Back To The Future: 40th Anniversary Trilogy 4K UHD Review
Back to 4K.
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the first “Back To the Future,” Universal has released a new 4K set titled “Back To The Future: 40th Anniversary Trilogy.” What all is included here aside from the 3 films? Read on to find out.
What is there to say about “Back To The Future” that already hasn’t been said? The Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale script is arguably one of the best ever written. The story about an inventor (Doc Brown), a teenager (Marty McFly), a time traveling DeLorean, and a trip back to 1955 where Marty encounters his family and must find a way back to his own time in 1985 is so creative and smart. There’s an urgency to the entire proceedings as there’s a literal race against time, but more than that, it’s a moving story about family and friendship. The classic 80s film is made even better by a first rate cast featuring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Crispin Glover, Tom Wilson and Lea Thompson.
“Back To The Future Part 2” is in my humble opinion one of the all-time great sequels. Picking up where the first film left off, Marty, Doc, and Jennifer travel to 2015 from 1985 to save Marty and Jennifer’s children/family. They experience even greater problems with Biff and Griff leading them to go back to 1955 to correct the timeline. Bob Gale’s script is note perfect from start to finish. The story cleverly plays with time and shows the dangers of time travel and altering the past, present and future. The film’s depiction of the future has had a lasting appeal obviously as people still clamor for Hoverboards and dehydrated pizza. Seeing how the story plays within the framework of events of the first film is pure joy as well.
The trilogy closes out with the western centric “Back To The Future Part 3” in which Marty travels to 1885 to save Doc Brown’s life. It’s a much more comedic and mainstream entry, but it’s still a satisfying closer. It’s heartwarming to see Doc Brown have a major arc here with his romance with Clara and it’s a blast to see Tom Wilson showcase his acting chops as Mad Dog.
Overall, it’s no secret that the Back To The Future trilogy is one of the best trilogies in cinema history. These are the type of original movies that people rewatch over and over again.
Video/Audio:
Presentation: 1.85:1 2160p With Dolby Vision and HDR+10. How do the films look? The picture quality of all 3 films in 4K are vastly superior to their Blu-ray counterparts. Not only is the image quality sharper, but the colors really pop (especially on parts 2 and 3). For those wondering, these are the same transfers as the 2020 4K releases (as far as I know).
Audio Track: Dolby Atmos. How do the films sound? Alan Silvestri’s iconic score, the DeLorean engine, the lightning storm and so on all sound exquisite through the dynamic Atmos tracks.
Extras:
* Digital copies of the trilogy
* Blu-ray copies of the trilogy
* The main selling point of this new 4K set is a bonus disc featuring 5 new extras: 1. “40 Years Later: Reflecting On The Future”- A 25 minute interview with Bob Gale who talks about the series lasting appeal 40 years later. 2. “Back To Hill Valley”- Donald Fullilove and Bob Gale explore filming locations and recall memories in this near 17 minute extra. 3. “Untold Stories Of Back To The Future”- A 37 minute extra with crew members David McGiffert, Dean Cundey, Neil Canton, Pamela Eilerson, Michael Lantieri, Bob Gale, Frank Marshall, Michael Scheffe, Mitchell Bock, and Sean Daniel regale audiences with a plethora of behind-the-scenes stories about everything from the production to the DeLorean. 4. “TCM Classic Film Festival Panel”- Alicia Malone hosts this 16 minute Q&A panel with Bob Gale, Dean Cundey, and Charlie Croughwell. 5. “A Mystery In History”- A 9 ½ minute extra about the missing Gibson guitar prop. Michael J. Fox, Lea Thompson, among others interviewed here.
* Back To The Future 4K and Blu-ray Extras: Theatrical trailer, “The Power Of Love” music video, commentary by Bob Gale and Neil Canton, Q&A commentary by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, 8 deleted scenes with optional commentary by Bob Gale, Michael J. Fox Q&A, the 3 part “Tales From The Future” (In The Beginning…,Time To Go and Keeping Time), Join Team Fox, Behind The Scenes original makeup tests, outtakes, and nuclear test site sequence, and 3 archival featurettes (The Making of Back To The Future, Making The Trilogy: Chapter One, and Back To The Future Night).
* “Back To The Future Part 2 4K and Blu-ray Extras: 7 deleted scenes with optional Bob Gale commentary, commentary by Bob Gale and Neil Canton, Q&A commentary by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, theatrical trailer, Tales From The Future: Time Flies, The Physics Of Back To The Future With Dr. Michio Kaku, 7 behind the scenes extras- outtakes, production design, storyboarding, designing the DeLorean, designing time travel, Hoverboard test, and the evolution of visual effects shots, and 2 archival featurettes titled “The Making Of Back To The Future Part 2” and “Making The Trilogy: Chapter 2.”
* “Back To The Future Part 3 4K and Blu-ray Extras: 1 deleted scene with optional Bob Gale commentary, 2 more “Tales From The Future” segments, ZZ Top’s “Doubleback” music video, theatrical trailer, FAQ’s About The Trilogy, Q&A commentary by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, commentary by Bob Gale and Neil Canton, “Back To The Future: The Ride” (the best ride ever!), behind the scenes extras (outtakes, designing the town of Hill Valley and designing the campaign), and 3 archival featurettes (The Making of Back To The Future Part 3, Making The Trilogy: Chapter 3, and The Secrets Of The Back To The Future Trilogy).
* Bonus disc featuring the extras from the 2020 4K set and earlier: Lost audition tapes, Jaws 19 trailer and Hoverboard commercial, the episodes “Brothers” and “Mac The Black” from “Back To The Future: The Animated Series,” the 9 part Looking Back To The Future, Outatime: Restoring The DeLorean, a 2015 message from Doc Brown, Hollywood Museum exhibit, cast and creative Q&A and 2 musical numbers (“Gotta Start Somewhere” and “Put Your Mind To It”) for “Back To The Future: The Musical,” Could You Survive The Movies? Back To The Future, and Doc Brown Saves The World!
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