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Questions tagged [back-to-the-future]

Back to the Future is the first film (1985) in a trilogy of time travel movies that branched out into an animated TV series, theme rides and video games. This tag can also be used to refer to the Back to the Future franchise as a whole.

Back to the Future (1985) is the first film in a trilogy of movies featuring 17 yr. old Marty Mcfly, a wacky scientist (Doc Brown), and a Delorean time machine. Back to the Future has branched out into an animated TV series, theme rides and video games, all of which are covered by this tag.

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Can the Delorean meet its speed requirement without moving?

Everyone knows that to time travel, the Delorean had to "hit 88 MPH". Watching the movie right now though, got me wondering... When Doc first demonstrates the time machine to Marty, he holds the brakes and revs up the drive wheels. This got me…
eidylon
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Why didn't Doc believe Marty was from the future?

In Back To The Future, Marty calls to Doc's house to try to get his help, explaining that he's from the future. Doc flat out refuses to believe him, responding with sarcasm and incredulity, laughing at the notion of a celebrity president of the US,…
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How long was the Back to the Future trilogy from Marty's point of view?

The title pretty much says it all. From the start of Back to the Future, how much time passed for Marty by the end of Back to the Future III?
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Did the two Libyans die at the Twin Pines / Lone Pine Mall in Back to the Future?

In Back to the Future, when Marty escapes the Libyans using the DeLorean and jumps into 1955, we can see at the end of the movie that the van with the Libyans crashes into the photo booth. If they remained alive they would keep on chasing Doc and…
user2513149
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Why were all of Doc Brown's clocks slow?

At the start of Back to the Future there is an exchange between Doc Brown (on the phone) and Marty, who is in Doc's lab, during which all of Doctor Brown's clocks start to chime. Doc Brown explains that he had had done an experiment which set all of…
Xantec
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In-universe, why does Doc Brown program the time machine to go to 1955?

The night on the first part at the Two Pine mall and when all the ruckus happened, Doc Brown already programmed the time machine to go to Nov 05 1955. Why so? I mean, I don't recall if there is a reason for that or it was only chance or no reason at…
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Does the DeLorean have any restrictions regarding time travel range?

I'm just wondering whether the DeLorean time machine has any restrictions on how far into the future or how far into the past it can travel. Inspired when I was considering an earlier question of mine it struck me that the earliest we actually see…
Often Right
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Was the locomotive hijacking in Back to the Future III really needed?

So we see Marty eventually travel back to 1885 using the Delorean that Doc hid in the mine, and we also see it being hit in the fuel tank by an arrow, hence crippling its ability to get itself up to 88 mph. Both Doc and Marty are then seen trying…
Moo
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Was the joke about Japanese electronics cut from Back to the Future?

I just rewatched Back to the Future the other day. I hadn’t seen it in years, and I swear there was a small scene cut from the movie. It was when Marty was hooking the camcorder to the TV at Doc's house in 1955. I could have sworn there was a small…
user76329
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What is the basis for Doc Brown and Marty McFly's friendship?

On the face of it, Doc Emmett Brown and Marty McFly seem to have very little in common. Marty is active in after school activities, has a beautiful girlfriend and his family, friends and educators all seem to dislike Doc Brown. Can anybody shed any…
giacomo casanova
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Why did Doc Brown choose the Delorean DMC-12 as his first time traveling vehicle?

According to wikipedia, the movie makers decided The specific choice of vehicle was a DeLorean DMC-12 for the purposes of it looking like an alien spaceship due to its characteristic gullwing doors. Is there a reason from within the storyline…
Major Stackings
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How many DeLoreans existed at the same time?

How many copies of the DeLorean time machine co-existed in the Back to the Future series?
Major Stackings
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Why did Doc need to use a moving car to achieve 88mph?

88mph is an important speed to screw the space-time continuum. But, motion is relative... Hey doc, can you please explain 88mph relative to what? What we see in the movie: it was the speedometer reading which matters. So, place the car on a conveyor…
user931
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Why did Dave's head get erased before his body?

We all remember the scene where Marty is playing the guitar and then starts to have difficulty as his hand fades. That got me to thinking: the photograph of the three kids showed that certain parts of them would fade rather than them fading a a…
Often Right
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How old is Emmett Brown in 1985?

In Back to the Future Doctor Emmett Brown is seen in 1955 and 1985 as appearing roughly the same age. While there are people that age very gracefully like this (William Shatner for example), this makes it hard to guess their age. As I do not recall…
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