Retrospective Film Review

Back to the Future (1985) • 35 Years Later

A high school student is accidentally sent 30 years into the past in a time-travelling DeLorean, where he meets his parents as teenagers.

One of the most beloved films of the 1980s, Robert Zemeckis’ Back to the Future has stood the test of time. 35 years since it dominated the summer of 1985, this science-fiction adventure still has passionate fans whose enthusiasm hasn’t dimmed. It’s the high point of a trilogy where good sequels didn’t sour its memory, and it’s avoided being remade because everyone knows that’s a pointless exercise. Back to the Future exhibits perfect filmmaking alchemy, albeit with one setback involving the lead actor…

The genesis of Back to the Future began around 1980 when screenwriter Bob Gale, who had just produced and co-written Used Cars (1980) with his friend Robert Zemeckis, found his parent’s high school yearbook in their basement. He wondered if he’d have been friends with his own father in high school, and after telling Zemeckis about his find they started to imagine the dramatic…