This year marks the 30th anniversary of the film Back to the Future. The film was released on July 3, 1985 and starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, and Lea Thompson. Back to the Future spawned two more sequels, an animated series, a theme park ride, several video games, and a forthcoming musical. Since it is the 30th anniversary, allow us to examine ten fascinating facts about the series.
Fact #1
The time machine was originally conceived as a refrigerator rather than a car.
Fact #2
John Lithgow, Dudley Moore, and Jeff Goldblum were all considered for the role of Doc Brown.
Fact #3
Einstein, Doc Brown’s dog, was a chimpanzee in the original script.
Fact #4
One of Biff’s goons is a pre-fame Billy Zane.
Fact #5
There’s a nod to Stanley Kubrick in Doc’s garage. The amplifier has a CRM114 label, which is the name of a piece of radio equipment in Doctor Strangelove.
Fact #6
Michael J. Fox is three years older than screen dad Crispin Glover.
Fact #7
The time between completion of shooting and the film’s release was just ten weeks.
Fact #8
Despite the sci-fi subject, there are only 32 effects shots in the whole movie.
Fact #9
The judge at the band auditions who tells Marty he’s “too darn loud” is actually Huey Lewis, who contributed two songs to the soundtrack.
Fact #10
Apparently Ronald Reagan was amused by Doc Brown’s disbelief that an actor like him could become president. He also seemed to enjoy it so much that he referenced the film in his 1986 State of the Union address.
Back To The Future was acknowledged as the 10th best film in AFI’s Top 10 movies in the science fiction genre. The masterpiece was re-released in theaters for one day only on October 21, 2015. This installment of the franchise chose the now famous DeLorean DMC-12 because the gullwing doors made the car look like a UFO. Overall, Back To The Future stands as a classic piece of cinema.