Zemeckis' Film Is Ambitious And Multi-Generationally Approachable

Rating: 9/10 (8 December 2013)

Back To The Future is one of those films that is universally loved and is one of the most referenced contemporary films of all time. Has there been any other time travel film that has created such an impact as this film? Not that I have seen, but it is arguable as I have not seen many time traveling films.
Back To The Future is written by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale. I am just get this out of the way and say that both are not the greatest of writers but they did have created an a concept that is so ambitious and at the same time so accessible that it is hard to not appreciate their writing contributions. Back To The Future's premise is the reason we watch this film and it's the reason that we keep getting hooked to it. Back To The Future's plot is ambitious, at times too ambitious that certain plot holes may be present in relation to the impact of Marty's influence, and the film also has an abundance of humor scattered throughout the film. The humor is one of the main reason that the film is so accessible and beloved, the jokes can be related to both the younger generation and the previous generation even if either generation is from the 50-80s era. The story of just having Marty's mother be infatuated with him, and lightly touches on Freud's Oedipal Complex, is hilarious and ridiculous that it still has it's effect with every viewing. Back To The Future also manages to create the most unique of friendships, a high school student and a slightly off scientist, because these characters are so well written that I didn't really mind the unbelievability of their friendship. Both writers have created a protagonist that is very close to a real teenager during the 80's and made him so appealing that every adolescent males want to be him and all teenage girls want him.
Robert Zemeckis now is regarded as one of the greatest contemporary directors and Back To The Future is one of the reasons why that is so. Zemeckis was able to execute a film that has such an ambitious plot while maintaining a campy coming of age tone that can appeal to a multi-generational audience. Back To The Future and Romancing The Stone definitely made Zemeckis an important director and those become a stepping stone for him to create films with more artistic license. Back To The Future was able to create this sense of nostalgia and walk a tightrope between two generations of adolescence. Zemeckis was able to project that ability to recreate a time of adolescent youth that is relatable and fueled by references that defined that time period; Zemeckis has definitely created something that was similar to what George Lucas did for American Graffiti.
Dean Cundey started off as a cinematographer of the most popular Horror films of all time, including Halloween and The Thing. After working with Zemeckis on Romancing With The Stone, he did a complete turn around working in much more light-hearted and optimistic films. Cundey did a decent job here and was able to juxtapose two different looks for the film, the dark and dirty look for the 80s and the warm and colorful look of the 50's. Cundey's photography isn't as in your face with nostalgia, like The Godfather, as it consistently takes a more contemporary style throughout the film. Cundey shoots this film to serve the plot and maintaining that accessibility and light hearted tone that Zemeckis wanted instead of drawing attention to itself. The cinematography for this film may not be as loved as the film's writing or musical score but Cundey doesn't slouch with this film.
Alan Silvestri was brought in to compose the score for Back To The Future and what a wonderful job he has done here. Silvestri's score here is one of the most memorable film scores that competes with other films like Star Wars and Indiana Jones. It has the ability to stick under your skin and will have you bobbing your head when it comes on. Huey Lewis' "Power of Love" is so catchy that it just stands out and had me singing the lyrics every time it comes on. The song is able to blend in with Silvestri's score which prevents me from drawing too much attention to it and feeling like it's out of place.
Michael J. Fox is the star of this film, embodying this character who is a product of a rebellious and erratic generation. Fox brings personality to McFly by acting like how cool teenage adolescents were like in his time period. When he is sent back in time, Fox was able to portray this fish out of water kind of personality and emotion that makes his entrapment believable. Christopher Lloyd plays the slightly intense scientist who has created time traveling. Lloyd definitely has given such a memorable performance and nobody else was able to capture his performance in any other film. Lloyd was able to balance humor and the seriousness with such flourish that he was to place weight in the story of the scene. Lea Thompson and Crispin Glover play Marty's parents and both do a very good job and was able to embody both their young and older self, though at times Glover at the start of the film was quite over the top and had me cringing a couple of times. Thomas F. Wilson was good as a cliché looking bully "Biff". He was able to give off this toughness quality that is able to make the McFly's feel inferior.
Back To The Future by now is regarded as a classic and I can see why. This film will appeal to every generation and it's legacy will continue to grow as time passes. Back To The Future is still Zemeckis' best film and will forever remain as a timeless piece of cinema.