Trivia: This movie is Billy Zane's first screen appearance. He plays one of Biff's side kicks. He's easiest to see just after Biff calls Marty's dad an 'Irish bug'. Marty stares, then Biff grabs him to say 'you finished my homework yet?' He can also be seen just after Marty runs over the convertible later, kneeling in the back of the car before it crashes into the dung van. (00:38:55 - 01:07:20)
Trivia: In all three BTTF movies, the DeLorean sounds like it has a very powerful V8-mill implanted - actually, the DMC-12 had "only" a 2.8-litre Renault V6 with a poor 132hp output inside, sounding more asthmatic than anything else. Adding insult to injury, the car was nowhere as fast as it looks; given the weight of over 1200 kgs in combination with the phlegmatic engine, acceleration was not very astonishing, and the car never reached the promised top speed of 220 kph. If Doc Brown had not only considered the stainless steel body but other facts like the more than poor manufacturing, he would surely have chosen another vehicle to carry his invention.
Trivia: Wondering what the L. in Emmet's middle name stands for? It is Lathrop. This is discovered in the T.V. series of Back to the Future in the 2nd season episode 1 (episode 6 in all episode count). Unfortunately that was the last episode.
Trivia: Crispin Glover (George McFly) also starred in Family Ties as one of Alex P. Keaton's friends. Michael J Fox (Marty) played Alex P. Keaton.
Trivia: The sound effect used for the toy time machine car as it leaps off the table and runs across the garage floor is the same as the sound of the Time Machine as it propels itself through time in the 1960's version of The Time Machine. (01:10:20)
Trivia: November 5th is not only the date the Doc came up with the idea for time travel. Its also the birthdate of the father of the producer. Producer Bob Gale was looking through his father's high school year book when it occurred to him, what if he'd been his father's friend if he went back in time.
Trivia: In the original script, the dog Einstein was a monkey by the name of Shemp, believe it or not.
Trivia: An exec, Sidney Sheinberg, hated the title because he thought it would limit the movie's appeal. In all seriousness, he repeatedly suggested changing the name of the movie to the nonsensical title "Space Men from Pluto." The filmmakers were all utterly dumbfounded. Steven Spielberg replied by sending Sheinberg a note saying they all thought his "joke" about the title was hilarious, greatly embarrassing Sheinberg. He quickly backed off.
Trivia: Mayor Red Thomas is actually Set Director Hal Gausman.
Trivia: When Marty first arrives in 1955, right when Mr. Sandman starts playing, you can see a truck directly behind him. If you look closely you can see that the logo on the truck looks like a Miller Beer logo. That's because it *is* a Miller Beer logo. The "Y" is actually a stylized twirl off the "R." (00:33:55)
Trivia: One of the reasons that Eric Stoltz was fired from BTTF is because he took the role too seriously and had no comedic instinct. But there were other reasons, too. Following his method-acting chops, Stoltz was always in character; he insisted on being called "Marty" all the time, both on and off the set; and he was always trying seduce Lea Thompson, which made the cast and crew leery of him. Also, Eric would not fake a punch; he made full contact in fight scenes, because he believed it was the only way to achieve realism. Co-star Thomas F. Wilson (who played Biff Tannen) said he was very pissed off that Eric Stoltz kept slamming him full-force in the cafeteria scene, take-after-take, until Wilson's shoulder and collarbone were bruised. In fact, the much larger Thomas Wilson had planned to give Eric Stoltz an actual beating in the parking scene at the school dance, in revenge. Fortunately for Eric Stoltz, he was fired from the role of Marty McFly before they filmed the parking scene, or Thomas Wilson may have killed him. Once Michael J. Fox was hired, everything went smoothly.
Trivia: The opening sequence with the ticking clocks is a direct lift from The Time Machine (1960).
Trivia: The DeLorean was chosen for its futuristic design and vertically opening doors so that the people in 1955 would plausibly mistake it for a spaceship.
Trivia: The school that served as Hill Valley High was Whittier High School in Whittier, California just outside of Los Angeles. It's Richard Nixon's alma mater. Also, the Twin/Lone Pines Mall is, in fact, the Puente Hills Mall in City of Industry, California. Today, JC Penney is no longer an anchor there.
Trivia: During the title sequence, as the camera is panning across all the clocks in Doc Brown's lab, we briefly see a simple electrical timer with its mechanical dial rapidly spinning. Electrical timer dials normally move at the same rate as a clock's minute hand, which is imperceptible. For this sequence, the timer's dial is spinning quickly as an inside tribute to the tabletop clock seen in the 1960 George Pal film, "The Time Machine" (the clock spun rapidly when the Time Machine was activated).
Trivia: To compensate for their height difference, Christopher Lloyd (6ft 1) would hunch over in close ups with Michael J Fox (5ft 4) so that they both appeared in frame. Robert Zemekis used blocking to position the actors far apart at different distances from the camera in wider shots.
Answer: The video camera was in the DeLorean. With the right kind of adapter, which was common enough in the 80s that Doc might've had it on the camera or been able to jury-rig something in the 50s, it would have been possible to connect it into the antenna screws in the back of the TV like an old Atari and play it directly from the camera.
Captain Defenestrator
TVs in the 50s had a two prong antennae connection (two screws in the back that you put a prong antennae into) TVs in the mid 80s also had this. The coax connection (the one wire that screws in) was starting to become common, but, the two prong connection would have been more likely on any given TV at the time, so, whatever wire they used to preview recordings probably had that. very convenient that Marty brought those cords with him.
An old Atari 2600 RF Adapter would be how one would link a video camera to an old-fashioned television. A simple-enough part that Doc could probably make one with 1950s technology.
Captain Defenestrator