As we head back to campus to restart the new semester, various, mixed feelings loom over us–regrets from the past semester and desires to just get to the end of this one.
Can’t help but wonder, though, what if we could go back to the past or to the future and change the trajectory of our college lives?
In the late 1980s, after finding his father’s high school yearbook and wondering what would happen if he could travel back in time to meet his parents as teenagers, Robert Zemeckis developed the idea for the “Back to the Future” trilogy. The trilogy is now one of the most successful science fiction comedies of the era.
Zemeckis is an American filmmaker from Chicago. With a career trajectory spanning from “Hold Your Hand” (1978) and “Forrest Gump” (1994) to the “Back to the Future” trilogy (1985-1990), he is best known for his technological innovations in optical effects and digital technology use in his Oscar-winning films.
Bob Gale, the co-writer of the “Back to the Future” films is an American screenwriter, comic book writer, film producer and director. He is best known for co-writing the science fiction comedy film “Back to the Future” along with many films, comics and novels.
Together, they pitched the “Back to the Future” trilogy to many studios. Unfortunately, the project was rejected more than forty times! It was not raunchy enough to compete with the successful comedies of the era.
Studios considered a time travel movie risky. With the help of Steven Spielberg, however, the movie was picked up by Amblin Entertainment.
The “Back to the Future” trilogy
The movies revolve around a teenager Marty McFly who lives in Hill Valley, California with his depressed, alcoholic mother, Lorraine. Along with them are his older siblings–major failures–and his uninvolved father, George.
After Marty fails a music audition, he fears becoming like his parents despite his ambitions.
That night, Marty meets a strange scientist, Emmet “DOC” Brown in the Win Pines Mall parking lot. Marty is then thrown back into the ‘50s. While there, he must make sure his parents fall in love or else he and his siblings will cease to exist.
In the sequel, the time-traveling duo Marty McFly and Dr. Emmett Brown return from saving Marty’s future son from a horrible disaster.
Finally, in “Back to the Future 3”, Marty finds out Doc was murdered. To save him, Marty travels back in time–this time avoiding gunslingers.
The production behind “Back to the Future” is phenomenal
The cinematography of the films makes them incredible adventures.
The trilogy features simple optical illusions in the first film and complex digital composites and groundbreaking split screens in the second film. These include iconic elements such as flying cars, hoverboards, holographic displays, clocks and time-travel cues.
Distorted visuals, lightning strikes and time-lapse effects all add to the films. In fact, not even the lightning was CGI. It was all achieved through hand-animated rotoscoping. The only CGI used in the trilogy was with the car.
Other effects such as functional neon lights, thrusters and taillights all made the movies feel timeless.
A set of timeless films, with a timeless message
Together, Zemeckis and Gale created a series that not only entertained audiences but also pushed the boundaries of what was possible in cinema. They left an indelible mark on both the science fiction and comedy genres.
The “Back to the Future” trilogy remains a cultural phenomenon even today. The films blend humor, adventure, science and heartfelt storytelling with meticulous filmmaking.
Through time-traveling, Marty understands his parents and connects with them on a deeper level. The films highlight the importance of spending quality time with the people in our lives and never taking them for granted.
They reminds us to passionately exist in and appreciate the current moments–the perfect mantra for a college student preparing for a new semester.
So, here’s your assignment for the weekend: watch them, make note of the deep underlying messages and most importantly, enjoy!
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