34 Super Small Details In The "Back To The Future" Trilogy That Are Smarter Than All Of Us
1. The clock tower clock is unloaded in the background of Back to the Future Part III.
Back to the Future III (1990): When Doc and Marty are asking the train conductor for tips, the Clock Tower clock is being unloaded in the background. from MovieDetails
2. The beer George drinks changes with his confidence. I know! What a detail!
In Back to the Future (1985) before Marty travels back and changes the past, helping his father gain self-confidence, George drinks Miller Lite. When Marty returns to 1985 the more confident, richer George now drinks Miller High Life the "Champagne of Beers" from MovieDetails
3. Doc's shirt in Back to the Future Part II seriously foreshadows Part III.
In Back to the Future 2, Docs shirt design has two horses chasing a steam train, foreshadowing the events of the next film. from MovieDetails
4. And the shirt finds a new use in the third movie.
Doc Brown's bandana from Back to the Future: Part III is made from his shirt from Back to the Future: Part II. from MovieDetails
5. Marty has the same experience in every new version of the Courthouse Square. I love that kind of thing so much.
In the Back to the Future Trilogy (1985-1990) Marty nearly gets run over every time he first explores a new iteration of the Hill Valley Courthouse Square. from MovieDetails
6. Biff's casino requires smoking. LOL.
There's a 'Smoking Required' sign outside of Biff's casino in 'Back to the Future II' (1989) from MovieDetails
7. The drummer at the school dance in 1955 plays in a swing style because he doesn't know about rock drumming yet.
In Back to the Future (1985), when Marty plays “Johnny B. Goode” with the band, the drummer plays in a swing style since he’s never heard rock drumming before from MovieDetails
8. The same family runs the transportation business in Hill Valley for 100 years. Well, for at least 100 years.
In Back to the Future the Statler family ran the transportation business in Hill Valley. In 1885, Joe Statler's business was called Honest Joe Statler, which advertised "fine horses sold, bought, and traded". In 1955, it changed to Statler Studebaker. In 1985, it was Statler Toyota. from MovieDetails
9. This newspaper in Biff's 1985 shows a very different world.
The newspaper has a column that reads- Nixon to seek fifth term: vows to end Vietnam war by 1985, in 'Back to the Future II' (1989). Presumably, Biffs corruption had far reaching effects. from MovieDetails
10. And Part II's 2015 newspaper made some predictions.
Back to the Future Part II (1989) makes several predictions in its fictional 2015 newspaper, such as a "Queen Diana", "Tokyo stocks up" (due to Japan's then strong economic growth), a female president, and "thumb bandits" hinting the fingerprint payment system shown later in the film. from MovieDetails
32 years after this movie came out and still no female president. How grand.
11. One of those predictions was there being a cure for cancer.
In Back to the Future part 2 (1989), when Marty is reading the newspaper you can briefly see a cure for cancer has been discovered. from MovieDetails
12. In the third movie, Marty references Clint Eastwood in 1955, too early for Doc to know who that is, but a poster for Clint Eastwood's first movie is next to Marty when he says it.
In Back to the Future 3 (1990), the year in this scene is 1955 and Marty says: Clint Eastwood would've never wear anything like this. By his side there is a poster of Revenge of the Creature (1955) which marks the film debut of Clint Eastwood. from MovieDetails
13. The clock tower's damage is consistent.
At the beginning of Back to the Future (1985), there's no damage on the clocktower ledge. When Marty comes back to 1985 at the end, you can see the damage from when Doc was up there to send him back in 1955. from MovieDetails
14. And it's still broken in 2015.
In Back To The Future 2, the ledge on the clock tower that Doc broke in Back To The Future is still broken from MovieDetails
15. Oh, and that guy Marty's talking to? He's the mechanic in 1955!!!
In Back to the Future Part II (1989), the elderly man raising money to save the clock tower in 2015 (who also inadvertently gives Marty the idea to buy the Sports Almanac) is the mechanic who removed the horse manure from Biff's car in 1955. from MovieDetails
The mechanic is played by Charles Fleischer, who voices Roger Rabbit. Who Framed Roger Rabbit is another movie directed by Robert Zemeckis.
16. The diner in 1955 is a fitness center in 1985.
In Back to the Future, the diner run by Lou in 1955 is called Lou’s aerobic fitness center in 1985. from MovieDetails
17. In Back to the Future Part III, Marty learns from his past and checks to see if he's wearing pants before getting up.
In Back to the Future 3, when Marty wakes up in 1885 on the McFly Ranch, he checks to see if he’s wearing pants before getting out of bed (at 23:36). In the previous movies, his pants have been removed when he wakes up in bed from being knocked out. from MovieDetails
18. Doc is able to spend so many years doing experiments that make no money because he sold his family's estate. What a perfect explanation.
In Back To The Future 1 - Newspaper Clips in Emmett Brown's house explain how he got money to create experiments for over 30 years while never working for money. He sold his large family estate. from MovieDetails
19. The Court House is a mall in 2015 because lawyers are no longer a thing.
In back to the future part 2, the hill valley court house was turned into a mall in 2015 due to the abolishment of all lawyers. from MovieDetails
20. In 1955 in Back to the Future Part II, there's an advertisement for a trip to Cuba – 7 years before the Cuban Missile Crisis.
In Back to the Future part II, a travel service ad can be seen in 1955 for a 10 day trip to Cuba (before the missile crisis) from MovieDetails
21. When Marty's Uncle Joey, a convict, is a baby, he's wearing black and white stripes. Everything is something in these movies!
In Back to the Future, Marty’s uncle Joey is a convict. When Marty goes back in time, baby Joey is seen in black and white stripes. from MovieDetails
Marty says to him, "Better get used to these bars, kid."
22. Hill Valley's theater is under construction in 1885.
In Back to the Future Part III (1990) you can see the Essex/Holomax Theater that appears in every time Marty visits under construction in the background in 1885. from MovieDetails
23. The license plate on the 2015 DeLorean is a barcode.
In Back to the Future part 2 (1989) the futuristically modified DeLorean has a barcode license plate from MovieDetails
24. Doc hanging off of the clock tower is foreshadowed in Back to the Future's opening credits.
Back to The Future - The opening credits have a clock foreshadowing Doc hanging off the city clock from MovieDetails
25. When Marty gets back to 1985 in the third movie, the ravine is now called the Eastwood Ravine because people think "Clint Eastwood" (Marty) fell to his death.
In Back to the Future 3, Marty returns to the railroad in the area named Eastwood Ravine, which was originally named Clayton Ravine. Clara Clayton was saved while "Clint Eastwood" was believed to have fallen to his death. from MovieDetails
How none of these movies won Best Original Screenplay I will never understand.
26. In Part II, the 2015 antique store is filled with specific gems.
In Back to The Future II (1989), the antique store is full of easter eggs; a VHS copy of Jaws (directed by BTTF's executive producer Steven Spielberg), a JVC camcorder (used by Marty to record Doc's experiment in the first film), and a Who Framed Roger Rabbit doll (directed by Robert Zemeckis). from MovieDetails
27. Doc wears multiple watches, because he freaking loves time.
In Back to the Future, Doc is so obsessed with time that he is constantly wearing two watches. from MovieDetails
28. And in the second movie, he has two slots for 1864 money because the Confederacy had its own currency during the Civil War. I mean, the genius required to think of that.
In Back to the future II (1989), Doc's money case has two slots for the year 1864 but the bills look entirely different. This is because during the American Civil War (1861-1865) there were 2 different currencies for both the United States and the Confederate States. from MovieDetails
29. Speaking of money, due to inflation, a Pepsi in 2015 costs $50.
In Back to the Future II, Doc gives Marty $50 to buy a Pepsi to account for inflation in 2015 from MovieDetails
30. To make Marty's son, played by Michael J. Fox, and Biff's son, played by Thomas F. Wilson, look different from their fathers, they have new eye colors.
Back to the Future part II (1989) Marty and Biff have different eye colors than Marty Jr. and Griff. So they don't look exactly the same. from MovieDetails
31. The clock and toilet Doc mentions in Back to the Future are present in Part III.
In Back to the Future Doc says he slipped off a toilet while hanging a clock. You see that toilet and clock in BTTF3. from MovieDetails
32. A tiny and great detail in the first movie: Marty has a guitar pick in his pocket.
Like a true guitarist, in Back to the Future Marty has a guitar pick mixed in with his pocket change from MovieDetails
33. The photographer in Back to the Future Part III is actually the trilogy's director of photography, Dean Cundey.
In BTTF part 3 (1990), the photographer that takes a picture of Marty and Doc is played by Dean Cundey, who was director of photography on all three Back to the Future movies. from MovieDetails
34. And finally, when Marty goes back to the future for the first time, he vanishes into The Atomic Kid.
In "Back to the Future," Marty's nuclear powered Delorean disappears into "The Atomic Kid." from MovieDetails