Latest news with #BacktoFuture
Daily Mirror
02-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
'Masterpiece' film part of 'greatest trilogy ever made' now streaming for free
The film is now available to stream on BBC iPlayer and, despite its imperfections, has been hailed as a 'masterpiece'. A beloved action film that viewers find themselves returning to time and again is now available to stream without charge this weekend. Back to the Future Part II, the sequel to the cinematic masterpiece Back to Future, can now be watched on BBC iPlayer. The movie, which enthusiasts claim has left "a huge mark on pop culture", continues to be praised as a "masterpiece" despite its flaws. Under the direction of Robert Zemeckis, the original Back to the Future debuted in 1985, with its sequels arriving in 1989 and 1990 respectively. The second instalment follows schoolboy Marty (Michael J Fox) and quirky scientist Doc (Christopher Lloyd) as they once again board the DeLorean for a journey through time, desperately trying to restore 1985 and their lives to normality. According to Rotten Tomatoes, the plot unfolds as follows: "In this zany sequel, time-traveling duo Marty McFly and Dr. Emmett Brown return from saving Marty's future son from disaster, only to discover their own time transformed. "In this nightmarish version of Hill Valley, Marty's father has been murdered and Biff Tannen, Marty's nemesis, has profited. "After uncovering the secret to Biff's success - a sports almanac from the future - Marty and the Doc embark on a quest to repair the space-time continuum." Whilst the follow-up earned just a 64% fresh rating from critics, viewers awarded it a significantly higher 86% approval rating, reports the Express. This falls short of the original film's impressive 93% critics score and 95% audience approval. Fans have been effusive in their praise for the film, with one declaring: "Back to the Future (any of them) are certifiable masterpieces!" Another fan expressed their delight, writing: "One of my all-time favourite films, and it was so awesome seeing it in theatres again." A third admirer shared their thoughts, adding: "An awesome sequel, part of one of the greatest trilogies ever made." Critics have also shared their positive takes, with CBR's David Reddish noting: "Back to the Future Part II left the biggest mark on popular culture, sparking imagination and inspiring more adventure." He further observed: "Whatever its flaws or negativity it inspired from fans of the first movie, it remains the defining entry in the series." Hannah Rose from the same publication highlighted an often-overlooked aspect, writing: "One of the greatest and subtlest selling points of Back to the Future was its cuteness." She elaborated: "It might be odd, even trivial, to call a big-budget, epic sci-fi film cute, but this is an accurate description." David Jenkins from Little White Lies offered a succinct verdict, simplying putting: "Imperfect, but very lovable." While Ira Robbins of Entertainment Weekly described the experience as "another fantastic voyage in a thoroughly entertaining contraption". Richard Schickel of TIME Magazine also found much to admire, commenting: "Satirically acute, intricately structured and deftly paced, it is at heart stout, good and untainted by easy sentiment." However, not everyone was impressed, as highlighted by Variety's critique, which read: "Zemeckis' fascination with having characters interact at different ages of their lives hurts the film visually, and strains credibility past the breaking point, by forcing him to rely on some very cheesy makeup designs." Jonathan Rosenbaum from the Chicago Reader also had his reservations, stating: "By the end, you may feel that you've just sat through a feature-length commercial for both part one (which has to be seen to make this sequel comprehensible) and part three (a trailer for it literally ends part two)." Back to the Future Part II is available to stream on BBC iPlayer from Saturday, August 2.
New York Post
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Michael J. Fox's ‘Back to the Future' guitar has been missing for decades — and a new doc is hunting it down
The power of — a doc. Michael J. Fox famously rocked out on guitar to Chuck Berry's 'Johnny B. Goode' in an iconic scene from 'Back to the Future.' But now it's more like 'Johnny B. Gone': The instrument Fox's Marty McFly played at the Enchantment Under the Sea high school dance has been missing for nearly 40 years. Advertisement Now, as the 1985 blockbuster turns 40 on July 3, the search for the cherry red Gibson ES-345 guitar is being tracked in an upcoming documentary, 'Lost to the Future.' 4 A video featuring Michael J. Fox and his 'Back to the Future' castmates launched the hunt for the guitar on Tuesday. ©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection Gibson Guitars, Universal Home Entertainment and filmmaker Doc Crotzer have teamed up for the search for the long-lost axe. Advertisement The hunt was launched on Tuesday with a video featuring Fox and his 'fellow 'Back to the Future' cast members including Lea Thompson, Christopher Lloyd, Harry Waters Jr. and Huey Lewis. 'I always wanted to be a rock 'n' roll guitarist, that's all I wanted to do,' Fox, 63, told People about the scene in which he performs the Penguins' 1954 hit 'Earth Angel' in addition to Berry's 1958 classic. 'It's always been a passion of mine, rock 'n' roll, and particularly the guitar. There's just something about it, like you are wringing the magic and the music out of it.' In turn, Fox's big guitar moment inspired Crotzer. ''Back to the Future' made me want to make movies as a kid, and made me want to pick up a guitar,' he told Billboard. 'I went on with my [filmmaking] career, but I had always wondered what happened to that guitar. Over the last however many years so many props from the movie have surfaced … but [the guitar] had never surfaced.' Advertisement 4 'I always wanted to be a rock 'n' roll guitarist,' Michael J. Fox said of playing the instrument in 'Back to Future.' ©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection Gibson's director of brand experience Mark Agnesi — who previously worked at Norm's Rare Guitars, the Tarzana, California shop from where the instrument was rented — was also inspired to play from the 'Back to the Future' scene. 'I've been searching for this thing for 16 years now,' he told Billboard. 'I started searching everywhere. Norm's has this big warehouse of guitars and occasionally I'd go in and look for certain things, and every time I'm in there I was always looking around for [the 'Back to the Future' guitar], but to no avail.' The guitar was apparently sold, then sold back to Norm's and then resold again. Advertisement 4 Michael J. Fox rocked out out on guitar to the Chuck Berry classic 'Johnny B. Goode' in 'Back to Future. ©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection 4 Michael J. Fox's 'Back to the Future' axe was rented from Norm's Rare Guitars in Tarzana, California. ©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection 'Back then there was no digital record of that stuff; it was all hand-written receipts and stuff,' said Agnesi. 'We know it was returned to Norm's. At that time in the mid '80s there was a Japanese vintage guitar boom; charter buses of Japanese tourists were pulling up and buying everything in sight. So it could be someone has it in Japan. We don't know. The possibilities of where it could be are endless.' While the guitar's serial number is unknown, it has a unique feature, according to Agnesi: the solid inlay on the 12th fret, unlike the split ones that were standard on the ES-345 at the time. 'That anomaly is the smoking gun we're looking for, thank God,' he said. 'That will not be on any other guitar … That's how we'll know we've found the guitar we're looking for.' Anyone with leads on the guitar's whereabouts can call 1-888-345-1955 or send a message via
