35th Anniversary of BTF

By: Richie Mroz Layout Designer

From “The Breakfast Club”, “E.T.”, “Star Wars”, and “Top Gun” to “Ghostbusters”, “Uncle Buck”, and “The Karate Kid”, the 1980s was an astonishing time for movies. Among them is Robert Zemeckis’ and Steven Spielberg’s 1985 classic “Back to the Future”. “Back to the Future” follows California teenager Marty McFly as he is accidently transported to the year 1955 in a DeLorean time machine that his scientist friend Doc Brown invented. When he travels back in time, he encounters young versions of his parents who he must make sure fall in love or he will cease to exist! While doing that, he also must figure out a way to get back to 1985, hence the name “Back to the Future”.

The success of the first movie spawned to theatrical sequels and an animated television series. According to www.backtothefuture. com, the film was “the highest-grossing film of 1985” as well as “one of the most successful franchises in Universal Studio’s history”. The film has also been inducted into the National Film Registry in the Library of Congress because of its cultural and historical significance.

The film series is considered to be a global phenomenon with fans all over the world. University of St. Francis Junior Josh Rutnicki loves the movie, stating “It is nostalgic, funny, and has a great story”. In 2015, October 21 was made the official “Back to the Future” day because October 21, 2015 is the date that Marty and Doc travel to in “Back to the Future: Part II”. 2015 also marked 30 years since the original film’s release. Following that logic, 2020 marks 35 years since the original film’s release.

Universal Studios has a slew of things planned for the 35th anniversary of the film. For starters, “Back to the Future: The Musical” was just performed on February 20, 2020 at the Manchester Opera House in England. The musical is getting high praise for its adaptation of the movie. Universal is also planning a special first time 4K screening of the movie in April at the 2020 TCM Classic Film Festival where stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson & screenplay writer Bob Gale will make an appearance. According to www.prnewswire. com, a new 4K remastered movie trilogy along with new toys, collectibles, artwork, and apparel will be released in the spring. Technically, the film’s official anniversary will be on July 3 but in the words of Doc Brown, “I figured…what the heck”.

“Back to the Future” will always be one of my favorite movies. I remember I was around five years old when my dad put the VHS tape in and I watched the movie for the first time. I have seen it now probably over 50 times and it still has the same effect on me as it did when I first watched it. It takes something truly special to have that effect on not only me, but millions around the world. “Back to the Future” will always be one of the greatest films of all time.