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DVD Review: Back to the Future Trilogy (Widescreen)
All 3 movies have undergone audio and video re-mastering. Audio was updated to the de-facto 5.1 digital surround, and all film was not only digitally transferred, but cleaned up and rendered crystal clear. The bonus material not only gives additional value to the DVDs, but also helps to answer numerous questions about the movies, including time travel, plot lines, and the characters themselves. My intentions here are to generally review the DVD, but not reveal any of the specific deleted scenes, for those that still want something to remain a surprise.
To begin, the movies themselves are intact, as originally shown in the theaters. Unlike recent DVD releases of 80s classics (ie. the gun-to-walkie-talkie edits in E.T.), there were no political corrections made. While this is not usually something of concern, there were TV edits made that removed "the Libyans" from the first movie, shortly after the 9-11 events. All that aside, the DVDs are a pretty standard affair, with each one being themed after the respective movies: Part 1 in the 50s, Part 2 in the future, and Part 3 in the old west.
For a DVD box set that has been over 15 years in the making, Zemeckis and team definitely deliver. This set has all that you would expect of any feature-packed DVDs, including deleted scenes, outtakes, original trailers, and behind the scenes features. The movies themselves contain additional commentaries, and an option that pops up an icon for additional production notes and factoids during viewing. Even the deleted scenes have an option for viewing with commentary by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale.
The larger behind the scenes features include a "Making of" for each of the three movies, and an overall "Making of the Trilogy" that spans all three DVDs. Among the smaller behind the scenes features are the evolution of special effects, production Q&A's, making of the DeLorean time machine, and the original discussion of the time-travel plot lines.
Among the only drawbacks I noticed were a few minor flaws in the DVD menus. While viewing the bonus material, some features returned to a pure black menu. However, the problem isn't critical, as pressing the Menu button on your DVD remote will eventually take you back to the main menu. It's just distracting to have such a flaw that appears on each of the DVDs.
Overall, I'm extremely pleased with the conversion of the movies to DVD format, and even more so with the additional material on the DVDs. Personally, I know I've had questions about what I thought were plot holes in the whole time travel theory, and Zemeckis made sure to include plenty of notes, FAQs, and Q&As to clear up any confusion, or add to it, depending on your acceptance of his answers. Bottom line: if you've ever waited for an answer to your "whys" or "what ifs" --- or if you just want to enjoy the movies as they are, then look no further than the Back to the Future trilogy.
However, hang on a second: NetGyver writes with a reason to hold off on buying this trilogy:
"The Digital Bits is reporting that the widescreen matting has been done in error on the BTTF Part II and III discs in the trilogy box set. The results very from minor to extremely irritating. Here is a side by side frame comparison between the full-screen DVDs/Laserdisc/and widescreen DVDs for you to view.The widescreen DVD set is considered defective and Universal has an exchange program on the way where you can mail in discs II and III for replacements. But that won't roll out until late February 2003. There is no word for disc replacements for other regions besides North America, at least for now. This a fix for those who already own the widescreen DVD set. The corrected DVD batch will arrive in U.S. stores in late February according to Universal Studios."
Slashdot welcomes reader-submitted features and reviews, and thanks da3dAlus for this one.
To make this first post mine...
Ha!
Webmaster Wanted - Entropic Reactions
...we could all work together to make the world a better -- OOOH!!! SHINEY!!
Great, now that the DVD's are out, maybe I can begin to convert my 93 Accord into a time machine!
I hope you're not a financial planner. I'd hate to see what you'd do for other investments.
You don't have a closet full of beanie babies in plastic bags, do you?
Dirty birds...
Anyone with an oedipal complex knows what the triology was really about. How many times did we see Marty in bed with his hot mother (or hot maternal kin) next to him?
BTTF 3 TV edit. Buford is outside waiting for Marty to fight. Buford counts to 10, starts yelling. Marty says "He's an asshole", with the camera directly on his face. On TV, they replaced it with 'idiot'. Possibly the worst edit I've ever seen, since you can VERY plainly see what Marty said.
There is no reasonable defense against an idiot with an agenda
:wq
I'd tell you how it worls, but I'd have to hit you with a toilet first.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
That's really funny, you know if the MPAA gets its way, pretty soon none of us will actually get to *see* movies (or at least if we do MPAA execs will use the flashy things on us) we'll just go pay 14.95 at the theatre to sit there. At then another 49.95 for the DVD that won't play.
:)
Might as well enjoy them now
The Anti-Blog
"There's so much techological genius in these movies that the 'making of' stuff is worth the cost of the set to me. I haven't even watched the movies yet, I just opened disc 4 and started watching. GOOD STUFF."
Every once in a while there's really cool supplemental stuff in a CD, like videos or images or something. I also love reading the editorials written by music historians in the sleeves of rereleases of old albums remastered. I spent hours studying Eddie Vedder's drug-inspired doodles on the Vs. album. Same goes for Thom Yorke's doodles in OK Computer.
But that's not quite enough. Movies have something that music doesn't have. A large number of people are impressed by and can appreciate visual special effects. It's therefore obvious that people would want to pay extra for a DVD with a large section devoted the the creation of the film. I spent hours watching disc 2 of Attack of the Clones, even though I don't really dig the film. And how many people saw the movie just to see the special effects?
On the other hand, most people I know laugh at me for how thoroughly I read album sleeves and band biographies. They look at me funny when I stop and say something like, "Listen to this guitar line - isn't that cool? He routed his guitar through a flanger and a phase shifter in series...etc." There just isn't the demand for that sort of thing in the public. People just want to hear their Moby (or whatever). They don't want to know what kind of wah-wah pedal he uses or how he looped a particular sample. That's one reason why some technically brilliant bands aren't all that famous, like Kraftwerk, for instance. Their sound engineering is INCREDIBLE, especially considering that they were among the first to use a lot of the technology and techniques so common in music today. (The recording, mixing, and mastering for Electric Cafe (1986) was entirely digital.) I would repurchase all of my Kraftwerk collection at a higher price if there included notes about the making of the album, but I'm a music geek.
The fanboy who reviewed this got a bit carried away.
Ok, let's see. You used the words "an astounding display of audacity" when referring to the DVD release of a mid '80s sci-fi film, you keep up with a site called "The Digital Bits", and you're calling this poor shmuck a fanboy? I mean, for god's sake, your nickname is "Obiwan Kenobi"!
you know, not that there's anything wrong with that...
*grin*
m-
You catch enchiladas by picking them up behind the head and holding them underwater until they don't kick anymore -VeGas
In a few years, the "defective" discs will probably be collectors items
Hey man - I got some Enron stock you can buy.
Exactly how are they supposed to fix the problems BEFORE February?
:)
time travel?
-matt