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 | Band | Outlaw | Blacksmith | Dog

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:

For approximately three weeks Robert Zemeckis would fly to L.A. after his day's filming of the train climax of Back to the Future Part III (1990) to approve the sound dub that Bob Gale had been supervising of Back to the Future Part II (1989). He would then get up at 4:30am the next morning to fly back to the Northern California set to continue with his filming for that day.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Marty wakes up and picks up his gun belt, there is a missing bullet on the far right side of the belt, but when standing in front of the mirror with his belt on, the gun belt is fully loaded.

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 Making of 'The Frighteners' (1998) (V)

Soundtrack:

POWER OF LOVE

The difficult third part in the trilogy

Even in the best franchises which proved that sequels can be just as good, if not better than the originals, the third parts are often fairly controversial. Look no further than to the third entries in "The Godfather" and "The Terminator" movies. "Back To The Future III" is no exception to that rule as it clearly is the weakest part in the trilogy, but it's still one hell of a great ride.

Writer/producer Bob Gale and writer/director Robert Zemeckis are two very clever men. They know the difficulties of sequels well. As Zemeckis explains somewhere on the "BTTF"-DVD set, the hardest part is to give the audience something new without moving too far away from the original's spirit. "Back To The Future II" achieved that goal gloriously (although Zemeckis who is very critical about his own work is always downsizing the greatness of it). Maybe the two Bobs went a bit too far away from what audiences loved about the original in part 3.

Although the movie is set mainly in the Wild West, it's still seen through the eyes of two people from the 80's. There are shootouts, horse chases and train robberies, but "Back To The Future III" is never a real Western. What makes this movie seem different from its predecessors is that fittingly it doesn't have a lot to do with teen culture anymore (save for a Michael Jackson-reference). Marty himself seems to have grown up quite a bit and you'll be surprised to see him behaving more focused on his mission than Doc in the latter half of the movie. This change of places by the characters was a deliberate decision by the writers and it does push the story and the relationship of Marty and Doc forward, but something about it just doesn't feel right.

It's intriguing to learn about the origins of Hill Valley and the ancestors of the McFly-clan. However, the earnest Seamus McFly and his family - that for some reason includes a woman looking like Marty's mother - seem strangely out of place in a BTTF-movie. They're just not quirky enough.

What makes the story seem even more estranged is the introduction of a new character, Clara Clayton, with whom Doc falls madly in love. Now, although we should all be happy for Doc having found his own private happiness, somehow we don't want him to behave like that. It's not Doc as we know and love him - and that's exactly the problem Robert Zemeckis was talking about. Marty and Doc used to be a team. Was anyone happy for John when Yoko got between him and The Beatles?

I still think "Back To The Future III" is an amazing accomplishment, a fine finale to one of the best trilogies ever made. You can't give enough praise to Zemeckis and Gale for not just making these movies for financial reasons but for actually trying to make them as good as possible. Personally, I love this movie to bits and I don't think it could have been realized any better. The only explanation I got for why this brilliant sequel got a lukewarm rating of 6.7 from IMDb users, is the dilemma Zemeckis himself was aware of, but couldn't fully avoid.

Fans who are still longing for a fourth part should keep that in mind and would be best advised to let it go. Zemeckis and Gale have said repeatedly that they don't plan on ever continuing the story. And why should they? Everything has been said, everything has been done. The movies are perfect the way they are. Let's be thankful there are still filmmakers that stick to their artistic conviction.