Back to the Future is the Greatest Film Ever - Discuss

[Andy D]

Dear Colony,

It has recently come to my attention that at least three of us within this revered and esteemed community believe that Back to the Future is the finest piece of movie-making of all, actual, time.

You may disagree!

Annnnnnnnd you'd be wrong

But how about we have some fun finding out - with a challenge to nominate other slices of celluloid / digital gold that could possibly take it's title, that myself, @Jonny or @Emily can politely disagree with?

Between us we could come up with a not-in-the-least definitive list of films that a really quite good, just in time to relax to while wrangling streaming service passwords, over Christmas.

Ladies and gentlemen (if indeed those terms are not now seen as pejorative) the gauntlet is thrown...

Andy x

 

[Emily]

Excellent post! Award winning, one might say... and they would not be wrong! A post full of Core Truths.

I cannot imagine anyone, ever, disagreeing with your hypothesis. And, quite frankly, I'm not sure I could bring myself to disagree politely, because Back to the Future is the finest piece of movie-making of all, actual, time simply JUST IS. There needs no more justification, polite or otherwise.

I have the boxset readied for non-stop watching (although, to be fair, the 2nd and 3rd are not up to scratch by any reasonable standard). My offspring are jubilant as I have brainwashed facilitated their enjoyment of BTTF from the very moment of their conception. And so, on that note, there ARE no other films I'd rate, at all. Nope.

 

[RK Wallis]

I'm not going to disagree with you. Back to the Future is perfect. It's a fiesta of foreshadowing.

But there are movies that are worthy of the perfect title too. The Joker comes to mind for watching the downfall of a protagonist in recent years.

The structure of Pulp Fiction has always attracted me, weaving the different narratives in circular story.

And then there's Silence of the Lambs, perfect tension, perfect book, perfect movie.

My favourite at the moment though is Knives Out (2019). The foreshadowing in that is sublime. I've lost count of the times I've watched it, and each time I notice something else. The writer/director didn't do a great job of one of the Stars Wars films, but he knocked the ball out of the park with this one.

 

[Andy D]

A valiant effort, Rachel!

I loved watching Joker the first time round, it felt quite important too like a modern Clockwork Orange, not sure I want to watch it again just yet but it'll be interesting to see how it ages.

Pulp Fiction I've seen A LOT of times, though probably not in the last decade. Interestingly, I watched True Romance again at the weekend and its still fab, holds up well just with the dialogue and the performances (though not so much the racism in the classic scene between Christopher Walken and Dennis Hopper) but the main thing I noticed is that everything is dialed up to 11 the whole way through - as if Christian Slater pouring endless sugar into his coffee was a metaphor for the entire film.

Silence of the Lambs I definitely need to revisit - and most probably remains a classic.

Knives Out was fun and would be a great family whodunnit for Christmas, so perhaps I will give it another watch.

But, otherwise, of course, you're WRONG. None of these are worthy to stand even in the shadow of Emily's DVD box of BTTF

 

[Emily]

(cue: music from the angelic realms)

 

[Andy D]

Disclaimer for the love above: 'The 2nd and 3rd are not up to scratch by any reasonable standard'

 

[Emily]

No, they are not. Even so, I cannot bring myself to use them as coasters yet. Yet.

 

[CageSage]

Sorry, but I'm out of the ball park for all of the above. My two fave go-to movies are Shawshank Redemption and Kung Fu Panda, and both for the same reasons.
One is the resonance of the story, two is for the depth, three is for the shape of the story, and four is for simplicity in progressions/transitions.
There are many movies I enjoy, but most I can live without. The above two are movies I still enjoy studying and watching for pleasure, the process of deconstruction as enjoyable as the relaxation of my mind as I become part of the story.
But you knew I was weird, right?

 

[Hannah F]

BTTF is one I enjoy returning to (excuse the pun). Silence of the Lambs is a great film but not one I'm inclined to return to. Other great movies I like watching again and again are "Witness", "Bladerunner" (Rutgar Hauer wrote his own 'time to die' monologue for that), Indiana Jones 1,2,3 (hmm, I see a running theme here). Getting away from Harrison Ford, "My Beautiful Mind" is also a great movie. Another I could watch on repeat is "When Harry Met Sally". Or "Brave" (Pixar). And let's not forget the first "Pirates of the Caribbean".

 

[RK Wallis]

Indiana Jones I can always return to - "I hate snakes!" best line together with the visuals

Sci Fi lovers might say "Star Wars" is their favourite

 

[Rachel Caldecott]

BTTF is one I enjoy returning to (excuse the pun). Silence of the Lambs is a great film but not one I'm inclined to return to. Other great movies I like watching again and again are "Witness", "Bladerunner" (Rutgar Hauer wrote his own 'time to die' monologue for that), Indiana Jones 1,2,3 (hmm, I see a running theme here). Getting away from Harrison Ford, "My Beautiful Mind" is also a great movie. Another I could watch on repeat is "When Harry Met Sally". Or "Brave" (Pixar). And let's not forget the first "Pirates of the Caribbean".

We share a love for Mr Ford. Notice how many of the female protagonists are called Rachel... you can imagine what that does to me

 

[Jonny]

This is an excellent thread about a great film and promotes healthy discussion.

With my Guardian's hat on here people.

Back to the Future is the best film ever!!!! End of...

OK? Goddit? Right, good..

Now, shall I lock this thread?

 

[RK Wallis]

@Jonny, you scared @Hannah F has come up with a contender in Indy?

 

[Jonny]

Just to prove my superfan status, here’s my own treasured copy of the trilogy.

In fairness 2 & 3 are pretty mediocre though still not bad for a wet afternoon's bit of harmless escapism.

But the original? Now I could watch it once a week no problem at all. It is peerless.

 

[Emily]

Indiana Jones, Witness, Shawshank Redemption... all great movies, I agree (Great, but not The Greatest ). I have to add Ferris Bueller's Day Off here -so funny! (even though, Matthew Broderick's smirky face makes my palm itchy).

Getting away from Harrison Ford

Can you, though? Really? Seriously?

This is an excellent thread about a great film and promotes healthy discussion.

I concur. I like it's extraordinary unbiased foundational wisdom.

Now, shall I lock this thread?

YES. Not much more to say, apart from reiterating the obvious (BTTF is The Greatest Film Ever).

Just to prove my superfan status

HIGH FIVE!!!!!!!!!

 

[Dorm Ant]

Excellent post! Award winning, one might say... and they would not be wrong! A post full of Core Truths.

I cannot imagine anyone, ever, disagreeing with your hypothesis. And, quite frankly, I'm not sure I could bring myself to disagree politely, because Back to the Future is the finest piece of movie-making of all, actual, time simply JUST IS. There needs no more justification, polite or otherwise.

I have the boxset readied for non-stop watching (although, to be fair, the 2nd and 3rd are not up to scratch by any reasonable standard). My offspring are jubilant as I have brainwashed facilitated their enjoyment of BTTF from the very moment of their conception. And so, on that note, there ARE no other films I'd rate, at all. Nope.

Ghostbusters (the original, not the crappy token-feministo remake) is better.

 

[Rachel Caldecott]

I have too many favorites to mention all of them.
Of the 'classics': Back to the Future, Star Wars (original ones), Witness, Indiana Jones (the first), Ghostbusters (as RG says, the original), Breakfast at Tiffany, West Side Story, High Noon, Good Morning Vietnam, Guardians of the Galaxy... I also love (and have loved since childhood) Les Demoiselles de Rochefort. The funny thing is about this film is that it is a 1960s cheezy French musical made in homage to American musicals, and then the makers of LaLa Land paid homage to it (many of the tunes were almost copied from the French film), and some of the dancers were from West Side Story. In addition to those, I'm a Marvel and Star Wars fan - so any of those and for some reason, I really like Hell or High Water with Chris Pine (Oh, I think I just found the reason) and Green Book... golly, too many good films

 

[KateESal]

Ooooh..... so many classics mentioned on this thread which I would happily re-watch, if I haven't already.

I think my fave screenplay of all time has to be Withnail and I, although the gags in The Princess Bride also have many quotable lines.
Withnail and I also has its own drinking game, for those with iron constitutions and livers of steel.

I have to confess to a love for Twister because a)the tornadoes b) Philip Seymour Hoffmann and c)Helen Hunt.
The script leaves a fair bit to be desired, but there's another great drinking game for the number of times they shout "hurry!" "quick!" "faster!" and "look out!"

Peter Jackson's adaptation of Lord of the Rings has helped me convalesce on a number of occasions from various ailments ('flu, hangovers, tummy bugs etc.). Cinematic aspirin.

 

[Ancora Imparo]

Have to agree with my learned colleagues – Back to The Future 1 is peerless. I read an analysis of it once that mentioned all the "rules" it broke and how that probably contrbuted to its universal success. I also liked parts 2 and 3, but agree, @Emily, part 1 is The Greatest I can watch it over and over. The Princess Bride is another beauty and, yeah, The Shawshank Redemption too – perfect storytelling. Most things with Harrison Ford are fab, but Blade Runner is right up there with my top favourites. I've watched As Good As It Gets lots of times, too – that's damn near perfect. Here's one I bet a lot of you haven't heard of: The Ghost and Mrs Muir. Rex Harrison and Gene Tierney, from the 1940s. Black and white. Lovely. Oh, and My Cousin Vinny – fantastic script!

 

[Vagabond Heart]

Mutter mutter THE BLUES BROTHERS mutter mutter

 

[Rachel Caldecott]

God! How could I forget the Blues Brothers????!!!!! One of my all-time favs!

 

[Dorm Ant]

Films I am happy to watch multiple times, off the top of my head:

Penda's Fen
Ghost Dog; Way of the Samurai
The Wicker Man
True Grit
Kick Ass
Star Wars IV (A New Hope) and IV (Empire Strikes Back), and the recent Rogue 1 (the rest can bugger off)
The Aristocats
Watership Down
Ghostbusters
War Games
Yes, I agree, BTTF (cos Doc Emmett is so amazing)

 

[Hannah F]

Mutter mutter THE BLUES BROTHERS mutter mutter

Love the Blues Brothers! (gets up and does the fast feet dance)

 

[Barbara]

Ooooh, a bit of Jason Bourne for me, please.

 

[RK Wallis]

As Good As It Gets

Ooh, I forgot that one! It's so clever how it makes you like someone who throws a dog in the bin

 

[Dorm Ant]

Ooh, I forgot that one! It's so clever how it makes you like someone who throws a dog in the bin

Weird. I couldn't stand his character all the way through, even though I'm autistic and used to work in mental health. I just found him sleazy and selfish.

 

[Dorm Ant]

Love the Blues Brothers! (gets up and does the fast feet dance)

I enjoy that film, though have only watched it twice, and it isn't one that I could keep going back to. The soundtrack, however, is a car favourite.

 

[Hannah F]

The Sixth Sense.

 

[Rachel Caldecott]

Films I am happy to watch multiple times, off the top of my head:

Penda's Fen
Ghost Dog; Way of the Samurai
The Wicker Man
True Grit
Kick Ass
Star Wars IV (A New Hope) and IV (Empire Strikes Back), and the recent Rogue 1 (the rest can bugger off)
The Aristocats
Watership Down
Ghostbusters
War Games
Yes, I agree, BTTF (cos Doc Emmett is so amazing)

Which True Grit? The original or the recent remake?

 

[RK Wallis]

Or Home Alone (1 or 2) or A Few Good Men or Casablanca or The Wizard of Oz or It's a Wonderful Life.