Back in Time

Greetings again from the darkness. Thirty years is an eternity in the filmmaking world. Only a few dozen movies even get a cable run in year two. So, it's worth noting, and maybe even magical, when a movie is beloved and worshiped by a rabid fan base some three decades after release. Such is the case with Back to the Future, the story of Marty McFly and Dr. Emmett Brown and their time-traveling escapades. First time director Jason Aron offers up a look at the BTTF community of fans, and some behind-the-scenes scoop from those involved.

Talking heads abound in the first part of the movie, as we see and hear from the masterminds of the classic: Robert Zemekis and Bob Gale, as well as Michael J Fox, Lea Thompson, Steven Spielberg, Huey Lewis, Christopher Lloyd, Claudia Wells, Alan Silvestri, Dean Cundey, Dan Harmon, Frank Price and others. Very little new information is served up, and in fact Mr. Zemekis doesn't seem especially excited to be involved, whereas Mr. Gale seems quite pleased and comfortable with his role in film history. The best "making of" anecdotes come from Michael J Fox, though it is interesting to note just how difficult it was for the film to get studio backing – "time travel" movies didn't have a successful box office track record.

The middle third of the movie is dedicated to the iconic Delorean car, and all that entails. This sequence would have been effective were it completed in 10 minutes, but instead it brings the film's flow to a dead stop. Sure, it's amazing that this many have a hobby related to this obscure car and its role in a classic film, but enough already!

Fan-based clubs and the accuracy of the film's "future" predictions for 2015 make up the final third of the run time, as we get a glimpse of how close we are to real hover boards and flying cars. The question that seems unanswered is just who is this film aimed at? Most of the insight has been long ago discussed in DVD "bonus" coverage or previous interviews with the key players. The fan communities are certainly of interest if one is part of it, but the vast majority of those who have held the film close to their heart for 30 years care little for the obsessive fringes, and only for the emotions and imagination delivered by the film that needs no roads.

As a die hard BTTF fan I was pretty excited for this. I contributed to the Kickstarter campaign based off the trailer, which looked amazing. With all the coverage the trilogy was getting this year and especially in October, I thought finally viewing this would be a great way to cap it all off. Unfortunately, it left me pretty disappointed.

The marquee names involved are obviously great, but way too much time is spent on random fans and contributors. It's hard to believe that what we see in the final piece is the best they got out of the interviews with Fox, Lloyd, and Thompson; all of which appear on screen for a total of maybe 10 minutes total.

There are a few nice anecdotes and facts sprinkled throughout but overall the surface barely gets scratched on the depth of not only the movies themselves, but also the incredibly devoted subculture that has been generated over the years. To be fair, I am an above average fan so I know or am at least aware of the more behind the scenes stories and facts. However, even for the regular person with just basic knowledge of the films the documentary leaves a lot of holes.

Storywise the editing is not good at all and very fragmented. For example, the first part (it's split into 2 very unequal parts for some unclear reason. Part 1 is about the move getting made) ends on the topic of the iconic delorean. Then we see a title card for "Part 2: The Fans", and for a minute or 2 they talk to some people, but then somehow the topic gets back to the delorean and into a pretty long exposition about people replicating the cars etc. Now sure, technically this is fans who build the cars, but there is so much of it there really should have been an entire section just about the car. Then, another part about the subculture of fans. I really saw no point at the attempt to segment the film into actual parts, of which there are only 2.

There are some really nice nuggets and stories in there—like the private owner who actually owns the delorean from part 3 and 4x4 from part 1. But overall this really fell flat for me which is a big shame. I contributed because of my love for the movies. And although I'm sure the director is a passionate fan, it may have been better left in the hands of experienced story tellers.

I was super excited to see this film being a kickstarter backer being a back to the future fan since seeing it as a teenager. (We will ignore the total failure to deliver digitally and physically the movie on time for backers for this review else it would loose another 4 marks).

The film is an enjoyable romp through the film but is decidedly flat in what it delivers. The first half like all these films just trawls over the making of etc. that has been done a thousand times over and seen in countless TV programs. I was hoping for more in depth analysis but that did not occur.

The second half of the film however is better talking to the fans, it's great to hear from other people with the same passions as you.

Overall it is worth a watch, but not something to keep going back to.

When this documentary came out (right around 10/21/2015, the date corresponding to when Marty explores his future in BTTF2), it was kind of touted as THE documentary to watch for BTTF fans. If you go into the experience with those kind of expectations, you will probably be disappointed, as that never seems to be the goal here. Instead, to really get the most out of the experience, you have to just sit back and relax, enjoying the fun little moments along the way.

What could have (and almost should have, to be honest) destroyed this documentary is the fact that it severely lacks any sense of focus. It meanders here and there, trying to cram in as many BTTF angles as possible. It wants to seriously evaluate the legacy of the film, and does a number of interviews with key cast/crew/writers...but then it also follows around a Delorean rider for awhile...and looks at some BTTF fan events...and takes time to ponder the overall significance of the film's legacies. There are a lot of irons in the fire, to put it mildly, and usually that is a recipe for documentary disaster.

Where "Back In Time" is able to pull through, however, is that many of those "odd little moments" are truly special and touching. For example...

-An interview with Donald Fullilove, who played Goldie Wilson in the first movie. Just seeing him again will bring a smile to your face! The same for James Tolkan (Mr. Strickland). -A scene in which a man proposes to his girlfriend at a BTTF showing...then is serenaded with "Earth Angel" by none other than Harry Waters Jr. himself. -A couple who restored an old Delorean and are now using it to raise money for the Parkinson's Foundation (the disease that currently afflicts Michael J. Fox).

Moments like that are why "Back In Time" is worth watching. It was never supposed to be a "comprehensive review" of the films, even if it seemed to be advertised as such. Instead, it's more of a peek into a few of the ways that the film trilogy has touched and inspired the lives of others.

Much like Star Wars (though not at quite that level, obviously), Back To The Future has becoming a cultural institution all its own. The films are watched, re-watched, and then passed on to the next generation to do the same. Even though we are now further into the future than Marty McFly himself actually traveled, it hasn't dulled their value whatsoever. "Back In Time" acknowledges of all that...and then takes "the back roads" in a search for unique and interesting ways in which the films have taken on a life of their own.

As such, once you realize what this documentary is/isn't supposed to be, you'll probably be able to enjoy it.

I was looking forward to putting my feet up and watching this bad boy while winding down the October 21st 2015 celebrations. It was to be the icing on the cake. I was saddened by the realization that it was little more than a re-hash of other, better documentaries and simply didn't pack that big a punch.

I was hoping for an in depth look at the trilogy but what I got was a skimmed version of the events that lead up to the production of the film with a few new anecdotes thrown in. They had most of the main players, who were all on top form of course but they didn't get into the nitty gritty. Questions STILL remain unanswered. Also, it would have been great to have included interviews with Eric Stoltz and Crispin Glover, so they could at least give their side of the story. It also irked me that they talked very little about the sequel and glossed over the third film entirely.

The music left me with a sense of melancholy and was, in my opinion, a poor choice. Lastly, there were no titles, which is fine in some instances but I noticed that when names and job titles were shown under the interviewees as they spoke it was via Netflix's subtitles interface - they weren't part of the film itself. The closing credits were missing all together. All you get is two minutes of music on black. This may be limited to the Netflix version but even still, this is a shoddy move.

It's worth a watch if you're new to the mythology surrounding the films but if, like me, you are a fan, give it a miss.