Customer Reviews

Back to the Future [VHS]

5 star:		(201)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

On this release of the great BTTF movie, you get a 2 disc edition with extra features never released on DVD, nor even on the 4 disc region 4 release.

Obviously the movie is there, it was always good quality and great 5.1 sound on the rest of the editions, and nothing has changed for this one. Now included is a whole heap of new extras.

There is an Audio Commentary from Bob Gale and Niel Canton. It is an actual commentary now, not just the Q&A audio that played to the movie, or separately as audio depending on which edition you had, that other one is still on here, but this 2nd commentary is brand new, not a re-run.

As far as I can tell, all the extras from the other editions are still here. I own a heap of copies of different releases for this movie, and I get a little confused with what was on what; but I know the American fans will be pleased that extra deleted scenes that where only viewable on the region 4 bonus disc (4th disc) are now included in this release.
In particular, the full version of the scene when Doc is asked if he has a permit, and Marty wonders if he will go home gay. It's a great and funny scene.

Also included is the footage of the back to the future ride that used to be at Universal Studios. I went on that ride in 1993, and it was great to see it again. It has two videos for the ride, the first one is the video you would watch while waiting in line for the ride. It's like a news cast and security camera video telling you about Doc's 1 day ride into the future (fictional) and the second video is what you actually saw when on the ride as you chase Biff Tannin through time. Just take not that the ride itself, you sat in a 6 seat Delorean and it moved and rocked around, so it may lose some translation while your sitting on your butt.

If your not particularly interested in bonus features at all, and just watch the thing for the movie, then there is no reason to pick this version up. If you are like me, and love anything you can find of BTTF, you will enjoy this one. It's not just another cash-in release, it does actually have brand new features to enjoy.

Back to the Future is one of those movies that you love to watch over and over again. You get so involved in the story, that (even if you aren't a sci-fi fan) you can't stop watching. Michael J. Fox is Marty McFly, a typical teenager who accidentally gets sent back to the year 1955 in Doc Brown's (Cristopher Loyd) time machine. There, he has to repair the damamge he has done by bringing his parents bac together and then of course get "Back to the Future. Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson are a wonderful supporting cast. Unfortunatey, this movie has been out of print for quite some time now. Amazon, PLEASE GET IT BACK! It hasn't even made it to DVD yet. If you ever get a chance to buy this movie then do it, it's worth every penny.

"Back to the future" was the most successful film of the year 1985, and it is not hard to imagine why. This gloriously entertaining movie is still director Robert Zemeckis' best film to date.

The story itself is hardly original, but how it is told is outstanding. Not only that this film is funny, it succeeds in creating a certain atmosphere that is hard to describe. An atmosphere that you can feel and which distinguishes good movies from classics. You really connect with all the characters on screen. Michael J. Fox was born to play this role and Christopher Lloyd is simply sensationel as Doc Brown. They both will always be remembered because of this film. But let's not forget the supporting cast. Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover and of course Thomas F. Wilson are all the perfect choice for their parts. The score by Alan Silvestri and the Songs by Huey Lewis also became classics.

Each time someone asks me which movies I find the most entertaining of all time, I mention titles like: "Raiders of the Lost ark", "The Empire Strikes Back", some early Marx Brothers movies, "Pulp Fiction", and for sure "Back to the Future".

This is one of my favorite movies. Michael J. Fox plays Marty McFly, who accidentally gets sent back in time from 1985 to 1955 in a time machine that also happens to be a DeLorean automobile. The problem is to get enough of an electrical charge to get back to 1985, while leaving 1955 as it was. In the process, Marty meets his parents, jeopardizes their relationship, and risks his own existance. Marty McFly is the part Fox was born to play, but there are other great performances here, as well. Christopher Lloyd is excellent as "Doc" Brown, and Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas Wilson also help to make this a very entertaining movie. There is an extra attraction here for those of us who can remember the 1950's, and some of the gags based on Fox's out-of-time character are classic. Check out Marty playing "Johnnie B. Goode" as a bandmember holds up the phone so his "cousin", Chuck Berry, can listen and learn. This is not the cleverest or most sophisticated comedy around, but it is definitely great fun. I've watched it many times and expect to watch it many more. If you haven't got a copy, try to pick one up. You won't be sorry.

The following specs will be included in this re-release, according to [...]:

Disc 1:
The Making of Back to the Future
Making the Trilogy: Chapter One
Q&A with Director Robert Zemeckis and Producer Bob Gale
Enhanced Conversation with Michael J. Fox
Feature Commentary with Producers Bob Gale and Neil Canton
Deleted Scenes
Outtakes
Did You Know That? Universal Animated Anecdotes
Original Makeup Tests
Production Archives
Excerpts from the Original Screenplay
Theatrical Teaser Trailer
Cast & Filmmakers
Production Notes
DVD-ROM Features Including Total Axess
Recommendations
Special Announcements


Disc 2:
Back to the Future...The Ride
Looking Back to the Future
Back to the Future Night
Michael J. Fox Q&A

For the bonus features, I will double dip for this special edition. I don't want to wait for the Blu-ray (which, of course, I will buy at the time of release as well). For $[...], I don't mind the double-dip so much.

Next year, Back to the Future is being re-released on video. No word yet on whether it will be on DVD. The other two are still available on video. The last time I checked it was being re-released some time early 2000, it was supposed to be released in the fall of 99 but they decided to push it off. Jerks. Anyway, my mother found a copy of it in Denver for me (like new) and I was watching it this afternoon. No matter what year it is, the movie still rocks. It is the only movie I know that deals with time travel in a humorous yet surprisingly realistic manner for the 80s. If you can find it--buy it. Otherwise, don't fret, it's coming soon!

Robert Zemeckis' excellent film starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd is one of my favourite movies of all time. Why? Well what's not to like? The time-travelling duo of Marty McFly (Fox) and Doctor Emmet Brown (Lloyd) is brilliant; Director Zemeckis (Who went on to direct two more BTTF films, Forrest Gump, What Lies Beneath and Castaway) and screenwriter Bob Gale pepper the film with sharp, witty lines (Marty McFly: Wait a minute, Doc. Ah... Are you telling me you built a time machine... out of a DeLorean? Doctor Emmet Brown: The way I see it, if you're gonna build a time machine into a car, why not do it with some style?)

Back to the Future has so many clever moments and a sense of fun throughout the film. Michael J. Fox is excellent, and Christopher Lloyd is in trademark crazy scientist mode. Add Alan Silverstris' memorable score, Spielberg's nice homage's- the theatre in 1955 when Marty goes back in time is showing a double bill: "A Boy's Life" (the working title for Spielberg, Steven's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial), and "Watch the Skies" (the working title for Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). The film, when it was released got excellent reviews, and became the biggest box-office hit of 1985. The sequels are great too, but this is still the best, and the most inventive.

I'm counting down the days till the DVD is released...

I find it confusing that I can walk into a DVD store (such as Circuit City or SunCoast), and find tons and tons of DVD movies of lame stuff I could care less about filling the shelves. However, imaginative box-office smashes like Back to The Future do not find their way to one of the most advanced home entertainment technologies available to the public right now, DVD. What is wrong with this picture?!

"Back to the future" is a lesson in movie-making. The script is really good, the director (Zemeckis) does what is expected of him, and the cast is perfect for the characters. Christopher Lloyd has just the right mad-scientist face to fit Doc Brown, Michael J. Fox is the eternal teenager always unconsciously falling in some kind of trouble, Crispin Glover is the likable idiot by the hilarious name of McFly (Hey McFly!), Lea Thompson is the pretty girl transformed in a fat an alcoholic mother.

The story is the best in time traveling: what would happen if you went back in time and prevented your parents from knowing each other? It's a question everybody makes sooner or later, and "Back to the future" answers it in a brilliant way. The catastrophic nature of young Marty McFly is a hook for lots of good jokes and scenes through the whole movie. The best scene is the one where he threatens his future father with a possible brain-melting if he doesn't invite his future mother for the ball.

Ah, and let's not forget the vehicle. The DeLorean, which is also the time-machine is a beautiful car, and has a strange story of its own.

Some of the dialogue and the scenes are forever impressed in my mind.

What happened to the actress Claudia Wells, Marty's girlfriend Jennifer in the first movie?

The other two movies in the series are also very good, but this one is the best, and one of the most entertaining movies I've ever watched.

Grade 9.8/10

It is now official the dvd we have all been waiting for will be released on december 17th.The dvd will have all three back to the future movies in a box set trilogy.Only the first one will be able to buy alone.All three dvds will feature commentary by the director and stars,deleted scenes,and making of's.