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He was never in time for his classes… He wasn’t in time for his dinner… Then one day… he wasn’t in his time at all.

Back to the Future, USA, 1985. Directed by R. Zemeckis, written with B. Gale. With Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson. Original music by A. Silvestri. Length: 116′. Rated: PG.

Marty is quite the normal guy. He often arrives late for school and his girlfriend is much in love with him. His best friend, though, is a scientist, dr. Brown, who’s latest invention is a car that can travel trough time. Just when Brown is about to try it, he gets shot by some terrorists whom he tricked into getting the plutonium he needed for the car to run; so Marty, trying to run away, gets 30 years in the past instead. There, he will find his parents not yet in love and a very young dr. Brown, his only chance to go “back to the future”!

Man has always been fascinated by time and amazed by the possibility to travel trough it. Though this is not the first movie picturing this piece of machinery, Steven Spielberg produces a movie which is not simply dealing with time traveling, but also with time disorder, which might be more difficult to manage. And to supervise this huge work, he chooses a director with little movie experience (but with great talent and a bright future ahead), Robert Zemeckis. With him, the writer spot is filled by Bob Gale, whom Zemeckis had already worked with. Well, we can say that, after this one, there is no surprise in their capability of creating a huge number of great movies. Gale’s screenplay is really precise and balanced, with a comedian style that can, at time, turn into a dramatic one without the audience perception. Marty and dr. Brown are indeed the two main characters, and they are indeed well characterized, but the great merit of the writing is building up a story where, apart from an almost perfect scheme of references between one time and the other, all the characters have a role and are, in some way, important; from the coffee clerk to the jazz band, quotes and phrases all have their weight in the story-telling.

At this time, Zemeckis performs a very controlled direction, with academic frames and takes. At the same time, though, he always gets in the right spot to describe the action, most of the times getting very close to the action not to loose a single moment of it, just as he was filming a documentary. Indeed a great work, well repaid by a great outcome.

It’s now the time to talk about the cast. The ensemble, as said before, performs really well, as everybody have an important role to do and they all do it well. Some words have to be spent though on the two main characters. Christopher Lloyd, or else dr. Brown, had a number of works before this one. Just as a note, his first appearance was in “Someone Flew Over the Cockoo’s Nest” next to that stunning Jack Nicholson. Can somebody with a debut like this be disappointing? Not at all. Being a mad scientist can be seen as an ‘easy’ role, as many people picturing this types have had a lot of success; but that is because, more often than not, the producers get the right actor. In this case, the choice was more than exact. With is great facial expressions and a natural talent for acting, Lloyd gives one memorable acting performance, so that, today, the movie is remembered especially thanks to his character. A good performance is also Michael J. Fox’s, even if not convincing as his partner’s. Despite his young age, he really had many appearances before being chosen for this memorable role. Nonetheless, he doesn’t seem as he had this experience and his comparable to any other first-timer in great movies, such as Dan Aykroyd in “The Blues Brothers”. Epic role, but improvable acting.

Another historical companion of Gale & Zemeckis, Alan Silvestri, was chosen to write the soundtrack. And, even if there isn’t a catchy main theme, the work is still good. I must say, a bit old fashioned in some climaxes, but, as a viewer today, I really can’t complain.

A masterpiece, indubitably, in the sci-fi genre but also for the history of cinema, which Spielberg always marks with his state-of-the-art ideas.

 

DOWNLOAD REVIEW IN PDF: Back To The Future, 1985

LEGGI LA RECENSIONE IN ITALIANO: Ritorno al Futuro – Recensione