Back to the Future (1985)

Directed by Robert Zemeckis. Starring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Crispin Glover, Lea Thompson, Thomas F. Wilson, Claudia Wells, James Tolkan, Marc McClure, Wendie Jo Sperber, Casey Siemaszko, Billy Zane, J.J. Cohen, Harry Waters Jr. [PG]

Irresistible time travel adventure comedy finds teenager Marty McFly (Fox) witnessing wacky scientist pal Doc Brown (Lloyd) successfully test out his time-machine-on-wheels, and then gets stuck in the past after inadvertently going back in time thirty years. Energy, humor and action to spare, not to mention plenty of nifty hardware and blazing special effects, but this is far more than a sleek wind-up toy of thrills; it also poses a fascinating rhetorical concept well worth exploring: what if you could meet your parents when they were in high school? The script by Zemeckis and Bob Gale is an amazing construction (despite the oft-parroted paradoxical plot holes), full of clever dialogue, twists and payoffs—that the project was rejected by Hollywood dozens of times before finally getting greenlit proves just how shortsighted the major studios often are. Filled with wonderful, near-iconic performances and Alan Silvestri’s rousing music (not to mention Huey Lewis’ catchy contributions—he also cameos as a teacher); lots of laughs, lots of heart, lots of exhilaration, as good a family film as there ever has been. Oscar winner for Sound Effects Editing.

97/100