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Movies / On DVD / Back to the Future
Back to the Future

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Back to the Future (1985)

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Reviews Counted:45

Fresh:43

Rotten:2

Average Rating:8.3/10

Consensus: Romantic, funny, and action-packed, Back to the Future is rousing entertainment for all ages.

Runtime: 1 hr 58 mins

Genre: Comedies

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... 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. [More]

Starring: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover

Starring: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, Thomas F. Wilson

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Director: Robert Zemeckis

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Back to the Future

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z; UK critics are listed first)
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It's undeniably formulaic but so outstandingly executed that it vindicates the formula.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
01/01/00
William Gallagher
William Gallagher
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

To put it bluntly: if you don't like Back To The Future, it's difficult to believe that you like films at all.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
05/05/08
Adam Smith
Adam Smith
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Amongst the finest family films of the 1980s.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
05/05/08
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The movie has all the benign good nature of a Frank Capra.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An unqualified success, boasting an incredibly sharp screenplay and tons of appeal.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
09/23/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

One of the most beloved movies of the Eighties.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
03/10/03
Marjorie Baumgarten
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle

An unusual time travel flick about a gifted match-maker.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
08/22/04
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

This is one of those movies that folds in on itself, and reveals perfect symmetry.

Full Review Source: Film Written Magazine | comment Comment
10/07/01
Shay Casey
Shay Casey
Film Written Magazine

Shows not only a fine comic touch but also some of the lighthearted humanism of a Frank Capra.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Equal parts hilarity, nostalgia, science fiction, screwball comedy, and white-knuckle suspense in a complex storyline wound tighter than a yo-yo in a centrifuge.

Full Review Source: Decent Films Guide | comment Comment
10/10/05
Steven D. Greydanus
Steven D. Greydanus
Decent Films Guide

So busy being clever that it trips over its own ingenuity.

comment 7 Comments
01/01/00
John Hartl
John Hartl
Film.com

Probably the most carefully-scripted blockbuster in Hollywood history.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
02/25/09
Eric Henderson
Eric Henderson
Slant Magazine

Director Robert Zemeckis confronts the oedipal heart of the time-travel genre with this zestfully tasteless 1985 tale about a teenager (Michael J. Fox) who is projected back to 1955 and then must arrange the romance of his parents.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
02/26/07
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader

I know it hasn't been accepted into any serious film canon and that, at best, people will call it a great popcorn movie, but having just watched it for about the tenth time, I can not refrain my feeling that this is a bona fide masterpiece.

Full Review Source: Montreal Film Journal | comment Comment
09/10/02
Kevin N. Laforest
Kevin N. Laforest
Montreal Film Journal

Thompson's funny, carnal performance forces us all to face an ugly truth: once, our moms might have been prowling teens too.

Full Review Source: LarsenOnFilm | comment Comment
03/01/09
Josh Larsen
Josh Larsen
LarsenOnFilm

Mr. Zemeckis is able both to keep the story moving and to keep it from going too far. He handles Back to the Future with the kind of inventiveness that indicates he will be spinning funny, whimsical tall tales for a long time to come.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/20/03
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A classic adventure that holds up perfectly today.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
09/16/06
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

Good clean family fun even as the ultimate Oedipal wish.

Full Review Source: Sci-Fi Movie Page | comment Comment
01/01/00
James O'Ehley
James O'Ehley
Sci-Fi Movie Page

Fox's portrayal of a character with whom all ages can empathize is central to the film's timeless and magical allure.

Full Review Source: Internet Reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Steve Rhodes
Steve Rhodes
Internet Reviews

Performances by the earnest Fox, the lunatic Lloyd, the deceptively passionate Lea Thompson, and, particularly, the bumbling-to-confident Glover, who runs away with the picture, merrily keep the ship sailing.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
05/05/08
Variety Staff
Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z; UK critics are listed first)
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all

Latest News for Back to the Future

March 31, 2009: The Legacy of The Matrix
1999 was one of the most important years for modern cinema. Ten years on, we're celebrating a remarkable twelve months of movies with new features around some of the year's best... More...

September 04, 2007: Back to the Future Ride Now a Thing of the Past
If you've been waiting for just the right time to hop in Doc Brown's eight-passenger De Lorean and help him bring Biff Tannen to justice, it's no longer as simple as heading to... More...

December 19, 2006: McG Spills a Little Oil on "Hot Wheels"
While out drumming up some publicity for his new drama "We Are Marshall," director McG (I think his real name is Joe McGinty McNichol or something) was (of course)... More...

May 02, 2006: Gondry and Jack Black Promise to "Rewind"
Director Michel Gondry and professional goofball Jack Black will soon be collaborating on a rather bizarre-sounding high-concept comedy called "Be Kind Rewind," the... More...

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