Hasslein Blog: Revisiting Back to the Future: The DT Moviehouse Review

REFERENCE GUIDES BY GEEKS, FOR GEEKS

Hasslein Blog

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Revisiting Back to the Future: The DT Moviehouse Review

by Rich Handley
Author Edward M. Erdelac has posted a nostalgic, reverent and insightful review of the first Back to the Future film, here. Considering that the movie is almost 30 years old, any article or review written about it today is unlikely to point out anything new. So it says a lot that Ed's review is both a great read and able to offer some keen observations about the actors' performances.

For example:

Oh Crispin Glover's unique approach to playing George McFly: "George's weird, breathless way of speaking (as if it takes a supreme effort for him to say a single thing to anybody) and oddball, un-self-conscious (look at the way he dances by himself in a wonderful little shot at the beginning of the Enchantment Under The Sea Dance) body movements inform a sympathetic portrayal of a born outsider who comes in from the cold, eventually finding his own strength and self-confidence in the movie's most memorable and cheer inducing scene."

This might be the first time I've ever seen anyone make mention of this aspect of George's personality. The focus, in write-ups, is always on George's shyness, awkwardness and lack of confidence. But his brief dancing scene shows another side of him—comfort in his own body that has been submerged by years of bullying. In that moment, thanks to Marty's efforts to bolster his self-image, we see George starting to come into his own, and to embrace his uniqueness. I love that Ed picked up on this.

And on Christopher Lloyd's portrayal of Doc Brown: "You're taking a chance with a character who is so passionate he literally howls at the sky and dances with unmitigated joy when he realizes he's finally invented something that actually works. It could easily come off forced and silly, but with Lloyd it doesn’t. He’s the same sort of outsider as George, but with a self-confidence that he instills with Yoda-esque wisdom in Marty."

I particularly enjoy reading Ed's reaction to the now-classic scene in which George knocks Biff unconscious. I absolutely love that scene, for all the same reasons Ed does: the range of emotions on Glover's face, Lorraine's obvious terror, the genuine danger Biff poses to both of them... wow. From the moment George shows up expecting Marty to be in the car until when he and Lorraine walk together into the dance, every single beat is spot-on—and so is Ed's review.


Stay tuned as Ed Erdelac reviews the sequels next week.

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