Back to the Future: Trilogy Boxset (1985)

This review is sponsored by

BUY IT

    Let's look at the Back To The Future Trilogy box set as a whole - it's a pleasant experience.

    What we are getting is all three films at once, with excellent transfers, quite a few extras, and both Dolby Digital and dts soundtracks. There are so many things that could have been done badly - we could have had to wait ages between discs as they were trickled out one at a time; they could have had terrible transfers; there could have been a rental version with no extras, then a re-release with some extras; there could have been a Dolby Digital version, followed later by a dts version; I think about all the things that could have been done badly, and it makes me appreciate the effort Universal have put into this.

    Looking at the story as a whole, it's quite clear that it benefits a lot from having the same creative team working on all three movies. The Two Bobs clearly loved this project - they would not have persevered through the 40-odd rejections otherwise (I love the story that most studios rejected it because it wasn't raunchy enough, except for Disney, who rejected it because it was too raunchy). Bob Zemeckis directed the films with a coherent vision throughout. He and Bob Gale wrote the stories together, and Bob Gale produced the finished script. It's a shame more sequels aren't produced by the same team that made the original - maybe sequels would lose their bad reputation...

    It's funny, given that this is a story about time travel, how a few elements have dated quickly (I've commented on them in the reviews), but so much of the story is fairly timeless. You could transplant the basics of the story into any era - a misfit, an eccentric scientist, a bully, and time travel (come to think of it, I think I've just outlined Dr Who...) - and get a good entertaining story out of it. The art is in getting the details right, and they clearly went to a lot of trouble in that regard.

    I haven't said much about the labels before, but I had a good look at them today, and I think the graphic designer has had some fun - the first movie has the classic image of Marty looking at his watch on the label. The second has Marty and Doc. The third shows Marty, Doc, and Clara. Cute - count the people, know the disc number - don't need your glasses to tell these discs apart.

    The three discs arrive packed together in a neat package that occupies about the same space as two normal cases squeezed tightly together. There's an external cardboard slip with a glossy finish that slips fairly easily off the inner package, which then unfolds into a long strip of card with three clear plastic DVD holders on it with the brochure tucked neatly into a pocket at one end. It's kind of like a Digipack, but it isn't - the disc retaining clip in the centre of each holder is a separate piece of more flexible plastic with a clip very much like the diamond-shaped clip on a Click case (the kind AV Channel use, for example). This is a design I haven't seen before, but it's effective - this clip holds the DVD in place without putting any stress on the inner edge. Some people might have preferred the discs to be packed in Amarays, but I like this packaging - it's neat, and occupies less space.

    NEWS! The digipack packaging has been discontinued, and replaced by a new design; one which is inferior, in my opinion. Now there's a plastic case that's a little thicker than a normal keep-case, with a taller hub in the centre, with all three discs stacked onto the one hub. If you want to play disc three you have to remove discs one and two first. Quite bluntly, I think this is a bad idea — it means more disc handling, and you have to put the discs down as you remove them (unless you have at least three hands...), so there's a greater risk of damaging them. There are still copies of the original package around, so you might want to look for them, instead — they are significantly thicker, so it is easy to tell them apart.

NEWER NEWS! Apparently there is another change to the packaging - they have gone over to the new "3 discs in a single Amaray" design — this is a good choice - it allows all three discs to be packaged securely in a case that is the same size as a normal single-disc Amaray. The trick is a double-sided flap in the middle of the flap, with one disc on each side of the flap (offset). Buffy and Angel fans may have noticed these new cases being used for their 3 discs sets in the past month. This is a definite change for the better in the packaging — it is the most robust packaging to date.

    If Universal had decided to slug us full price for each disc we could have been looking at $100 (that's Australian dollars, for our overseas readers) for the three movies. I, for one, would have definitely been willing to pay that - these movies are better than average, and the DVDs are excellent. Instead, it seems Universal want to turn the purchase of the box-set into a no-brainer by setting the RRP at just under $60.

    We've had to wait quite a while for these films to appear on DVD. It's quite clear that Universal have not been making us wait from sheer capriciousness. They have obviously put an immense amount of work into these DVD to produce spotless (and I mean spotless) transfers. There have been few DVD titles that I've been able to recommend without reservation - this is one of them. Enjoy!

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

Back to the Future (1985)

This review is sponsored by

BUY IT

General		Extras
Category	Science Fiction	Main Menu Introduction Menu Animation & Audio Featurette-Making Of-14:29 Featurette-Making The Trilogy: Chapter 1 (15:30) Audio Commentary-Robert Zemeckis & Bob Gale Outtakes-2:45 Deleted Scenes-8:50 Informational Subtitles Featurette-Make-Up Tests (2:18) Storyboard Comparisons-2 Gallery-4 Theatrical Trailer dts Trailer-Piano
Rating
Year Of Production	1985
Running Time	111:16
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (71:24)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Robert Zemeckis
Studio Distributor	Universal Pictures Home Video	Starring	Michael J. Fox Christopher Lloyd Lea Thompson Crispin Glover Thomas F. Wilson
Case	Gatefold
RPI	$59.95	Music	Alan Silvestri

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s) English dts 5.1 (768Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired English Audio Commentary English Information	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	Yes, Pepsi and JVC
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Well, here it is - the first of the Big Three, the Big Three naturally being Back to the Future, Indiana Jones, and Star Wars (the real ones!). Actually, this is the first of the first of the Big Three - the first movie of this trilogy.

    I suspect that they weren't sure when they made this movie if they'd get funding to make the others, so this film was made able to stand by itself, or as the first of the trilogy. That's cool.

    Watching this film brought back memories - I remember seeing it in a cinema on its first run. A cinema that doesn't exist any more. Well, it was 17 years ago. I was quite impressed with the movie then. I was wondering (a few hours ago) how well it would hold up today. Now I know - it still works. A couple of the jokes don't work as well - how many people today remember the diet cola called Tab? For that matter, the Pepsi Corporation has never sold Pepsi Free (sugar free and caffeine free) here in Australia, so that joke never really worked here, but that's about it.

    There's a certain energy about this film that's lacking from the two sequels. This film starts a little slowly, but starts to pick up pace once we arrive at the shopping mall (watch closely - the shopping mall is Twin Pines the first time we see it, but changes to Lone Pine the second time - subtle). It's going full-out by the time we arrive in 1955, and never slows down again.

    If you haven't seen this movie (what planet were you on?), and don't want to know anything about the plot, then I recommend skipping to the Transfer Quality section now.

    Marty McFly (Michael J Fox) is a fairly ordinary teenager - he has something of a liking for playing guitar loud (very loud in the opening scene), he's fond of his girlfriend, he rides a skateboard, and he keeps things from his rather staid mom (Lea Thompson) - when she was a girl, one didn't behave like that. His dad (Crispin Glover) is a wimp - he is forever being picked on by Biff Tanner (Thomas F. Wilson). Marty's life isn't awful - his big tragedies are things like his band not being picked to play at the school dance, and his dad's car getting wrecked so he can't borrow it to take his girlfriend up to the lake.

    The one unusual thing in Marty's life is Doc Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd, playing one of the best eccentric scientists ever committed to celluloid). Doc Brown is an inventor. Some of his inventions work, but not all of them. He has something of an obsession with time - witness all the clocks in his house, and the wide variety of timer-controlled gadgets he has pieced together. Doc Brown has been trying to build a time machine for thirty years, ever since he was struck by the idea of the basic principle. And now he's succeeded. Of course, there's always a drawback - in this case it's the need to provide a powerful jolt of energy to initiate the time travel, and the, um, means he has chosen to get that energy.

    There are some well-thought out ideas in this film. (SPOILER ALERT: highlight with mouse to read) The absence of re-runs on 1950's TV. Lorraine thinking Marty's name is Calvin Klein, because that's what's written on his underwear. The mayoral campaigns running in 1955 and 1985 using exactly the same wording, but for different candidates. Even the reaction of a person in 1955 to the idea of a black mayor. Oh, and Marty's reaction to discovering what his mother was really like when she was his age...

    The best part about watching this movie on DVD is that once it's over you can watch it again, or go on to the second film in the trilogy. Yes, now you, too, can go Back to the Feature... (Ed. Ouch)

Video

    This DVD has a superb transfer that is very pleasant to watch (and to review!).

    This DVD is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, and is 16x9 enhanced. Would you expect anything less? Universal have been very good about sticking the the original aspect ratios on their DVDs, and this disc is no exception.

    The picture is sharp and clear and is very pleasant to watch. Close-ups are incredibly detailed - have a look at the skin texture on Christopher Lloyd's neck, for example. Shadow detail is excellent. There is virtually no low-level noise, other than some trivial noise in some of the darker shots of the clock tower, and that is probably minor film grain as a result of filming in dark lighting conditions.

    Colour is very good. It's a tiny bit dull compared to a film of today, but the difference is small, and attributable to the age of the source material. I cannot imagine it ever being better than this. The colours at the Enchantment Under the Sea dance, for example, are rendered beautifully.

    There are no film artefacts - incredible for a movie of this age! There is next to no aliasing. One of the amazing things is the DeLorean - a shiny stainless steel car, and not a trace of aliasing - that's extraordinary. There are a few moments of moire on some of the 1955 fashions (see 54:24, for example), but that's pretty much unavoidable, and it's quite minor. There is also some trivial aliasing on the 1950's microphone at the Enchantment Under The Sea dance, but you have to be really picky to notice this. This is close to a perfect transfer.

    There are three subtitles tracks on this DVD. The first subtitle track is labelled as English, but the subtitles are actually captions - they subtitle sound effects as well. I have yet to watch them all the way through, so I can't report on their accuracy, but they look easy to read. The second subtitle track is subtitling for the Audio Commentary track and the third is a Trivia Track.

    The disc is single sided (with a nice picture label), and RSDL-formatted. The layer change is at 71:24, and it is superb. It is pretty much imperceptible, being hidden in a black scene change.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    There are three soundtracks on this DVD, all in English. The audio commentary is provided in English Dolby Digital 2.0, not surround encoded. The other two are the soundtrack to the movie, provided in Dolby Digital 5.1 and dts 5.1. The credits at the end of the film say the film was originally released in Dolby Stereo (indicating that the transfer was probably from a 35mm print, because the 70mm prints were released with a 4.1 or 5.1 soundtrack), so there may have been some minor remixing to separate the rear channels at least.

    I have listened to both the dts and the Dolby Digital soundtracks. I'd like to be able to say that I could tell the difference, but I can't. Oh, maybe the Dolby Digital sounds a squidgin (this is a technical term, meaning an amount too small to be measured easily) "thinner" - a little lacking in very fine detail - but I could be imagining it. If you have a dts decoder, I recommend you use it (after all, there aren't that many DVDs you can use it on), but if you only have Dolby Digital, be comforted in the thought that you are not missing much, if anything.

    The dialogue is always clear and easily understood. There are no audio sync problems. (I must admit that I hate it every time Doc Brown says "jiggawatt" - the word is "gigawatt", with two hard Gs - but that hardly qualifies as an audio problem.) One correspondent has pointed out that there is a fraction of a second where Lea Thompson manages to deliver a line with her mouth closed, but that's clearly an issue in the source material, rather than a mastering flaw.

    The full, lush orchestral score is from Alan Silvestri, and a nice job it is. The score also features a number of songs including "The Power of Love" performed by Huey Lewis and the News (the anecdote track points out that Huey Lewis gets a cameo in the movie), and a distinctive version of "Johnny B Goode" (you know what I mean...). Not sure if it counts as music, but the use of Eddie Van Halen as an instrument of persuasion is entertaining...

    There is not a heap for your surround speakers to do, some decent ambient sound, a bit of score, some nicely placed directional sounds, but there's an absolutely classic circling helicopter near the end of the movie (my THX EX matrix decoder picked up on it, and it circled through the rear centre channel - nice). There's not much in the LFE channel, either, so your sub won't get a whole lot to do unless you've routed bass management to it, but it does give a satisfying bottom to a few moments of the soundtrack, without drawing attention to itself.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

    A nicely themed main menu introduction greets us upon insertion of this DVD, beautifully setting the tone for what is to follow. The main menu itself is also well-themed around the clock tower, again heightening the anticipation for what is to follow. Most menu selections lead to brief transitions and most submenus have audio underscoring although there is no additional animation. All-in-all, Universal have done a very nice job on these menus.

The Making Of Back To The Future (14:29)

    This is a historical featurette and as such has a somewhat dated appearance colour-wise. Artefact-wise however, it looks remarkably good. It is somewhat along the lines of current-day promotional featurettes except that there is considerably more meaty content here than is the norm for most of these featurettes. It is made up of the typical intercut footage of movie, cast and crew and behind the scenes footage, although the proportion of movie footage is much less than that seen nowadays and the proportion of worthwhile behind-the-scenes footage is much higher. There is a considerable amount of interesting info presented about Alan Silvestri's scoring of the film, and I certainly learnt a number of worthwhile  things about Back To The Future that I didn't know before. Definitely well worth the time spent watching it, despite the 1.33:1 framing and tinny, wow-affected Dolby Digital 2.0 mono audio. The featurette is subtitled in English.

Making The Trilogy: Chapter 1 (15:30)

    This is a more modern featurette, written and directed by Laurent Bouzereau. Some material from the aforementioned featurette is reused and there is considerably more footage from the movie included, but bear with this featurette - the second half is far superior to the first half, offering some fascinating insights into the way Christopher Lloyd approached his character and some info about the aborted casting of Eric Stoltz as Marty McFly. This featurette is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and offers Dolby Digital 2.0 mono audio.

Audio Commentary - Robert Zemeckis & Bob Gale

    This is not a screen-specific commentary. This is an audio track recorded at a uni campus in California fairly recently, with the "two Bobs" responding to questions from the audience that are put by Laurent Bouzereau (the maker of many of the extras on this disc). It sounds as though LB is interviewing them, because we hear nothing from the audience until their applause at the end of the commentary. I started out disappointed, because I was expecting a screen-specific commentary, but in the end I'm quite happy with this - it contains much the same sort of content, and having them respond to specific questions means that we get less wandering about. They do cover a lot of ground, so there's quite a bit of content, even though the commentary does not last for the entire movie (it ends around the 95 minutes mark). Amongst the interesting revelations are the alternate title that was pushed very hard by the head of the company, and Steven Spielberg's creative way of dealing with that suggestion. It was fascinating to hear how Michael J Fox managed to film this and do Family Ties at the same time. And the discussion of product placement was interesting - they were insistent on using products whose logos had changed between the 1950s and the 1980s - that's why Pepsi got the nod over Coke (the Coke bottle hadn't changed), and why the petrol station was Texaco rather than Shell (apparently Shell offered more money, but they stuck to their guns).

    Oh, and we get the official word from the Two Bobs - the version on the DVD is the version that was shown theatrically. On the video there were changes (most notably, a "to be continued" at the end), but this version is unchanged. That's good to know.

Outtakes (2:45)

    Outtakes tend to be variably funny and these are no exception - there are some very funny outtakes here, but there are also some less-than-funny ones. The Cheech & Chong send-up is funny, but makes little sense since it is an outtake of a deleted scene which appears in the next extra. The video is presented at 1.85:1 non-16x9 enhanced and its quality, as well as that of the Dolby Digital 2.0 mono audio, is variable.

Deleted Scenes (8:50)

    As with the outtakes, these deleted scenes are variable in their interest and quality of presentation, with the Extended Darth Vader scene being of most interest. Several of the deleted scenes take the characters in different morality arcs to those they portray in the final cut, and are definitely better left deleted. These scenes are presented as a single featurette with cue cards separating and naming deleted scenes. The video is offered at 1.85:1, non 16x9 enhanced and audio is Dolby Digital 2.0 mono.

Did You Know That? Universal Animated Anecdotes

    The trivia track is a subtitle tracks that pops up bits of trivia about the movie and the people and things in it. Not all of the trivia is isolated to the trivia track - some of it is repeated in the commentary, for example. It's quite interesting, but it does contain a few spoilers, so don't turn it on until you've seen the movie.

    One bit of trivia it pointed out is why the mall changes from Twin Pines to Lone Pine - (SPOILER ALERT: highlight with mouse to read) Marty runs over a pine tree on the way out of the farm.

    It eased my mind on one point - Lea Thompson (Marty's mother) looked annoyingly familiar, and I could not pick where else I'd seen her - the trivia track mentions that she plays the lead in Caroline In The City.

    It's kinda fun to watch this - give it a try on perhaps the second or third time you watch the movie, and see what you think.

Original Makeup Tests (2:18)

    Test footage of Doc, Biff and Lorraine. Presented at 1.33:1.

Storyboards To Final Feature Comparisons (2)

• Skateboard Chase (1:42)
• Clock Tower Sequence (5:03)

    Personally, I am not a big fan of storyboard-to-screen comparisons, but these ones are at least presented respectably with the storyboard at the top of a 1.33:1 frame and the final footage at the bottom.

Production Archives

• Marty McFly Photo Album (approx 77 photos)
• Behind-The-Scenes Photos (approx 23 photos)
• The Delorean Designs (approx 34 photos)
• Time Travel Designs (approx 18 photos)

    Again, I am not a fan of photo galleries, but the Delorean Designs gallery is definitely worth a look-see.

Theatrical Trailer (1:20)

    Presented at 1.33:1 with Dolby Digital 2.0 mono sound, this is more of a teaser than a true theatrical trailer. The music is very much rooted in its time.

dts Trailer - Piano

    The R1 version of this DVD is not due out until November. Concrete information as to what will be on the R1 version is difficult to come by, but speculation is rampant. It is reasonable to state that the R1 version will have some additional extras over the R4 version. At this time, these additional extras would seem to be some brief picture-in-picture comments from Michael J. Fox and an additional making-of featurette, nothing that sounds overly compelling. Until reliable reviews of this title start appearing in R1, we cannot be more specific than this, other than to say that the small number of additional extras would not seem to warrant the additional wait and the inherent advantages of the PAL transfer would appear to override the possible benefits of the additional extras. Your opinion may, of course, vary.

    Back To The Future is one of the movies we've all been waiting for. The wait has been worth it. This is an excellent DVD.

    The video transfer is of reference quality.

    The audio quality is excellent.

    There are plenty of extras on this disc.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

Back to the Future Part II (1989)

This review is sponsored by

BUY IT

General		Extras
Category	Science Fiction	Main Menu Introduction Menu Animation & Audio dts Trailer-Piano Featurette Featurette-Making The Trilogy-Chapter II Outtakes Deleted Scenes Featurette-Hoverboard Test Storyboard Comparisons-Marty On The Hoverboard Gallery-Photo-4 Theatrical Trailer
Rating
Year Of Production	1989
Running Time	103:37
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (63:05)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Robert Zemeckis
Studio Distributor	Universal Pictures Home Video	Starring	Michael J. Fox Christopher Lloyd Thomas F. Wilson Lea Thompson James Tolkan Jeffrey Weissman Elisabeth Shue
Case	Gatefold
RPI	Box	Music	Alan Silvestri

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s) English dts 5.1 (768Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Back To The Future Part II is the second film in the Back to the Future trilogy - you'll find our review of the first film here.

    Back To The Future was a smash hit, and the studio was offering big money for a sequel - can you blame them for accepting? I gather they always planned the second and third films as a pair, and filmed them simultaneously - that's why they came out only one year apart. That's also how they managed to tack a trailer for the third film onto the end of the second film, even in the original cinema screenings. It also excuses the ending of the second film with "to be concluded...", unlike the end of the first film, which included "to be continued..." only on the video release.

    They managed to collect most of the key members of the original cast, but they had to cast different actors for George McFly (Jeffrey Weissman) and Jennifer (Elizabeth Shue). George isn't important, because about the only talking appearance he makes is as an old man, and upside-down. But Jennifer (Marty's girlfriend) is important - we get to see her in close-ups. I'm impressed by how very close in appearance she is - I very much doubt I'd have noticed the casting change if it weren't pointed out.

    It's quite clear that the "Two Bobs" wanted to have some fun, so they carefully wove the 1955 portion in and around the storyline we saw in the first movie. They showed us scenes we saw in the first film, but from a different angle, revealing that there were extra people present. They get very elaborate from time to time, choreographing the scenes very nicely, so the bits we know from the first film take place in the background, in the foreground, or even in the middle, while the new bits happen around them. It is elegant testimony to their scripting that it all comes off so well.

    The Plot? You haven't already seen this film? Oh, you just awoke from a 14 year coma - I guess that explains it.

    At the end of the first film there's a joke sequence where everything seems settled, but suddenly Doc Brown appears, and tells Marty that he must take him back to the future to help Marty's kids, who've gotten themselves into trouble. The filmmakers admit that this was intended as little more than a neat ending for the original film. It is cute that they managed to derive half the plot for the sequel from that one scene.

    The Doc collects Marty, and Jennifer (who the Doc drags along to avoid having her talk about things), and takes them forward in time to 2015 (30 years in the future, to be symmetric with the 30 years in the past of the first film). Marty becomes acquainted with the latest in teenage fashion (cute production design in this, and so much else of the 2015 setting). He has an encounter with Griff (Biff's grandson, who has clearly inherited all of Biff's character flaws, and added some more of his own), including a partial recreation of the skateboard chase from 1955, but using hoverboards. I must say, Griff got the coolest hoverboard - a jet-propelled "Pit Bull" model. Anyway, Marty manages to achieve what the Doc wanted - he gets his future child out of a scrape. Unfortunately, while this has been happening, Jennifer has managed to get into trouble, and Biff has caught on to the idea of the time machine.

    Suffice it to say that our intrepid heroes find it necessary to visit both 1985 and 1955 again, and some interesting things happen along the way. They manage to resolve most of their problems, there's still another film to go...

    One thing struck me about this film as I watched it. The video waiters in the Cafe 80s (in 2015) all had mannerisms of Max Headroom - that dates the film badly, because Max Headroom wasn't around for long - I can't imagine anyone designing the Max Headroom idea into a film today (let alone in 13 years).

    I don't know if you'll agree, but I find this the weakest of the three films - I guess that's to be expected, because it doesn't get to finish cleanly, unlike the first and third films. I'm not saying it's bad, just that the other two are better.

Video

    Universal have provided us with another magnificent transfer to DVD. The care taken in the transfer of this movie to DVD shows in each and every shot, and it was worth every cent of the substantial amount spent on this transfer and every minute of the wait for this movie to appear on DVD. In fact, it's hard to write critically about this transfer because there simply isn't anything of substance to complain about.

    The DVD is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, and is 16x9 enhanced. That's good.

    The picture is amazing. It manages to provide a sharp, beautifully focussed image with awesome control over depth of field. That depth of field is vital to all the scenes that have the film 1 scene playing and a film 2 scene happening around it. Shadow detail is excellent. I noticed no low-level noise.

    Colour is excellent. It's very slightly better than the first film, but a film made today could demonstrate even more vivid colours, even if it is only to a tiny degree. There's no oversaturation and no colour bleed.

    This transfer shows no film artefacts, except for the tiniest trace of grain in a couple of instances. There's next to no aliasing, only a momentary hint of moire, and no significant background shimmer. If you're getting the feeling that this transfer is impressive, then maybe I'm doing the job right - that's what I'm trying to say.

    The only subtitles are English captions. I sampled them, and they seemed fairly accurate, nicely timed and easy to read. They were occasionally abbreviated for rapid-fire dialogue, but that's unavoidable if they are to be legible.

    The disc is single sided, with another nice picture label, and RSDL-formatted. The layer change is at 63:05, and it is not as good as one on the first disc - it's placed in the middle of a scene, and noticeable, but it's not too distracting.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    There are only two soundtracks this time. There's no commentary. Both soundtracks are the movie's audio, provided in Dolby Digital 5.1 and dts 5.1. I've listened to both the soundtracks, and there's a noticeable difference between the two. The Dolby Digital soundtrack is very much a frontal experience, with very little use of the surrounds at all. The dts soundtrack makes more use of the surrounds in quite a subtle way, with some nice ambient sound, and better envelopment of the score - it's not very noticeable until you compare it to the Dolby Digital soundtrack (which isn't too easy - you can't switch soundtracks on-the-fly on this DVD, which is really annoying to a reviewer!). The dts track also provides a bit more kick in the bass register - not a huge amount, but enough to give the thunder (for example) more oomph. It is definitely worth listening to the dts soundtrack if your system supports it, but the Dolby Digital will do fine if that's all you have.

    The dialogue is comprehensible at all times. There's a short patch of poor audio sync at around 61:12, but I'm fairly sure that this is the result of poor ADR work (and therefore related to the source material).

    Alan Silvestri scored this film, too. He's done a good job here - the score supports the film nicely without drawing attention to itself. This is a lush, full orchestral score in the traditional mould of big, bold adventure movie scores.

    There's not a lot in the way of surround sound here (on either soundtrack), other than some aggressive use during the opening hovercar traffic sequence (mainly in the dts track). I didn't miss it - this isn't the kind of action that needs a lot of surround sound. The subwoofer gets a little more work than in the first film, supporting the ominous tones in the score, and the occasional sound effect, but this is far from a hefty workout for the sub, especially in the Dolby Digital soundtrack; the dts track gives the sub a bit more work.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    There is a decent set of extras present on this DVD which are nicely complementary to those found on Back To The Future. The only extra of significance that is missed is an Audio Commentary. Still, what is present is generally good, and mostly not just filler.

Menu

    A brief but apt introduction leads to the fairly clumsily animated main menu. Other menus have audio underscoring.

Back To The Future Part 2 Featurette (6:41)

    Presented at 1.33:1 with Dolby Digital 2.0 mono sound, this is (unfortunately) pretty much a fluff piece with little to interest even the most rabid of Back To The Future fans.

Making The Trilogy - Chapter 2 (15:31)

    More from Laurent Bouzereau, this also takes a bit of time to get going, recapping a fair bit of what we have already seen. However, from about the 5 minute mark onwards, this becomes absolutely fascinating and riveting stuff, offering up numerous insights into why things were done in a certain way. One of the most intriguing insights is why George McFly's character was written as he was.

Outtakes (0:50)

    Presented at 1.85:1 and not 16x9 enhanced, these are variably amusing. Audio is Dolby Digital 2.0.

Deleted Scenes (3:16)

    These are excellent. None of them should have been included in the movie, but they offer an intriguing insight into what could have been. Biff's deleted scene in particular offers up considerable food for thought.

Hoverboard Test (0:58)

    Presented at 1.33:1 and silent, these are interesting but could have been so much more with additional information and expansion. You can sort of glean an idea of how they achieved this extremely convincing effect, but a full-on explanation and illustration would have been greatly appreciated.

Storyboard To Final Film Comparison (2:34)

• Marty on the Hoverboard

    Nicely presented split-screen but not one of my favourite extras.

Production Archives

    Photo galleries.

• Marty McFly Photo Album (35)
• Behind The Scenes Photography (13, mostly black and white shots)
• Futuristic Designs (32)
• Vehicles Of The Future (26)

    The Futuristic Designs gallery is interesting, but the remainder held little interest for me.

Theatrical Trailer (2:17)

    Presented at 1.33:1 with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound, this is a dated trailer image and sound-wise.

dts Trailer-Piano

    The R1 version of this DVD is not due out until November. Concrete information as to what will be on the R1 version is difficult to come by, but speculation is rampant. It is reasonable to state that the R1 version will have some additional extras over the R4 version. At this time, these additional extras would seem to include an audio commentary. Until reliable reviews of this title start appearing in R1, we cannot be more specific than this.

    Back To The Future Part II is a good movie given an excellent transfer. This is a fine DVD.

    The video transfer is of reference quality.

    The audio quality is very good, with a distinct difference in favour of the dts soundtrack.

    There are quite a few extras on this disc.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

Back to the Future Part III (1990)

This review is sponsored by

BUY IT

General		Extras
Category	Science Fiction	Main Menu Introduction Main Menu Audio & Animation Featurette-Making The Trilogy-Chapter III Outtakes Deleted Scenes Storyboard Comparisons-3 Gallery-Photo Music Video-Doubleback-ZZ Top Theatrical Trailer Trailer-E.T. The Extra Terrestrial DVD Trailer dts Trailer
Rating
Year Of Production	1990
Running Time	113:25
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (68:46)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Robert Zemeckis
Studio Distributor	Universal Pictures Home Video	Starring	Michael J. Fox Christopher Lloyd Mary Steenburgen Thomas F. Wilson Matt Clark Richard Dysart
Case	Gatefold
RPI	Box	Music	Alan Silvestri

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s) English dts 5.1 (768Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    And now the final film in the Back To The Future trilogy - you'll find the review of the first film here, and the second one here.

    This film has a little bit more serious content than the other two, because it has the job of winding up a number of storylines and themes. It also has to put forward the moral, but don't worry, they don't go overboard (for Americans, anyway). Fortunately, it isn't lacking laughs (the 1955 idea of cowboy wear is quite frightening, but very funny).

    If you haven't seen the first two films, skip to the Transfer Quality section now, because the following has to contain a few spoilers for the earlier films.

    Before we get to the opening credits, this film has a re-cap - remember: this film was appearing in cinemas the year after the previous part, and five years after the first one. The state of play was: (SPOILER ALERT: highlight with mouse to read) Jennifer and Einstein (Doc's dog) are in 1985, hopefully OK after the timeline reverted around them. Marty is in 1955, looking up at the sky in horror. The elder Doc Brown is in 1885, having been flung there when the car was struck by lightning. Marty has just received the Doc's letter in 1955. Now we can roll the opening credits for this film.

    Marty takes the letter to the younger Doc, and they excavate the Delorean. The younger Doc constructs a replacement for the time control circuit, using 1955 technology. The result is a huge breadboard of valves, replacing one tiny integrated circuit. Marty is set to return to 1985, but they stumble across a gravestone in an old cemetery that changes everything - it reports that Doc was shot in the back by Buford Tannen less than a week after writing the letter. Marty is determined to return to 1885 and rescue the older Doc.

    There's an amusing example in this film of something that has dated quickly - Marty is being shot at, and he's told to dance, so he starts moon-walking (does anyone do that nowadays?)

    The town of Hill Valley must be frighteningly inbred. We get the spitting images of people appearing and re-appearing in its history. In 1885, there's a Marshall Strickland, who is the exact double of Principal Strickland in 1955/1985 (the two also share a strong attitude towards discipline). Seamus McFly in 1885 looks awfully like Marty McFly (1985) who is the double of his own son (Marty Jr) in 2015. But strangest of all, and inexplicable by ordinary genetics (without a lot of inbreeding), is the fact that Seamus McFly's wife Maggie is the exact double of Lorraine (Marty McFly's mother). And the Tannens - Buford, Biff, and Griff look very much alike, and share an obnoxious personality. Amazing!

    There is one main new face in this film, and that is the face of the pretty schoolteacher, Miss Clara Clayton (Mary Steenburgen). It is her appearance that throws a couple of bumps into the neatly laid out plans of Doc Brown.

    I do like the eye for anachronisms in this film. In particular, when Doc Brown mentions reading 20000 Leagues Under the Sea as a boy, Clara picks him up on it, pointing out that the book was only published ten years earlier.

    There's one thing that's a little jarring - when we see Jennifer in the last few scenes she looks quite a bit older than Marty - it's a shame they couldn't get the original actress for this part, although these are the only scenes where the mismatch shows up badly.

    This film does an excellent job of finishing off the trilogy,(SPOILER ALERT: highlight with mouse to read) with the Doc finding love, and Marty learning self-control and confidence in himself.

Video

    Someone has put a lot of loving care into this transfer. It is immaculate and is definitely the best of the three DVDs transfer-wise. In this sort of rarefied company, that's saying a lot.

    The DVD is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, and is 16x9 enhanced. That's the original aspect ratio - a big tick for that.

    The picture is sharp, beautifully focussed, and limpidly clear. There are oodles of detail visible, making the transfer a constant pleasure to watch. Subtle details that we've never seen before add to the viewing pleasure. Shadow detail is excellent and there's no low-level noise. This is the kind of picture we want to see every time, and it is a real treat getting it for a movie that deserves it.

    The colour transfer is perfect. The hint of dull colour in the other two discs is not present here. There aren't a whole lot of bright colours on display (Marty's pink cowboy shirt, Clara's purple dress), but they are rendered beautifully. Of particular note are the glorious browns and greens of the American West, which are simply gorgeous to look at. There is no trace of oversaturation, nor of colour bleed.

    Once again we see no film artefacts. There is very little aliasing, although there is more in this transfer than in the other two transfers. There is some moire effect - perhaps the nastiest example comes on the railway sleepers at 40:23 as the establishing shot slowly pulls back. There's no background shimmer, no MPEG coding errors, no significant film grain, and no macro blocking.

    The only subtitles are English captions. They look to be up to the standard of the other discs.

    The disc is single sided (with another nice picture label) and RSDL-formatted. The layer change is at 68:46, and it is quite an acceptable effort. It is just noticeable, but it is placed at a scene change, so it's not troubling.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    There are two soundtracks on this DVD: English Dolby Digital 5.1 and English dts 5.1. I have listened to both of them, and there's not a whole lot of difference between the two (and comparing them isn't particularly easy, either!), but what differences there are definitely favour the dts soundtrack. The differences lie in two areas: the surrounds and the bass, particularly the subwoofer. If you have a dts decoder, then I urge you to use it on this movie.

    The dialogue is always understandable on either soundtrack. There's what looks like some slightly out-of-sync ADR work at around 33:00, but it's the only example visible.

    Once again Alan Silvestri is responsible for the lush orchestral score. The score does a fine job, emphasising the events of the movie without drawing attention to itself, and remains consistent with the other two scores. There's a song contributed by ZZ Top in this score, and it even scores its own music video.

    There are some nice moments of surround sound in the dts soundtrack (especially in the scenes with the train); in the Dolby Digital soundtrack, these sounds are much less pronounced and distinct. The dts soundtrack also makes good use of the subwoofer to support the lowest octaves of the soundtrack, and there's more call for it in this movie than in the previous two; the Dolby Digital soundtrack misses out here, too - my subwoofer switched itself off through disinterest about 40 minutes into the movie, and didn't come back on until 83:57. The dts soundtrack keeps the subwoofer's interest all through.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    The collection of extras found on this DVD is quite decent, second only to those found on Back To The Future. Quality and quantity are on offer here, with almost nothing that could be considered filler and much fascinating material.

Menu

    A brief menu introduction sets the scene for the final installment of the franchise. Subtle main menu animation and audio maintain the mood appropriately until the movie starts. Most menus have appropriate audio underscoring.

Making The Trilogy: Chapter III (16:20)

    This is the best of the Laurent Bouzereau documentaries on these DVDs and is riveting from start to finish. Robert Zemeckis makes some very interesting points about the editing of Back To The Future Part II and many other aspects of the production are delved into. Of the three featurettes, this was the only one which finished all-too-soon and left me wanting much more. It is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound.

Outtakes (1:36)

    Most of these outtakes are of the 'actor fluffs their line and bursts out laughing' variety which normally aren't funny to anyone else, but for some reason these particular outtakes are genuinely funny and had me vigorously guffawing. Presented at 1.33:1 with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound.

Deleted Scenes (1:11)

    Actually just a single deleted scene involving Mad Dog Tannen and Marshall Strickland, this is in fact a very interesting scene. One wonders how the movie would have played with this scene in place. This deleted scene is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, not 16x9 enhanced and with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound.

Storyboard To Final Feature Comparisons (3)

• The Indians (2:10)
• Showdown at Hill Valley (2:46)
• Final Train Scene (7:40)

    These are presented at 1.33:1 in a split-screen format with the storyboard at the top of the screen and the final feature footage at the bottom. The final feature footage frequently aliases, but not particularly badly. Not my personal favourite type of extra, as previously mentioned.

Production Archives

    Various galleries.

• Marty McFly Photo Album (33)
• Behind-The-Scenes Photographs (19 mainly black & white photos)
• Production Design (14 - these are rather interesting)
• The Trilogy: Poster Concepts (25). Image 25 is an unexpected bonus...

Music Video-Doubleback-ZZ Top (4:08)

    Quite an interestingly staged music video with interesting juxtaposition of colour and black & white footage as well as movie and band footage. Presented at 1.33:1 with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound and worth a look.

Theatrical Trailer (2:12)

    This appears quite disjointed - perhaps it is a work-in-progress print and not the final theatrical trailer? Presented at 1.33:1 and with extremely hollow and tinny Dolby Digital 2.0 sound.

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial DVD Trailer (0:49)

    Getting us in the mood for another of the really big Universal DVD releases happening this year. Presented at 1.85:1, not 16x9 enhanced and with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio.

dts Trailer - Piano

    The R1 version of this DVD is not due out until November. Concrete information as to what will be on the R1 version is difficult to come by, but speculation is rampant. It is reasonable to state that the R1 version will have some additional extras over the R4 version. At this time, these additional extras would seem to include an audio commentary. Until reliable reviews of this title start appearing in R1, we cannot be more specific than this.

    Back To The Future Part III is a great movie given an excellent transfer to DVD - this is the best technically of the lot.

    The video transfer is of reference quality.

    The audio transfer is excellent if you're listening to the dts soundtrack, and rather good if you're listening to the Dolby Digital soundtrack.

    There are quite a few extras on this disc.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall