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2. The train-chase climax of Part III.

I haven’t spoken much about Part III of the trilogy, which actually is my second favorite because of how different it is. But if there is one sequence that stands out and nearly becomes the best moment in the entire series, it’s the contraption that Doc concocts to get him and Marty back to 1985.

Unable to accelerate the DeLorean because of a lack of a gasoline, Doc and Marty realize they have to push it. And, in the Wild West, a locomotive is of course the best way to do it. Things get complicated, of course, with the appearance of Clara, Doc’s love interest in Part III. Clara, having previously run away from Doc when she heard of his tales of time travel, realizes the error of her ways, and goes searching for Doc Brown and Marty.

What follows is an exciting, heart-pounding sequence that includes a horse chase scene, a runaway locomotive, the hover board (thus successfully incorporating elements from all three movies - brilliant), and a too-close-to-call finale that is not what you expect except for the fact that the DeLorean ends up at the bottom of Chavez ravine (which becomes Eastwood ravine, given that Marty’s 1885 persona is believed to have died there).

Not only is the sequence exciting and well-executed, it is a fitting homage to what is undoubtedly and unarguably the most iconic sequence from this most iconic franchise…

1. The climactic scene of Part I.

One could write a long essay about the brilliance of the climactic scene in the first Back to the Future movie, and about its overall significance to the trilogy.

While some scenes like the Enchantment Under the Sea dance are revisited once or twice, it is this sequence that appears near the beginning or end of all three movies in the franchise. And for good reason.

As you undoubtedly recall, the scene involves Marty driving the DeLorean from a predetermined spot, accelerating it at 88 mph, and striking a cable that Doc has built from the Hill Valley Clock Tower through two lampposts at precisely 10:04 p.m. when it is struck by lightning, to be sent back to the future. The “struck by lightning” metaphor of it is obvious enough - their chances are one in millions and all must go right. On its own, then, the sequence is the most exciting, nail-biting part of the movie by many miles.

But it goes further than that. For one, it nicely sums up the core of the main characters. Doc is a brilliant scientist, but he is also somewhat of a kooky mad scientist with the same number of hare-brained ideas as working ones. From the mind-reading contraption in 1955 to the dysfunctional audio system in 1985, quirky errors are a Doc trademark. In this sequence, however, a key error permits Marty to make it safely back to 1985. Marty was supposed to start accelerating at the moment an old-fashioned alarm clock went off, in order to make it to the cables at 10:04. But the DeLorean continued to act up, and Marty was at least 5-7 seconds late in accelerating the car. But he makes it anyway, which tells us that Doc must have screwed up the calculation.

At the same time, Doc’s wiliness and his ingenuity for improvisation are showcased in the too-close-for comfort call of Doc reattaching the cables when a falling tree dislodges one, complete with an Indiana Jones-like zip line to the street at the last crucial moments.

Meanwhile, Marty’s character is also nicely summed up here - his worries about others, for the most part, as evidenced by his desire to save Doc from the untimely fate he was destined for at the hands of the Libyans in 1985. Marty, on his own, devices a way to go back earlier than planned at help doc. And he then follows Doc’s instructions, fearful but brave, reckless yet somehow cautious, all the endearing characteristics of Marty’s character.

The scene is then revisited at the end of Part II, when Marty has found out that the 1985 Doc has been sent back to 1885 and decides to turn to the 1955 Doc for help. Doc’s reaction there is classic (ending of course with Great Scott!) and provides a great cliffhanger for the third period. In turn, the third movie reopens with that same sequence which, somehow, rather than grow old and repetitive, has turned into essentially the leitmotif of the entire work.

So, 30 years after the first of this franchise, and on the day in the future to which Marty and Doc’s adventures took them, the question in all fans’ minds has always and will continue to be: could they possibly ever make a fourth movie?

Hey, if it’s worked for the Star Wars franchise…but that’s a subject for another retrospective, at another time.

For now, we are Outtatime.

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