Back to the Future

Back to the Future (1985) made the name of its star, Michael J. Fox who, at the time was starring in the TV series Family Ties. Director Robert Zemeckis always thought Fox’s cheeky charm was perfect for the lead role of high school student Marty McFly but, because of Fox’s TV commitments, Eric Stoltz was origanally cast. But Zemeckis was unhappy with early rushes and persuaded Fox to take on the part, filming for TV by day and big screen by night and averaging only a couple of hours sleep a night. It paid off and Fox achieved instant stardom.

The story deals humorously with that staple of sci-fi – how interfering with the past can influence future events. In the film, McFly is thrown back from the 1980s to the 1950s in a time machine made by his inventor friend, Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) out of a De Lorean sports car. Things become very complicated when his mother, a teenager at the time, begins to fall for Marty instead of his father, threatening Marty’s future existence. Marty has to make the pair fall in love and find a way back to his own time. The film spawned two moderately successful sequels - Back to the Future II (1989) and Back to the Future III (1990).