Back to the Future

Synopsis
A massive success upon its 1985 release, BACK TO THE FUTURE has since become a bona fide classic--Robert Zemeckis’s time-travel adventure has spawned sequels, theme park rides, and even a mention in Ronald Reagan’s 1986 State of the Union address. Michael J. Fox stars as Marty McFly, a restless '80s teen who takes a ride in Doc Brown’s (Christopher Lloyd) "flux capacitor"-rigged DeLorean and ends up in 1955. Once on the ground, Marty meets his teenaged mother (Lea Thompson) and accidentally wins her affections, thereby threatening the relationship she’s supposed to form with his father (the delightfully geeky Crispin Glover). Now it’s a do-or-never-be-born situation: Marty must get his parents to fall in love before Doc Brown can send him back to the proper decade.

BACK TO THE FUTURE remains one of the rare family films that enjoyed both critical and box office success, and garnered a permanent spot in the pop-culture lexicon thanks to highly-quotable dialogue. The picture garnered both Golden Globe and Oscar nods (though it lost Best Original Screenplay to WITNESS), and continues to rank as one of the top-100 highest grossing films of all time.

Production Notes
Estimated budget: $22 million.

BACK TO THE FUTURE grossed more than $80 million at the domestic box office and more than $240 million worldwide.

Michael J. Fox's middle name is Jello. His parents let him pick his own middle name at the age of two.

Reviews
"...Takes [a] sweet, ingenious premise and really runs with it....[Zemeckis] will be spinning funny, whimsical tall tales for a long time to come..." (New York Times)

"...BACK TO THE FUTURE accelerates with wit, ideas and infectious, wide-eyed wonder..." (Variety)

5 stars out of 5 -- "Robert Zemeckis' popcorn classic combines watertight scripting with broad but brilliant performances, all held together by Fox's stumbling charm." (Total Film)