part III they look at pocketwatches and raise their hats.

A modified version of the Part I artwork, which added Doc Brown to the original image, was used on the cover of the trilogy's DVD release.

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 Commodore 64 computer, the Sega Genesis/Megadrive, NES, and Super Nintendo system. Most notably, LJN's Back to the Future game (1989) for the NES featured a top down view of Marty McFly racing through the streets of Hill Valley while collecting clocks to prevent the "erasure" of his family.
LJN also released Back to the Future II & III for the NES in 1990, which unlike the previous game, was a side scrolling platform game that allowed travelling 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 1990, Data East Pinball (now Stern Pinball) released the Back to the Future pinball game (based on all three movies), designed by Joe Kaminkow, with music by Brian Schmidt.