50 Subtle "Back To The Future" Details That Make These Genius Movies Even Smarter
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1. When Marty goes back to the future for the first time, he vanishes into The Atomic Kid.
In "Back to the Future," Marty's nuclear powered Delorean disappears into "The Atomic Kid." from MovieDetails
According to Back to the Future co-writer and producer Bob Gale, in the first two drafts of the screenplay, "...the whole clocktower sequence at the end wasn't there: It was going to be the radiation from an explosion at a nuclear testing site that would power the time machine back to 1985." The Atomic Kid is a 1954 movie about a man who is exposed to nuclear radiation on an atomic bomb test site.
2. Doc hanging off of the clock tower is foreshadowed in Back to the Future's opening credits.
Back to The Future - The opening credits have a clock foreshadowing Doc hanging off the city clock from MovieDetails
3. The clock tower clock is unloaded in the background of Back to the Future Part III.
Back to the Future III (1990): When Doc and Marty are asking the train conductor for tips, the Clock Tower clock is being unloaded in the background. from MovieDetails
4.Jaws 19 in Back to the Future Part II is directed by Max Spielberg, the son of the Jaws director and Back to the Future producer.
In Back to the Future 2, Jaws 19 is directed by Max Spielberg. That is Steven Spielberg's son. from MovieDetails
5.And the slogan for the Jaws 19 is "This Time It's Really Really Personal."
6. The beer George drinks changes with his confidence.
In Back to the Future (1985) before Marty travels back and changes the past, helping his father gain self-confidence, George drinks Miller Lite. When Marty returns to 1985 the more confident, richer George now drinks Miller High Life the "Champagne of Beers" from MovieDetails
7. The drummer at the school dance in 1955 plays in a swing style because he doesn't know about rock drumming yet.
In Back to the Future (1985), when Marty plays “Johnny B. Goode” with the band, the drummer plays in a swing style since he’s never heard rock drumming before from MovieDetails
8. Marty has the same experience in every new version of the Courthouse Square.
In the Back to the Future Trilogy (1985-1990) Marty nearly gets run over every time he first explores a new iteration of the Hill Valley Courthouse Square. from MovieDetails
9. The property Marty crashes into when he time travels for the first time belongs to the Peabody family, who have a son named Sherman. Mr. Peabody and Sherman were time-travelers in The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends.
10. Biff's casino requires smoking. LOL.
There's a 'Smoking Required' sign outside of Biff's casino in 'Back to the Future II' (1989) from MovieDetails
11. The same family runs the transportation business in Hill Valley for 100 years. Well, for at least 100 years.
In Back to the Future the Statler family ran the transportation business in Hill Valley. In 1885, Joe Statler's business was called Honest Joe Statler, which advertised "fine horses sold, bought, and traded". In 1955, it changed to Statler Studebaker. In 1985, it was Statler Toyota. from MovieDetails
12.The Asian population of 1887 Hill Valley is shown in the background multiple times. Considering that the Western side of the transcontinental railroad was built almost entirely by Chinese immigrants and a mid-construction railroad is a major plot element of Back to the Future Part III, not to mention the important fact that Chinatowns were a major part of the Old West, this makes perfect sense.
13. The beginning of Part II was a shot-for-shot remake of the end of the first movie.
The ending of Back to the Future is shared by the opening sequence of Back to the Future: Part II. However due to recasting Jennifer and the five years that had past for Michael J Fox and Christopher Lloyd, the sequence was completely reshot for the second film. from MovieDetails
14. In the second movie, Doc has two slots for 1864 money because the Confederacy had its own currency during the Civil War.
In Back to the future II (1989), Doc's money case has two slots for the year 1864 but the bills look entirely different. This is because during the American Civil War (1861-1865) there were 2 different currencies for both the United States and the Confederate States. from MovieDetails
15. The judge who tells Marty that "The Power of Love" is too loud is played by Huey Lewis himself.
In Back To The Future when Marty auditions for the school dance, he plays The Power of Love by Huey Lewis & The News. Huey Lewis is the judge that tells him he’s “just too darn loud.” from MovieDetails
Maybe this was obvious in 1985, but time has turned it into a subtle detail.
16. In the third movie, Marty references Clint Eastwood in 1955, too early for Doc to know who that is, but a poster for Clint Eastwood's first movie is next to Marty when he says it.
In Back to the Future 3 (1990), the year in this scene is 1955 and Marty says: Clint Eastwood would've never wear anything like this. By his side there is a poster of Revenge of the Creature (1955) which marks the film debut of Clint Eastwood. from MovieDetails
17. At the end of the third movie, Needle's gang is made up of members of Biff's posse from each time period.
At the end of Back to the Future III (1990), in Needle's truck there's one member of Biff's gang from each time period. Chris Wynne from the west is in the passenger seat, in the back are J.J. Cohen from the 50s and Ricky Dean Logan from the future. from MovieDetails
18. The clock and toilet Doc mentions in Back to the Future are present in Part III.
In Back to the Future Doc says he slipped off a toilet while hanging a clock. You see that toilet and clock in BTTF3. from MovieDetails
19. Hill Valley's theater is under construction in 1885.
In Back to the Future Part III (1990) you can see the Essex/Holomax Theater that appears in every time Marty visits under construction in the background in 1885. from MovieDetails
20. This newspaper in Biff's 1985 shows a very different world.
The newspaper has a column that reads- Nixon to seek fifth term: vows to end Vietnam war by 1985, in 'Back to the Future II' (1989). Presumably, Biffs corruption had far reaching effects. from MovieDetails
21. And Part II's 2015 newspaper made some predictions.
Back to the Future Part II (1989) makes several predictions in its fictional 2015 newspaper, such as a "Queen Diana", "Tokyo stocks up" (due to Japan's then strong economic growth), a female president, and "thumb bandits" hinting the fingerprint payment system shown later in the film. from MovieDetails
32 years after this movie came out and still no female president. How grand.
22. One of those predictions was there being a cure for cancer.
In Back to the Future part 2 (1989), when Marty is reading the newspaper you can briefly see a cure for cancer has been discovered. from MovieDetails
23. In Back to the Future Part III, Marty learns from his past and checks to see if he's wearing pants before getting up.
In Back to the Future 3, when Marty wakes up in 1885 on the McFly Ranch, he checks to see if he’s wearing pants before getting out of bed (at 23:36). In the previous movies, his pants have been removed when he wakes up in bed from being knocked out. from MovieDetails
24. In Part III, Doc inadvertently describes the first time Marty traveled through time.
In “Back to the Future 3” (1990), Marty asks why the drive-in as the time-travel location. Doc says “You don’t want to crash in to a tree that existed in the past.” A reference to Marty crashing in to one of the pine trees in the first movie. from MovieDetails
25. The influx of malls is shown in Back to the Future.
In Back to the Future (1985) we see a dying city center. Besides boarded up stores there is a partially shown sign suggesting that the businesses (e.g. Zales Jewelers) actually migrate towards the mall. from MovieDetails
26. Doc wears multiple watches, because he freaking loves time.
In Back to the Future, Doc is so obsessed with time that he is constantly wearing two watches. from MovieDetails
27. When Marty gets back to 1985 in the third movie, the ravine is now called the Eastwood Ravine because people think "Clint Eastwood" (Marty) fell to his death.
In Back to the Future 3, Marty returns to the railroad in the area named Eastwood Ravine, which was originally named Clayton Ravine. Clara Clayton was saved while "Clint Eastwood" was believed to have fallen to his death. from MovieDetails
28. The clock tower's damage is consistent.
At the beginning of Back to the Future (1985), there's no damage on the clocktower ledge. When Marty comes back to 1985 at the end, you can see the damage from when Doc was up there to send him back in 1955. from MovieDetails
29. And it's still broken in 2015.
In Back To The Future 2, the ledge on the clock tower that Doc broke in Back To The Future is still broken from MovieDetails
30. And that guy Marty's talking to is the mechanic in 1955.
In Back to the Future Part II (1989), the elderly man raising money to save the clock tower in 2015 (who also inadvertently gives Marty the idea to buy the Sports Almanac) is the mechanic who removed the horse manure from Biff's car in 1955. from MovieDetails
The mechanic is played by Charles Fleischer, who voices Roger Rabbit. Who Framed Roger Rabbit is another movie directed by Robert Zemeckis.
31."In Back to the Future III, Doc says that a suitable device to repair the time machine won't be invented until 1947. That was the year the transistor was invented at Bell Labs."
32.In Part III, Doc gives the time-machine train a white-wall-tire look, so it looks like the DeLorean.
33. To make Marty's son, played by Michael J. Fox, and Biff's son, played by Thomas F. Wilson, look different from their fathers, they have new eye colors.
Back to the Future part II (1989) Marty and Biff have different eye colors than Marty Jr. and Griff. So they don't look exactly the same. from MovieDetails
34. Doc is able to spend so many years doing experiments that make no money because he sold his family's estate.
In Back To The Future 1 - Newspaper Clips in Emmett Brown's house explain how he got money to create experiments for over 30 years while never working for money. He sold his large family estate. from MovieDetails
35. In Part II, the 2015 antique store is filled with specific gems.
In Back to The Future II (1989), the antique store is full of easter eggs; a VHS copy of Jaws (directed by BTTF's executive producer Steven Spielberg), a JVC camcorder (used by Marty to record Doc's experiment in the first film), and a Who Framed Roger Rabbit doll (directed by Robert Zemeckis). from MovieDetails
36. In Part III, Doc has fully painted his model, unlike the first movie.
In Back to the Future 1 Doc apologizes to Marty for not painting his model of the town, in BttF 3 he has a fully painted model of the trains route. from MovieDetails
37. The license plate on the 2015 DeLorean is a barcode.
In Back to the Future part 2 (1989) the futuristically modified DeLorean has a barcode license plate from MovieDetails
38. In 1955 in Back to the Future Part II, there's an advertisement for a trip to Cuba – 7 years before the Cuban Missile Crisis.
In Back to the Future part II, a travel service ad can be seen in 1955 for a 10 day trip to Cuba (before the missile crisis) from MovieDetails
39. The Court House is a mall in 2015 because lawyers are no longer a thing.
In back to the future part 2, the hill valley court house was turned into a mall in 2015 due to the abolishment of all lawyers. from MovieDetails
40. The photographer in Back to the Future Part III is actually the trilogy's director of photography, Dean Cundey.
In BTTF part 3 (1990), the photographer that takes a picture of Marty and Doc is played by Dean Cundey, who was director of photography on all three Back to the Future movies. from MovieDetails
41. When Marty's Uncle Joey, a convict, is a baby, he's wearing black and white stripes.
In Back to the Future, Marty’s uncle Joey is a convict. When Marty goes back in time, baby Joey is seen in black and white stripes. from MovieDetails
Marty says to him, "Better get used to these bars, kid."
42. The diner in 1955 is a fitness center in 1985.
In Back to the Future, the diner run by Lou in 1955 is called Lou’s aerobic fitness center in 1985. from MovieDetails
43. In Part III, you can see Clara waiting for Doc in the background.
Back to the Future 3 (1990) when Doc and Marty are planning where to get the Delorian up to 88 mph, you can see Clara in the background waiting to be met by Emit. Since he decided to not meet her she took a wagon on her own and almost crashed into the ravine forcing Emit to save her. from MovieDetails
44. A tiny and great detail in the first movie: Marty has a guitar pick in his pocket.
Like a true guitarist, in Back to the Future Marty has a guitar pick mixed in with his pocket change from MovieDetails
45. Due to inflation, a Pepsi in 2015 costs $50.
In Back to the Future II, Doc gives Marty $50 to buy a Pepsi to account for inflation in 2015 from MovieDetails
46.The McFly house in 1985 is the same as the house on the billboard in 1955.
Back to the Future(1985) The billboard that Marty sees in '55 is an exact image of the McFly home.
47. In Part II, Griff wears a Kirk Gibson Jr. baseball hat for a brilliant reason when you consider when the film was written.
In Back to the Future II (1989), Griff has a Kirk Gibson Jr. baseball bat in the future. Bog Gale was writing the script when Kirk Gibson won a World Series game for The Dodgers by hitting a home run. from MovieDetails
48. Doc's shirt in Back to the Future Part II seriously foreshadows Part III.
In Back to the Future 2, Docs shirt design has two horses chasing a steam train, foreshadowing the events of the next film. from MovieDetails
49. And the shirt finds a new use in the third movie.
Doc Brown's bandana from Back to the Future: Part III is made from his shirt from Back to the Future: Part II. from MovieDetails
50. Finally, of course, the change from Twin Pines Mall to Lone Pine Mall.
In Back to the Future the name of the mall changes when Marty goes into the past and runs over one of the two trees from MovieDetails
