Back to the Future Part III (1990)

Director:

Robert Zemeckis

Writers (WGA):

Robert Zemeckis (characters) &
Bob Gale (characters) ...

Release Date:

25 May 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Sci-Fi | Western

Tagline:

They've saved the best trip for last... But this time they may have gone too far.

Plot:

Enjoying a peaceable existence in 1885, Doctor Emmet Brown is about to be killed by Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen. Marty McFly travels back in time to save his friend.

Plot Keywords:

Time Machine | Dog | Outlaw | Band | Teacher

Awards:

4 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Michael J. Fox	...	Marty McFly / Seamus McFly
Christopher Lloyd	...	Dr. Emmett Brown
Mary Steenburgen	...	Clara Clayton
Thomas F. Wilson	...	Buford 'Mad Dog' Tannen / Biff Tannen
Lea Thompson	...	Maggie McFly / Lorraine McFly
Elisabeth Shue	...	Jennifer Parker
James Tolkan	...	Chief Marshal James Strickland
Matt Clark	...	Chester the Bartender
Dub Taylor	...	Saloon Old-Timer #1
Harry Carey Jr.	...	Saloon Old-Timer #2
Pat Buttram	...	Saloon Old-Timer #3
Christopher Wynne	...	Buford's Gang Member #1 / Needles' Gang Member #1
Sean Sullivan	...	Buford's Gang Member #2 (as Sean Gregory Sullivan)
Mike Watson	...	Buford's Gang Member #3
Marc McClure	...	Dave McFly

Also Known As:

Three (USA) (fake working title)

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby SR (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Netherlands:MG6 (DVD rating) | South Korea:12 | Brazil:Livre | Ireland:G | Spain:T | Canada:G (Quebec) | Portugal:M/6 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Canada:PG | Chile:TE | Finland:K-10/7 | Iceland:L | Italy:T | Norway:11 | Peru:PT | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

161 N. Magnolia Avenue, Monrovia, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Originally, Buford Tannen was supposed to shoot Marshall Strickland in the back, killing him. His son was present at the time. This was edited out of the final cut as it was deemed too depressing. This is why Strickland's deputy arrests Buford at the end of the movie rather than Strickland himself. This scene can be seen on the DVD.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The pace at which Marty passes speaker poles at the drive-in does not correspond with the speed at which he'd need to be going in order to achieve 88 mph before running into the screen.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Marty McFly: Doc! Doc! Doc!
Doc: [not paying attention] What?
Marty McFly: Doc!
Doc: What?
Marty McFly: Doc!
Doc: [finally seeing him] Aaaah!
Marty McFly: Okay, relax, Doc, it's me! It's me! It's Marty!
Doc: No, it can't be! I just sent you back to the future!
Marty McFly: Oh, I know you did send me back to the future. But I'm back! I'm back from the future.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Middleman: The Manicoid Teleportation Conundrum (#1.4)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Turkey in the Straw

"There's a man who can't hold his liquor."

Picking up where #2 left off, Marty is stuck in 1955 again and has to explain to the 1955 Doc why he's back and uses a letter Doc sends him from 1885 to explain what happened. After fixing up the time machine (hidden in a from 1885 cave), they find out that Doc is murdered in the past by Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen (played by Thomas F. Wilson) "over a matter of $80 dollars." So Marty decides to go back and rescue Doc before the murder can occur, but he is bedeviled by a rip in the fuel line - meaning they have to find another way to get the time machine to hit 88 miles per hour - and Doc falling in love with school teacher Clara Clayton (Mary Steenburgen). Along the way, he gets advice both from Doc and his 1885 ancestor Seamus McFly (also played by Michael J. Fox) that he should really learn to control his temper.

Fox and Lloyd are fun to watch as always, and I give my hat off to the studio for hiring Mary Steenburgen as Doc's love interest and not some super model type; it's more fitting of who Doc is. Wilson's Biff Tannen officially became a traditional "villain" in #2 with him murdering George McFly, and now Wilson plays an even bigger villain in Buford Tannen, whom he makes both funny and menacing.

Ironically, Wilson is said to be a very nice man in real life. Leah Thompson makes the most of a thankless dual role as both Lorraine McFly and Marty's great, great grandmother Maggie McFly, and James Tolkan plays his Principal character's soft spoken law man ancestor (killed in a deleted scene by Buford Tannen; "Remember son... discipline.")

It should be noted that originally there were no sequels planned with the first movie; that bit with Doc taking Marty and Jennifer to the future to help their kids was just another gag. But the film was such a hit that the studio couldn't NOT do sequels, so this one and part 2 were filmed back to back, which is becoming more of a craze these days.

Although on the surface it's a lighthearted comedy about time travel, it's also about what it means to be a man. The first film defined being a man through violently standing up to your tormentors, while this film and #2 go with the theme that being a man also means you have to reign yourself in when people start annoying you. Marty' willingness to fight back was his strength in the first film but here it is his flaw, as people in both 2015, 1955 and 1885 continually get his goat. The message of self-control is bluntly stated when Doc says to Marty "You can' t keep going off the handle every time someone calls you a name, that's why you get into that accident in the future!" (referring of course to the car accident mentioned in part 2). It is not until Marty realizes his error when he's about to meet Buford in the gun fight that he achieves this ideal and, much to Seamus's glee, says of Buford and the opinions surrounding him "He's an asshole! I don't care what Tannen says, and I don't care what anyone else says either!" Because of this, he is able to avoid said accident.

Also loaded with gags, references to other great westerns ("My name is Clint Eastwood.") and Doc's response to being asked if his hijacking the train is a hold up: "It's a science experiment!"