It’s been 40 years since Michael J. Fox’s Marty McFly took the wheel of the DeLorean in one of the most iconic moments in cinema history.
But as the era it defined disappears quickly from the rear-view mirror, Back To The Future’s popularity only grows, gaining a new fanbase among science-fiction-mad children and nostalgic parents.
Boasting a 93 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and ranking 11th on Empire’s Greatest Movies, the time-travel movie has become a certified classic with a 4K revamp premiered to great fanfare in 2019.
The film is not flawless, however, and as it enters its fifth decade – and indeed reaches the 70th anniversary of the 1955 America to which Marty travelled – obsessives have spotted ever more examples of fakery in its production.
From dodgy car parts to hopelessly lost extras, the pioneering sci-fi flick has become prey for nit-picking 21st century film buffs.
But how many Back To The Future fails, fakes and fumbles did you spot?
It’s been 40 years since Michael J. Fox’s Marty McFly took the wheel of the DeLorean in sci-fi classic Back To The Future
The film is not flawless, however, and as it enters its fifth decade, obsessives have spotted ever more examples of fakery in its production
From dodgy car parts to hopelessly lost extras, how many Back To The Future fails, fakes and fumbles did you spot?
Marty’s wardrobe switch
Not only does he get to the bottom of time travel in the 1985 classic, but Marty also seems to possess the extraordinary skill of seamlessly changing clothes mid-scene.
During his trip to 1950s California, the teenager discovers that his father George’s nasty supervisor Biff Tannen was bullying his old man even then.
Hoping to change the course of history, Marty pursues his car on that staple of 80s life – the skateboard.
He starts the chase wearing a black belt over some blue jeans, adding a red and blue patterned shirt with a red and gold jacket.
But by the time he’s clinging on to Biff’s VERY 50s car, the protagonist – or rather his stunt double – has slipped into a tan shirt and even changed his belt to a light brown number.
During his trip to 1950s California, the teenager is wearing a black belt over some blue jeans, adding a red and blue patterned shirt with a red and gold jacket
But by the time he’s clinging on to villain Biff’s VERY 50s car, the protagonist – or rather his stunt double – has slipped into a tan shirt and even changed his belt to a light brown number
A strange sign
Staying in 1955, Marty soon realises his actions are having a perverse effect on the future, including the fact his mother Lorraine becomes attracted to him instead of his father.
He must get back – hence the title – but to achieve this he needs to return to the DeLorean and recalibrate it to arrive 10 minutes before he was shown how to time travel by Emmett ‘Doc’ Brown in 1985.
Following Doc’s instructions, Marty drives the vehicle up to the ‘start here’ line which is noticeably filthy with its white paint heavily faded.
He then hops out of the car to attach the hook pole as he gears up to return to the world he knew.
But once the teen is out of the DeLorean, the words become perfectly clear as if a fresh lick of paint has been applied. Even stranger, when he gets back in again, the line is deteriorated and dirty once more.
Marty realises he must get back to 1985 so he drives the DeLorean up to the ‘start here’ line which is noticeably filthy with its white paint heavily faded
But once the teen is out of the car, the words become perfectly clear as if a fresh lick of paint has been applied
Playing with fire
Back to the time machine’s thrilling origin story early in the film and it turns out the DeLorean scenes caused issues before it even zoomed off to the 50s.
After the eccentric Doc reveals to Marty that he has worked out how to time travel, with the help of some plutonium stolen from Libyan terrorists, he gives the teen a demonstration.
Zooming one minute into the future, the car leaves a trail of fire much to the amazement of a stunned Marty.
The iconic scene is captured from three angles and in the second the blaze can be seen passing neatly through both characters’ legs.
But as the pair turn around and the camera cuts, the fire is blazing to the left of Doc, suggesting the flames have moved through him or he has stepped across them – either of which would be rather painful.
After the eccentric Doc reveals to Marty that he has worked out how to time travel, the car leaves a trail of fire which can be seen passing neatly through both characters’ legs
But as the pair turn around and the camera cuts, the fire is blazing to the left of Doc, suggesting the flames have moved through him or he has stepped across them…Painful!
Are we recording?
This one’s a bit meta, involving a continuity error that’s within a film that’s within a film…I think.
As Doc is explaining how the DeLorean works after first being introduced, Marty is taping a video to document the extraordinary moment.
Things don’t quite line up however and this comes to light when the 80s kid shows his time travelling friend the clip in 1955.
Doc can clearly be heard saying, ‘Never mind that now, never mind that now’, a line he certainly utters in the original scene – but at a point when Marty is not filming, instead holding the camera by his side.
Either way, the video serves to persuade Doc that the teenager has, in fact, arrived from the future and that they must go back to 1985 to change the course of history (or future?)
As Doc is explaining how the DeLorean works after first being introduced, Marty is taping a video to document the extraordinary moment but it doesn’t quite line up when reshown in 1955
Going for a wander
Considering Back To The Future was a remarkable special effects feat for its time, there are surprisingly few errors in the way it was filmed.
Add in the fact that producers hired hundreds of extras to give the impression that Hill Valley was a real town, and it becomes even more astonishing.
But if you look hard enough for a blunder, then you’re sure to find one and this particular issue is courtesy of a seemingly lost cast member.
The man in question, wearing a brown jacket, is first spotted going round a corner as Marty’s high school crush Jennifer is being picked up by her father. Seconds later, he is seen turning round the same corner again.
Cars do strange things in this film, including apparently sending members of the public back a few seconds in time.
One extra, wearing a brown jacket (pictured, top right), is going round a corner as Marty’s high school crush Jennifer is being picked up. Seconds later, he is turning round the same corner
Whose role is it anyway?
Michael J. Fox became one of the world’s most famous faces overnight with his star turn as Marty in back To The Future, but things could have been so different.
Having already made waves with an assured performance as Alex P. Keaton in NBC sitcom Family Ties, Michael was the first choice but the show’s producer would not allow him off the set to read the script.
Producers opted, instead, for Mask star Eric Stoltz to play the protagonist and the early scenes were filmed with the replacement actor.
Director Robert Zemeckis quickly realised that Eric was not the man for the job and, having entered into an agreement with chief executive Sidney Sheinberg allowing him to refilm if this was the case, the actor was booted.
The crew painstakingly reshot Eric’s scenes – apart from one. When Marty is fleeing the Libyan terrorists who gun Doc down early in the film, Eric is the one in the car making the getaway, not Michael.
The shot is such a distant one that few end up spotting the rejected actor’s face – top marks if you noticed Eric appearing in the future.
When Marty is fleeing the Libyan terrorists who gun Doc down early in the film, Eric Stolz – initially cast as the teen – is the one in the car making the getaway, not Michael J. Fox
In the opening scene, Marty is trying out Doc’s mega-amplifier as he practices for a gig, setting up his passion for guitar and that Johnny B. Goode performance later on
The exciteable teen turns the dials all the way up to full before plugging his Gibson into the amp, playing one explosive chord and, with a spark of fire, being flung across the room
But some viewers reckon he should have had his comeuppance moments earlier. The instant he plugged the cable into guitar’s output jack would have likely created a tremendous noise
Going out with a bang
In the opening scene, Marty is trying out Doc’s mega-amplifier as he practices for a gig, setting up his passion for guitar and that Johnny B. Goode performance later on.
The exciteable teen turns the dials all the way up to full before plugging his Gibson into the amp, playing one explosive chord and, with a spark of fire, being flung across the room into a bookcase.
Lesson learned, you’d think. But some viewers reckon he should have had his comeuppance moments earlier.
The instant he plugged the cable into guitar’s output jack would have likely created a tremendous noise, increased by the amp being maxed out, resulting in a burst eardrum – or worse – before the young rocker even had the chance to play a note.
Indeed, this can happen even at lower volumes, meaning that any guitarist who wants a long career quickly learns to plug the cable in before switching the amplifier on. Word to the wise, Marty.
Also, much lighter items than the teenager, including boxes and rolls of paper, did not get flung across the room when the sound rung out, but this just adds to the comic nature of the iconic scene.
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