Back to the Future Trilogy (Robert Zemeckis, 1985-1990)

[dx23]

From bttf.com:

Lightning's about to strike again! Universal Studios Home Entertainment announced today that they will be re-releasing the Back to the Future Trilogy on DVD this February as individually released editions. All three films will feature special foil packaging. The classic original film will be a two-disc special edition collection which also contains Back to the Future...The Ride, the infamous Leslie Nielsen special preview of Back to the Future Part II and the long-awaited documentary Looking Back to the Future!

Back to the Future Part II and Back to the Future Part III will also be released as single-disc editions, which will be basically the same discs contained inside the 2002 Boxed Set (yes, with the "V2" correct framing!).

Here's a complete features listing for all three DVDs, which street on February 10, 2009:



Back to the Future
Disc 1:
The Making of Back to the Future
Making the Trilogy: Chapter One
Q&A with Director Robert Zemeckis and Producer Bob Gale
Enhanced Conversation with Michael J. Fox
Feature Commentary with Producers Bob Gale and Neil Canton
Deleted Scenes
Outtakes
Did You Know That? Universal Animated Anecdotes
Original Makeup Tests
Production Archives
Excerpts from the Original Screenplay
Theatrical Teaser Trailer
Cast & Filmmakers
Production Notes
DVD-ROM Features Including Total Axess
Recommendations
Special Announcements

Disc 2:
Back to the Future...The Ride
• Lobby Monitor
• The Ride
Looking Back to the Future
• The Script
• Casting Marty McFly
• Christopher Lloyd Reflects on Doc Brown
• The DeLorean as the Time Machine
• Building Hill Valley
• Prepping for the “Johnny B. Goode” Scene
• The Score
• Rushing the Cut
• The Legacy
Back to the Future Night
Michael J. Fox Q&A



Back to the Future Part II
The Making of Back to the Future Part II
Making the Trilogy: Chapter Two
Q&A with Director Robert Zemeckis and Producer Bob Gale
Feature Commentary with Producers Bob Gale and Neil Canton
Deleted Scenes
Outtakes
Did You Know That? Universal Animated Anecdotes
Production Design
Storyboarding
Designing the DeLorean
Designing Time Travel
Hoverboard Test
Evolution of Visual Effects Shots
Production Archives
Huey Lewis & The News "Power of Love" Music Video
Theatrical Trailer
Cast & Filmmakers
Production Notes
DVD-ROM Features Including Total Axess
Recommendations


Back to the Future Part III
The Making of Back to the Future Part III
Making the Trilogy: Chapter Three
Q&A with Director Robert Zemeckis and Producer Bob Gale
Feature Commentary with Producers Bob Gale and Neil Canton
Deleted Scene
Outtakes
Did You Know That? Universal Animated Anecdotes
Designing the Town of Hill Valley
Designing the Campaign
Production Archives
The Secrets of the Back to the Future Trilogy
FAQ's About the Trilogy
ZZ Top "Doubleback" Music Video
Theatrical Trailer
Cast & Filmmakers
Production Notes
DVD-ROM Features Including Total Axess
Recommendations

Back to the Future...The Ride
"Experience the complete Universal Studios theme park attraction including lobby monitor and pre-show footage." Presented in its entirety, including the "Lobby Monitor" and a combination of the "Pre-Show" and The Ride itself, an accurate representation of the signature theme park attraction is being released officially for the very first time. Featuring an on-screen dashboard of the 8-passenger DeLorean as it travels through time, The Ride is complete with accurate time circuit displays and the onboard monitor in which Doc and Biff communicate with the Institute of Future Technology's time travel volunteers. We think you'll love this true continuation of the trilogy being made available for the very first time - I sure do. I personally have been waiting for The Ride to be released on home video ever since I first experienced the attraction in January 1992! Since The Ride is included as a bonus feature itself, unfortunately there are no other bonus features for The Ride in this particular release. Hopefully we'll see behind the scenes and making-of featurettes for this attraction whenever Blu-ray arrives.

Looking Back to the Future
"Explore the legacy of Back to the Future in this 9-part retrospective documentary" Longtime followers of this website and attendees of the 2006 DeLorean Car Show in Chicago know that BTTF.com was involved in the production of an independent documentary entitled Looking Back at the Future. Looking Back to the Future is the long-awaited, newly re-edited and renamed version of that documentary, which Universal has decided to include in the 2-Disc Back to the Future Special Edition DVD. It has been completely recut and edited to incorporate content just from only the first film, including both new material and old. We're hopeful that whenever these films are released on Blu-ray down the line, that a second and third chapter to Looking Back to the Future will be added to incorporate all the wonderful interviews conducted about the sequels.

Back to the Future Night
"Go on the set of Back to the Future and Back to the Future Part II in this rare TV special." Another classic being released officially for the very first time is the highly sought-after release of the special preview for Back to the Future Part II which aired November 17, 1989 on NBC prior to a Friday night screening of Back to the Future and was hosted by comedian Leslie Nielsen. It was in this special which Robert Zemeckis (with tongue firmly in cheek) first stated that the hoverboards were real, setting off a frenzy of fans searching in a futile effort for the mystical flying boards and flooding Mattel's headquarters with phone calls & letters.


Michael J. Fox Q&A
This is the very same content as the "Enhanced Conversation with Michael J. Fox" found on Disc 1 (and was included in the 2002 Boxed Set), but here is presented as one continuous sequence and seems to be much more enjoyable.

All three discs have a SRP of $19.98 and arrive in stores starting February 10, 2009. You can also pre-order them from BTTF.com by visiting our Time Travel Terminal:

No Blu-Ray announcement yet. Damn!

[swo17]

Why are they even bothering to put out individual versions of II* and III?


*Even as I say this, 12-year old me must acknowledge that the hoverboard is pretty much the coolest thing ever invented in the history of cinema.

[dx23]

Why are they even bothering to put out individual versions of II* and III?


*Even as I say this, 12-year old me must acknowledge that the hoverboard is pretty much the coolest thing ever invented in the history of cinema.

Just to restock the titles at stores like Wal-Mart. The box set hasn't been in-stock since like 2005.

[swo17]

OK, but from the standpoint of making $$$, it made sense to sell the trilogy for $50 or whatever it cost. It was the only way to get the first one, and you rationalized the higher cost by remembering the other two as "not that bad," and wanting to have the whole set. Putting the three out separately just placates the people who complained about having to pay for II and III in the first place. It's like a standalone DVD of Godfather III--the only people who would want it would be the completists who would buy the trilogy boxset anyway, and the people who hate it wouldn't go anywhere near it. In other words, there is no reason for it to exist.

[kaujot]

I love 2. Sure, it's not as good as the first, but dammit, look at that hoverboard.

[swo17]

As I have already said, the hoverboard is the single greatest cinematic achievement of my generation. Which is why I am happy to own II as part of the trilogy. But is there a single person on the planet who likes II or III but does not like I? If so, now is the time to speak up.

[kaujot]

No one will ever admit that.

[Antoine Doinel]

III is actually my favorite of the series.

[domino harvey]

I haven't seen any of these films since I was a kid, but I'm pretty sure II was my favorite movie at some point in my youth. I definitely need to revisit the trilogy, though I remember strongly disliking III-- but what did I know, I loved II!

[denti alligator]

III is my favorite for sure, and I remembered not liking II at all, but then I caught the last 2/3 of it on German TV (yes, dubbed in German) late one night and had a hoot of a time!

I would actually buy these if they were Blu-rays.

[kaujot]

[swo17]

Where is the emoticon for walking away with my tail between my legs?

[domino harvey]

the infamous Leslie Nielsen special preview of Back to the Future Part II

Can anyone vouch for the supposed infamousity of this?

[Jeff]

the infamous Leslie Nielsen special preview of Back to the Future Part II

Can anyone vouch for the supposed infamousity of this?

It was a "behind the scenes" special that aired on NBC. I think that it may largely be considered infamous for its general 80s cheese and the Leslie Nielsen shtick factor. Mostly though, I think it's that Zemeckis and Co. pretended in the interviews that hoverboards were a real technology that had been around for a long time and that Michael J. Fox just practiced a lot. Supposedly, this led to many stupid parents trying to procure hoverboards for Christmas gifts.

[Cosmic Bus]

But is there a single person on the planet who likes II or III but does not like I? If so, now is the time to speak up.

Not exactly the same, but I've only seen the third movie, never the other two.

[flyonthewall2983]

I love all of them equally in a couple of respects, but the first one is a little stronger in terms of being a complete story. But in hindsight, Gale and Zemeckis had less on their plate while they were working on the first one, as Robert's two films out by that point had tanked and the studios weren't knocking on their doors as much.

The 2nd one, in my opinion (and mine alone probably) did as good as Blade Runner did at predicting the future. It's nowhere near the latter in terms of it's timeless quality, but Zemeckis summed 2015 up perfectly on the DVD (and I'm paraphrasing) that the technology is more advanced, but people are still screwed up. And if you think about it, there is a certain truth to that. No Hoverboards or pizzas that can be made in less than a minute (yet), but the curve of technology since '89 has been astonishing in certain respects. Yet, we're still the same people, still capable of as much evil as we are good. III I liked, even as a kid. I can imagine how it would have turned off the sci-fi crowd since it is for the most part a Western. But I kinda see the two sequels as one in the same since they were made pretty much all at the same time.

[aox]

I actually know quite a few people that prefer II to I. They even feel it pushes the medium of filmmaking more than part 1, since the story is much more complex and they had to film a film within a film (The last hour). I suppose BTTF I is more straightforward than II. I sort of agree on the technical aspects, but I think I enjoy part 1 more.

Still, I love all 3.

[Schkura]

We may not have hoverboards, but apparently we'll soon have the Air McFly:

[onedimension]

These movies are like Oedipal comedies, funny.

[dx23]

We may not have hoverboards, but apparently we'll soon have the Air McFly:

I read not so long ago that Nike was only doing like 100 pairs of those shoes and Kobe Bryant is the recipient of one pair.

[Jeff]

25th anniversary trilogy announced for Blu-ray and DVD.

[swo17]

This reminds me--we only have 5 more years to develop the technology behind hoverboards, or else the universe will cave in on itself!

[Brian C]

This reminds me--we only have 5 more years to develop the technology behind hoverboards, or else the universe will cave in on itself!

That's funny, because I remember Zemeckis (I think) saying during an EPK-type interview upon the release of part II that hoverboards actually exist, but parents' rights advocates weren't allowing them to be put on the market. I totally believed him at the time (I was 10 or so).

[Finch]

Guess I must be the only one who's only interested in the first film and hoping for individual releases further down the line.

[broadwayrock]

This reminds me--we only have 5 more years to develop the technology behind hoverboards, or else the universe will cave in on itself!

You can't stand on it, but it does hover.