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Questions tagged [back-to-the-future]

Directed in 1985 by Robert Zemeckis and starring Michael J Fox and Christopher Lloyd, the first of a trilogy of comedy adventure movies involving time-travel to different periods of a fictional Californian town.

Back to the Future (Part one of three) is a 1985 American adventure, comedy, sci-fi film, directed by Robert Zemeckis, and written by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and more. It premiered in the USA on July 3, 1985.

Full IMDb Storyline:

Marty McFly, a typical American teenager of the Eighties, is accidentally sent back to 1955 in a plutonium-powered DeLorean "time machine" invented by a slightly mad scientist. During his often hysterical, always amazing trip back in time, Marty must make certain his teenage parents-to-be meet and fall in love - so he can get back to the future.

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How was the DeLorean perceived in 1985?

The DMC DeLorean is now seen as an iconic car. Everyone knows it today because of Back to the Future, but back in 1985, how was it seen? In 1984, when Back to the Future was filmed, the DMC DeLorean was known as a bad joke. A spectacular failure of…
Django Reinhardt
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In Back to the Future, how did Marty get the timing right with the lightning strike?

So, in the first movie, presumably the Doc and Marty know exactly when the lightning will strike the clock tower. This is because Marty has the flyer with the picture of the stopped clock on it. In order to power the DeLorean, the Doc cooks up this…
wesanyer
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Why didn't Doc and Marty buy "petrol" in 1885?

There was a refined petroleum product called "petrol" available as far back as 1870 which was used (among other things) to kill lice nits and as a solvent. When internal combustion engines were being developed, this product, unchanged, was found to…
JoelFan
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Did Doc Brown always know that Marty would end up travelling back to 1955?

Did Doc Brown always have the letter that Marty left him in 1955, and was that the reason why he was so insistent that Marty meet him at the mall? In other words, he knew he had to make sure Marty went back in time, because it was already part of…
Darren
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Were Doc's calculations incorrect as to when Marty should drive the DeLorean?

In the original Back to the Future when Marty is trying to get back to 1985, Doc puts an alarm clock on the dashboard of the DeLorean and tells Marty: "I've calculated the distance and wind resistance retroactive from the moment the lightning…
Toby Smith
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Why doesn't the Clock in Hill Valley work in BTTF2?

I just watched the first movie of the trilogy (Back to the Future), and now I wondered, why does the Clock Tower still not work in 2015? From what I understand, in 1955 Doc and Marty pretty much built a lightning rod, so the clock should not be…
SinisterMJ
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Bottle cap in Back to the Future

In Back to the Future Marty has trouble opening a glass bottle, because he assumes that the bottle can be opened by twisting off the cap, which implies to me, that he has no idea, that he has to use a bottle opener, as George (more or less)…
Jon Lamer
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How many times did Emmett Brown travel through time?

There are many clues suggesting that Emmett Brown traveled through time on multiple occasions. I was thinking about the case full of dollars from different periods: Is it possible to get them at one specific moment, or go to different periods and…
Tom
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How does Clara's name get on Doc's tombstone in 1885?

I've been thinking about something. At the beginning of BTTF 3, when they find Doc's tombstone, it says something about Clara's love... BUT... Clara and Doc would not have met at the time the tombstone was made since she was supposed to go over a…
BTTF Fan
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Did Doc Brown warn Marty to never travel to 2020 or what year did he warn about?

The premise of this question is that I remember Doc Brown warning Marty to never travel to a particular year but I do not remember which year it was. There is this meme (shown below) that makes it look like a warning was given about year 2020. But…
user100487
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Year on Linda McFly's sweatshirt

I seem to remember that Linda McFly's sweatshirt (in the vacation photo) sometimes says 1984 and sometimes another year (1991?). I don't have a screencap and I can't find anything about it online. Is it like that or was I seeing things?
JoelFan
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How is past Marty paradox explained in the Back to the Future series?

So Marty's parents are supposed to meet after his dad gets hit by his grandpa's car. The mom and dad relive the stories about it. After Marty time travels he is basically in their faces for a week trying to set them up after he messed up the…
blankip
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Shouldn’t they end up in space (because the earth moves over time)?

The earth is moving and so is the solar system, so shouldn’t they end up in space every time they travel through time?
BrettYeager
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