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Welcome to The Daily Strange! In the years to follow, we’ll be taking you on an exclusive and personal behind the scenes trip to the sets of Back To The Future Part II and Part III We’ll be talking to those people behind the camera (like Bob Gale, Robert Zemeckis, and Neil Canton on this article) whose imaginations gave birth to the trilogy of movies we all love as well as the talented actors who bring the filmmakers' visions of the past, present and future to life. In addition, we’ll have regular features on various aspects of the Back To The Future movies, including articles on the remarkable special effects that George Lucas’ Industrial Light and Magic have created for the films, as well as informative articles on the creation and design of the time-periods Marty and Doc visit.
We also encourage you, for our new visitors, to write your comments and opinions about the Back To The Future movies, comics, books, emulator games, and BTTF upcoming events. This will be your opportunity to make your feelings known not only to other ’'Back To Future” general concepts but also the cast and crew as well. Thanks to Back To The Future Fan Club, ''Daily Strange'' will continue to add new Back To The Future products as they become available.
HERE ARE THE MAIN CHEMICALS AND UNIQUE COMBINATIONS
OF THE BACK TO THE FUTURE SERIES
I - MARTY AND THE DOC
It's never explained why a normal teenager of average intelligence would hang around with a scientist old enough to be his granddad yet you never question the relationship at the center of the movie. They're one of the 1980s cinema's great double acts, each supported by a sparkling script unafraid to let dialogue overshadow visual pyrotechnics. And even with the hindsight that comes from watching the movie 50-something times. Marty's failed attempts, to warn the Doc of his impending death at the hands of Libyans are genuinely heartbreaking.
II - CHUCK BERRY & ROCK'N ROLL
The super-efficient Back To The Future script should be held up as an example to all aspiring screenwriters. Nearly every scene advances the narrative, whether it's sneaking in a crafty glimpse at the sights and sounds of 1985-Hill Valley courtesy of Marty's skateboard voyages, or the woman collecting money for the ''Save the Clocktower'' campaign - surely the most important Chugger in cinema history. The only exception is Marty's slightly indulgent rendition of ''Johnny B. Goode'', and that's an excuse that helped Chuck Berry invent rock and roll.
III - UNIQUE CHARACTERS AND ALTERNATIVE VARIATONS
Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover and Thomas F. Wilson probably didn't relish the hours they spent in the make-up chair to play the 47-year-old versions of their characters, but their sacrifice was well worth it. Zemeckis could easily have hired middle-aged look-alikes to play the older Lorraine, George and Biff, but would have had to waste precious screen time establishing they're the same girl, nerd, and jock 30 years on - and lost the comedy potential of the comb-over, overweight nobody Biff has become.
IV - SENSE OF HUMOUR
Few films pull of the self-referential gag quite as well or as often as Back To The Future, and it's not all blatantly obvious jokes like Marty being named after his Calvin Klein underwear, or Doc Brown getting flummoxed by the prospect of jobbing actor Ronald Reagan becoming President of the USA. Some are genuinely subtle: for example, only the truly eagle-eyed will spot that Twin Pines Mall has become Lone Pine Mall come the end of the movie, thanks to Marty's unintentional demolition of Old Man Peabody's evergreen-breeding program.
V - MAGICAL CHOICE OF A TIME MACHINE
If Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis had stuck with their original idea of building a time machine into a fridge - executive producer Steven Spielberg was worried about copycat kids climbing inside electrical appliances - it's unlikely we would be writing this now. Using a DeLorean with the optional extra of a Flux Capacitor is motivated and it's not just about that stainless steel exterior (although the gullwing doors do allow for a flying saucer gag when Marty first arrives in 1955). The innards are perfectly realized also, from the ludicrously called Flux Capacitor, branded with suitably lo-fi Dymo tape, to all those digital destination boards. If you grew up in the 1980s, this is the vehicle you want in your garage.
VI - FAMILY TOOLS
Examine Back To The Future's time travel too closely and you'll come up with three decades of questions. However, it's the liberties that Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale take with logic that make the movie hang together. So while it seems unlikely that the space-time continuum would see fit to gradually erase a picture of Marty's brother and sister, you've got to admit it's one hell of a plot device. As for the convenience of Marty traveling back to 30 years to the time when his parents were exactly the age he is now... Well, it does make all the maths a whole lot easier.
VII - A DELIGHTFUL ENDING
''Roads? Where we're going we don't need roads.'' It's one of the best set-up for a sequel in history, but it wouldn't matter if Parts II and III had never been made. Back To The Future belongs to a select band of movies (the original Star Wars, The Matrix) that manage to keep a clear beginning, middle and end, while opening the door to a wider universe. All summer blockbusters should take note.
VIII -CREATIVE SET DESIGN
The Hill Valley of 1955 may be a rose-tinted slice of apple-pie Americana that never really existed, but thanks to some clever set design, you completely buy that it'll turn into the slightly rundown town Marty calls home 30 years later. Filmed on the Universal backlot set that also played host to Gremlins, recurring landmarks like the all-important Clocktower help highlight the differences elsewhere - the diner turned fitness boutique and the changing face of the petrol station to ensure that while the when changes, the where stays very much the same.
IX - GOTHIC AMBIENCE
JUMP INTO A LIGHTING SCENE WITH THREE UNFORGETTABLE COMBINATIONS;
A - CLOCK TOWER: A nod to silent Harold Lloyd, as Doc Brown rocks around the Clocktower - scientist and daredevil rolled into one.
B - AMAZING THEME: Alan Silvestri's classic theme tune gets the adrenaline flowing as Doc Brown whizzes down a zip line to fix a short circuit.
C - ELEGANT & SUPERFAST TIME TRAVEL: The car hits 88mph and Marty heads back to the future. A scene so good they chose to include it in all three Back To The Future Movies.
X- A SCIENTIST HAS AN ORIGINAL STYLE
Don't be such a scientist!
Friendly, mad, and curious Doc Brown with a sense of humor combination gets all of us affected in a good way.
And we loved those lines ;
Marty: ''Wait a minute, Doc. You're telling me you built a time machine. Out of a DeLorean?
Doc: ''The way I see it, if you're going to build a time machine into a car, why not do it with some style. Besides, the stainless steel construction made, the flux dispersal...'' (Doc is interrupted by the DeLorean reappearing from one minute earlier)
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