Back to the Future

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Re: Back to the Future

Post by Ben » September 17th, 2016, 4:07 am

I can honestly think of about 200 lines that are better than that.

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Re: Back to the Future

Post by ShyViolet » September 17th, 2016, 1:36 pm

"Think Mcfly, think!" Lol. :P
You can’t just have your characters announce how they feel! That makes me feel angry!

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Re: Back to the Future

Post by ShyViolet » August 26th, 2018, 1:18 pm

Ok, I realize I am wayyyyyyyyyyy late here, but I finally got around to at least starting to watch the Netflix doc “Back in Time.” I had to stop it after 15 minutes. I’ll definitely get back to watching it soon, but something someone who is supposedly some kind of authority on film said was so jaw-droppingly stupid that I couldn’t watch any more.

Basically, after all the compliments BTTF receives in the opening segment, (which it richly deserves), the opinion that the film, like any other, has some flaws is brought up. Nothing wrong with that. But...suddenly someone (actually it was Dan Harmon, creator of “Rick and Morty”) says in an interview that one of the film’s main flaws is that the film’s protagonist Marty Mcfly is a “flawless hero” with “no personality” and who “doesn’t learn a d*** thing” during the film (I’m assuming he’s talking about the trilogy itself as well, since 2 and 3 both build on 1.)

I was so shocked that at first I thought maybe he was talking about Marty at the beginning of 1 (which doesn’t really make sense either since Marty was very much a three-dimensional character from the start: embarrassed but tolerant of his parents, quietly angry about his father’s bullying by Biff, wanting to achieve independence, and perhaps a bit lonely because of his friendship with the adult scientist/recluse Doc Brown) but no, apparently Harmon was referring to the entire film and, by implication, the trilogy itself. Never mind Marty’s new awareness that his parents were once kids just like him. Never mind Marty coming into his own as a person through his experiences in 1955. And of course starting to realize that wealth/power/status isn’t everything in part 2, and that just because someone calls you a name doesn’t mean you need to waste your time on them risking pretty much everything (your job in part 2, for starters, and eventually your future after the accident with the Rolls Royce.)

And perhaps most insanely of all, Marty’s parting words to his parents in part 1 are: “It’s been...educational.”
:shock: :shock: :shock: I mean...wow.

BTW, I know virtually nothing about Rick and Morty (other than the fact that it’s animated) so I’m not putting down Harmon’s efforts on that show or the show itelf. For all I know, it could be amazing. But wow...how in the world could anyone have considered him an authority on BTTF (or, judging by his criticism itself, film in general). How could a supposedly well-produced well-researched doc on one of film history’s most iconic films showcase someone so ignorant not just of movies but storytelling itself? I don’t in any way mean to sound snobbish or anything but is this really what passes for intellectual discourse nowadays? (Or the notion expressed by quite a few critics that Spielberg’s “Ready Player One” is a only a slavish one-note valentine to pop culture and nothing else?)
Then again, maybe I’m being too hard on Harmon...for all we know, he might not have even seen the film at all.)

Again...I don’t at all mean to sound arrogant or put down anyone else’s opinion...everyone is entitled to their feelings. I guess what really bothers me is just that the whole idea of film criticism/analysis is to go beyond the surface of a story, to pay attention to each part and think about what it might mean other than “it’s what happens” in the story.
You can’t just have your characters announce how they feel! That makes me feel angry!

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Re: Back to the Future

Post by Ben » August 26th, 2018, 8:48 pm


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Re: Back to the Future

Post by ShyViolet » August 29th, 2018, 10:39 pm

Yeah, you’re so right Ben, he was most definitely, as you said, “a major jerk.” :? Marty Mcfly would never have given him the time of day. “You think I’m stupid enough to talk to that *******?” Lol.


Also, here’s a quite interesting short interview with Crispin Glover from 2014. He basically discusses his problems with the producers of the trilogy (particularly Bob Gale) and his feelings towards the first film in general. (So weird how he still looks so much like George! Ha. :) )

https://youtu.be/gmuGyHb4iHE
You can’t just have your characters announce how they feel! That makes me feel angry!

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Re: Back to the Future

Post by Daniel » May 18th, 2019, 3:54 pm

Back to the Future...The Musical. Lookie where it will be playing. ;)

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Re: Back to the Future

Post by Ben » May 18th, 2019, 5:15 pm

I’ll wait for the London run... ;)

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Re: Back to the Future

Post by ShyViolet » July 7th, 2019, 10:24 pm

Overwhelmingly insane...but I absolutely have to own this! :)


https://www.amazon.com/William-Shakespe ... 168369094X

Basically, a complete Shakespearean translation of the first BTTF film, written by experts.


Some sample lines:
“Pay heed: preserve the tower of the clock! Our grand clock tower needeth your swift aid!”


“Art thou call’d Calvin Klein? For on thine underwear it is display’d.”


“The flux capacitor—I know it well. Behold, my friend, the work of thirty years…”


“Great Scott! I prithee, let me see again The photograph of thou and siblings too.”


“The sign says Lone Pine Mall, not Twin Pine, strange—Have all my memories chang’d?”
You can’t just have your characters announce how they feel! That makes me feel angry!

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Re: Back to the Future

Post by Randall » July 7th, 2019, 10:49 pm

I saw that last weekend at a local bookstore, and had meant to mention it to Ben. Thanks for bringing it up. It looks fun, though like the similar "Star Wars by Shakespeare" books, I doubt I'd ever read it all the way through. Good for a skim, at least.

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Re: Back to the Future

Post by EricJ » July 7th, 2019, 11:33 pm

Randall wrote:
July 7th, 2019, 10:49 pm
It looks fun, though like the similar "Star Wars by Shakespeare" books, I doubt I'd ever read it all the way through. Good for a skim, at least.
Aw, thought it was going to be like the Shakespearean subtitle track on the "Monty Python & Holy Grail" DVD, with handpicked Henry IV dialogue:
("The length and breadth of his father's kingdom."
"These flea-bitten tapestries?"
"Nay, nay, not so!")

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Re: Back to the Future

Post by Ben » July 9th, 2019, 6:00 am

That looks fun...though I’m not sure, having read those brief lines, that it hasn’t already exhausted the joke? I guess skimming the whole thing might provide more laughs in how they "translate" specific other lines and situations, though.

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Re: Back to the Future

Post by Daniel » July 9th, 2019, 3:11 pm

Feels like something ideal for a Family Guy cutaway. As a whole book... eh. Could see it getting old, fast.

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Re: Back to the Future

Post by Otis8 » July 15th, 2019, 12:28 pm

This is GOLD. :lol: They should do the sequels!

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Re: Back to the Future

Post by Daniel » July 15th, 2019, 1:18 pm

Nah, if anything they should do The Lion King. ;)

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Re: Back to the Future

Post by ShyViolet » October 13th, 2019, 6:30 pm

Another interesting (and quite recent) interview with Crispin:


https://youtu.be/j-gM7hbHZNs


More details about his anger/hurt over Universal using his prosthetic face on the actor who replaced him in part 2. (Also how he feels about that actor’s performance.). He’s actually very interesting to listen to. :)


Also...I absolutely NO idea that Zemeckis/Universal might possibly be considering a reboot of this film.


Honestly...there are no words. :shock:
You can’t just have your characters announce how they feel! That makes me feel angry!

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