Back To The Future Part III

• Cat.no: PLFEB 36241
• Cert: PG
• Running time: 113 minutes
• Sides: 2 (CLV)
• Year: 1990
• Pressing: UK, 1997
• Chapters : None
• Sound: Dolby Surround
• Widescreen: 1.85:1
• Price: £19.99
• Extras : Trailers: Jurassic Park, Twister, Casper, Back To The Future
  

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  Director:

  Robert Zemeckis

  (Forrest Gump, Contact)

Cast:

Michael J. Fox (The Frighteners, Mars Attacks!, The American President)
Christopher Lloyd (Things To Do In Denver When You’re Dead)
Mary Steenburgen (Parenthood)
Thomas F. Wilson (Back To The Future 1 and 2)
Lea Thompson (Some Kind of Wonderful)

Astrailered at the end of BTTF II, Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox)travels in the Delorean time machine back to the Old West of 1885 to rescueDoc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) from being stranded there. The Doc isunaware that he has only a matter of days to live after writing Marty theletter which reaches the latter at the finale of BTTF II.

The genesis of this third instalment – shot back to back with the second one -is that director Bob Zemeckis and screenwriter/producer Bob Gale set out towrite a Part II and came up with an overabundance of material. We should begrateful all these ideas weren’t crammed into Part II, as that film would havebecome overloaded rather than the impressive sequel it actually was.

Certain elements have been saved for Part III. If II surprised with itscomplex re-plotting around scenes from the original Back To The Future,III heads in the opposite direction – back to the linear narrative.

There’s comparatively little split screen work, even though Fox gets toplay a Irish frontiersman McFly ancestor; elsewhere Mary Steenburgenis Doc’s surprise love interest while Thomas F. Wilson plays yetanother member of Biff’s family – this time the local outlaw.

Gags about past and future are sparse, despite hilarious references to suchcherished institutions as the frisbee and rock band Z.Z.Top. For the rest,the film works more as a loving revival of the Western – pulled off not onlywith the expected Gale/Zemeckis flair but also the traditional Monument Valleylocations.

Expect charging Red Indians, bar room brawls, shoot outs, railroads andother such Western ephemera and you won’t be disappointed – but expectfurther complications of the BTTF II variety and you will be. In fact,BTTF III is so different from its immediate predecessor that, while itmight help you a mite if you’ve already seen Parts I and II, it standsup pretty well on its own.

Not a movie I’d want to see fullscreened, BTTF III frequently employsthe full width of the 1.85:1 frame. The sequence where Marty’s Deloreanhurtles through a drive-in movie field towards the screen and lands himin the middle of charging Indians looks particularly impressive inwidescreen, as does the later sequence where Marty is roped by a banditand dragged through the main street by a horse. Impressive nightphotography is topped by the Old West locomotive wheeled out for thefinale which looks breathtaking here.

While it’s the weakest of the three overall, BTTF III ironically hassurround sound work throughout which is up there alongside the firstfilm’s superlative opening. A mine blast sends wood splinters flying tofront left. After escaping the Indian charge, Marty hides the Doloreanin a cave under a desert rock outcrop over which swarm the U.S.Cavalry you hear them ride towards you from the front, then suddenlythey’re all about you. Equally superb is the moment where Steenburgenwaits on a platform for a train, which approaches from the distancepuffing steam from its sides until it passes towards you out of shotwith the sound passing behind. Finally, the very last shot has a vehiclefly straight into camera with the sound building into a brief crescendobehind the viewer’s head by way of a filmic exclamation mark. Needlessto say, this disc’s crisp sound transfer does such moments justice.

As with Pioneer’s PAL discs of BTTF and BTTF II, there are again nochapters. Aaaaarrrrghhhh!! But then again, as we’ve said before, £19.99is a pretty good price. On the plus side, the side break is perfect(you’re advised to set your player to Film Mode if it has that facilityso as not to punctuate the two night scenes either side of the breakwith PAL blue.)

The disc includes trailers for (such other Spielberg-produced fare as)Jurassic Park, Casper, Twister (all 1.85:1) and the first BTTF(full screen). But wait a minute – since these last two are also on the PALBTTF II disc, it’s a pity Pioneer couldn’t have found some different (ifequally appropriate) trailers. Still, at over 61 minutes per side,Pioneer are certainly maximising disc space here.

Film: 3/5
Picture: 5/5
Sound: 5/5

Review copyright © Jeremy Clarke, 1997.