UAIOE

Worst post ever!!!!

PacMan2006

Jack, When he was in the past, he had to go back to the future to get to his present. If he's in the past, that means Marty's present it also technically in the future.

Another thing I want to point out, I thought the special effects and superimposing of two characters who were played by the same actor were implemented REALLY well for a movie that is...what....ten years old, right? I was really surprised that it held up so well.

PacMan2006

I wanted to bump this thread to ask a specific question after rewatching these movies for the first time since I created this thread in 2003.

For those old enough to have seen the trilogy in the theaters in the 80s...what was the overall impression of how BTTF2 presented 2015? Did you watch it thinking it was over the top and silly? Did you think a lot of what was on-screen might be possible in the future? Or did you just enjoy the imagination of Zemeckis' 2015, but didn't have a definitive opinion either way?

Also, I've only seen these movies twice each now, but really, really enjoyed them. I was too young to have any memory of these whatsoever (born in 83), but I can tell that this is one trilogy I sort of wish I was old enough to have experienced in the theater. In fact, my nostalgia with BTTF is much more tied to the Universal Studios ride, which I *LOVED* for years without having seen a single frame of BTTF. So I'm sort of experiencing these films in a backwards order, but loving the creativity and energy they had regardless.

And I think the effects still hold up quite well, actually, especially in how the multiple Marty's interacted and with each other.

E Unit

Damn, now that is quite a thread bump.


As a child who grew up in the 80's, I distinctly remember for the most part a lot of what we saw on screen was so damn cool and were just excited that this was what would be coming to us in the future. Fuck you very much Zemeckis. I jest...a little. I was too young to appreciate that it was his vision of the future, from plausible to silly, but now when watching it with my kid (as I first showed her a few weekends ago), I have to really hand it to Speilberg and Zemeckis for giving us what is arguably one of the most iconic film (and sequels to an extent) in Hollywood history.

And your comment about being more tied to the ride than the movies just freaked me out. I totally forgot there was even a ride (never been on it), so for you to be tied to that more than the movies is pretty out there. Maybe in time, you'll be more inclined to be tied to the movies. Especially the first one.

iggystar

I was in my late teens during BTTF2. I can't recall how plausible I felt 2015 was presented, but I knew we'd be getting a hoverboard by 2015!

We have three years yet!

Jules Winfield

I was ten so the vision of 2015 seemed plausible to me but then I also didn't really give it any thought.

P.S.-I'm dissappointed we're not gonna make it to Jaws 19 by 2015.

kgrogers1979

Some of the things the movie did get right. The scene where Marty plays the Hogan's Alley arcade game, and some kids laugh and call it a baby's toy because you have to use your hands... well there are video games now that are played without using your hands.

resinrats

There are some companies purposly making stuff from BTTF2. The Power Laces have been made & Mattel is putting out a Hoverboard replica.

Crocker Jarmen

I was really facsinated by the future stuff in part II. I would have been 10 or 11 back in '89, so 2015 seemed really far in the future. It was significanly further away than I had been alive, so I couldn't even imagine how far it was, it might as well have been 75 years.

I liked that things didn't seem too far out. I thought it was a realistic, reasonable projection Surely been then there would be hover cars and mechanical clothing and dehydrated food.

I also seem to recall the general feeling when the movie came out was people were disappointed. I remember the audience groaning at the "To Be Continued" at the end and going WTF when the trailer for Part 3 started playing before the end credits. I thought it was fantastic, and for the first time felt smarter then my father who didn't understand the timelines between 2015 and the alternate 1985.

I still love this movie. It really is a special sequel. As well as being funny, inventive and exciting, it is also a wonderful parody of movie serquel. Often a sequel to a popular movie tries to engender good will by winking back to the first one; repeating jokes, brining back characters... and in Part 2 they literally go back to those famous scenes from the first one. Wonderful stuff.

Infact, looking over this thread really makes me want to watch one of these movies again right now.

TheBang

Reading this thread made me go back and watch the creepy kid from Part 3:

Greg MacGuffin

The only thing that sort of bugs me is how old and decrepit Future Marty and Future Jennifer look. I haven't seen it in a few years, but the last time I watched it I remember thinking they really overdid the old-age makeup.

Michael Corvin

^ Maybe but you're taking two 18 year olds and making them 48. I think they did okay.

My Other Self

They were both 47. They looked right for the age. I always liked the line in the alley after the cops found 1985-Jennifer:

"47?! That's a hell of a good face-lift!"

I didn't "get in to" the BTTF Trilogy until the mid-90s. I got on sort of a kick somehow, and the first thing I got was a BTTF Part II tape at a flea market. I don't remember being particularly wowed, but this was only say 6 or 7 years after BTTF2 was theatrically released. Needless to say I've been a pretty obsessive fan since, but since I wasn't born until 1986 I don't have any first hand memories.

I've always wanted to go to a "Back to Back to Back" screening that pops up from time to time. Last one was in 2006 in LA to benefit MJF's Parkinson's Foundation. That seems like it'd be fun. I did get to see the first one on the big screen twice -- once in a retro screening with an original 1985 print and again during the theatrical re-release in October 2010.

kgrogers1979

Its not even close. They look like they are in their late 60s in the movie, not their late 40s.

What they looked like in Back to the Future at age 47:




Michael J Fox in 2011 (age 50):




Elisabeth Shue in 2007 (age 44):

My Other Self

Your attempt to correct me failed. That's Michael J. Fox (who looks like a hard-worked 47-year old) and Lea Thompson, not Elisabeth Shue.

The character of Marty was in a car accident in 1985 which in no doubt played in to effect on his future self. He wasn't able to continue a music career which, according to Bob Gale, had led the character in to a depression and a rough relationship for him and Jennifer. That, along with working a shitty job, two loser children, and being a wuss his whole life.. has him aged about right.

Look, I'm not going to explain all the ins and outs and all that annoying fanboy shit like you do but stop trying so damn hard to be fucking correct about everything.

kgrogers1979

Yeah, I realized it wasn't old Jennifer until I had already posted it, and finding a screenshot of old Jennifer took more work but here it is.




Also, you do realize that Michael J Fox hasn't had a particularly easy life in real life either what with Parkinson's and all that, right? But he still didn't age as poorly as the movie shows. They look like they are in their 60s, not 40s, in the movie.

Drexl

Right, but they were implying that not using your hands would be the normal way games are played. Kinect is still kind of a novelty. At least, I hope we're not headed to a gaming future without any real controllers at all.

My Other Self

No, I had absolutely no idea. My mentioning of his Parkinson's Foundation in my initial post that you attempted to correct was in reference to something else.

kgrogers1979

To be fair, I couldn't get over the absurdity of thinking the make-up looked anything at all like a 47 year old, so I just skimmed the rest of your post and didn't catch it.

My Other Self

In this case it's left to the eye of the beholder. I know people that have looked much, much worse -- even at 45 -- because of the type of life they lived. Fuck, look at Lindsay Lohan now. She's my age and she looks twice that easy.

They may have stretched the imagination but the reason he looks so old and weathered, besides what Gale said about his life being in shambles, is to give the viewer an indication that he leads a pretty shitty existence. And he does. It all goes back to the notion that your future is what you make of it, so with Jennifer seeing how old and beat they both are (Jennifer alone passes out at how haggard she looks), its motivation for them to change their lives.

We're taking about a film series that's main plot point is time travel and how certain events can change the past and present. I can accept the writers explanation or them looking that weathered.

kgrogers1979

Its a common misconception that living a hard life makes you physically age faster. Stress can kill you; it can cause heart attacks and strokes and such, but it doesn't make you age any faster than normal. The whole thing about kids making parents so stressed that they get gray hair is just an old wives tale and nothing more. It's not actually true.

People like Lindsay Lohan that look much older than they should are that way because of drugs. Drugs will seriously fuck you up.

brayzie

I saw it on video when I was 6 and thought it was the best movie ever! When I watched it as a rental video and when it said, "to be continued..." I thought that I just had to wait and the rest of the movie would start back up again. When it the tape went to the very end I was pretty perplexed.

Later I saw the sequel in theaters and it was a memorable experience. Seeing the future was fun. I also saw Part 3 in theaters, and while I still liked the characters, I didn't like the western storyline. I preferred the 50s more.

Overall though it's a great movie.

rw2516

Saw all three when first released. I was 31 when BTTF2 was released. At the time thought all the future stuff were comedy gags. Let's come up with goofy future stuff that's funny. Still do.

majorjoe23

How easy do you look?

But thinking people I'm their late 40s don't look like that is silly. I met a guy the other day I would've sworn was 50. Turns out he was 39.

Plus, they'll find out in 2018 that rehydrated Pizza Hut pizzas age you terribly.

Pizza

Make up does suck. I don't see the big deal in you pointing that out.
I agree that they look way older than 47. That always bothered me too. The only justification I can give it is that it's a comedy and they were trying too hard to distinguish the two Martys. It's because of that sequence that I hate BTTF2. I love 1 and 2.