28 quotes
Authority and Rebellion in School Dynamics
Marty
You know, this time it wasn't my fault. The Doc set all his clocks 25 minutes slow.
[to Jennifer]
Strickland
Doc"? Am I to understand you're still hanging around with Dr. Emmett Brown, McFly? Tsk-tsk-tsk-tsk-tsk. Tardy slip for you Ms. Parker. And one for you, McFly. I believe that makes four in a row. Now let me give you a nickel's worth of free advice, young man. This so-called Dr. Brown is dangerous; he's a real nutcase. You hang around with him, you're gonna end up in big trouble.
[suddenly appearing from behind]
Marty
Oh, yes, sir.
[sarcastically]
Strickland
You got a real attitude problem, McFly. You're a slacker. You remind me of your father when he went here. He was a slacker, too.
Marty
Can I go now, Mr. Strickland?
Strickland
I noticed your band is on the roster for the dance auditions after school today. Why even bother, McFly? You don't have a chance. You're too much like your old man. No McFly ever amounted to anything in the history of Hill Valley!
Marty
Yeah, well, history is gonna change.
Consequences of Time Mismanagement
Taglines
He was never in time for his classes... He wasn't in time for his dinner... Then one day... he wasn't in his time at all.
A Great Future Behind Him
Taglines
The story of a young man with a great future behind him.
Plutonium Availability Across Time Periods
Doc Brown
I'm sure that in 1985, plutonium is available in every corner drugstore, but in 1955, it's a little hard to come by.
Marty McFly's Time-Traveling Sports Car Experience
Taglines
Marty McFly took a spin in a new sports car last night. But he never got past 55. 1955.
Marty McFly's Time Travel Consequences
Taglines
Meet Marty McFly. He's broken the time barrier. Busted his parents first date. And, maybe, botched his chances of ever being born.
Unexpected High School Romance Dynamics
Taglines
Marty McFly has just come between the most unlikely couple in high school... His parents.
Facing the Future in Back to the Future
Taglines
Marty McFly's future is catching up with him.
Speeding Into the Future's Unexpected Consequences
Doc Brown
If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits 88 miles per hour, you're gonna see some serious shit.
Consequences of Meeting Parents Before Birth
Taglines
Bumping into your parents is no big deal unless you bump into them before you were born.
Biff's Unconventional Advice to a Newcomer
Biff Tannen
Since you're new here, I-I'm gonna cut you a break, today. So, why don't you make like a tree and get outta here?
A Question of Credibility and Time Travel
Doc
Pretty mediocre photographic fakery. They cut off your brother's hair.
[sees Marty's picture, still thinking Marty is lying to him]
Marty
I'm tellin the truth, Doc. You gotta believe me.
Doc
Then tell me, Future Boy, who's President of the United States in 1985?
Marty
].
[[Ronald Reagan]
Doc
Ronald Reagan? The actor? Then who's vice-president? ]? I suppose ] is the First Lady?
[scoffs; [w:Jerry Lewis|Jerry Lewis; [w:Jane Wyman|Jane Wyman]
Marty
Whoa, wait. Doc!
Doc
And ] is Secretary of the Treasury!
[[Jack Benny]
Marty
Doc, you gotta listen to me!
Doc
I've had enough practical jokes for one evening! Good night, future boy!
[slams door]
Marty
No, wait, Doc! The-the-the-the bruise! The bruise on your head! I know how that happened! You told me the whole story! You were standing on your toilet, and you were hanging a clock, and you fell, and you hit your head on the sink, and that's when you came up with the idea for the flux capacitor, which is what, makes time travel possible.
Generational Perspectives on Dating Norms
Lorraine
I don't like her, Marty. Any girl who just calls up a boy is just asking for trouble.
[about Jennifer]
Linda
Oh, Mom, there's nothing wrong with calling a boy.
Lorraine
I think it's terrible; Girls chasing boys. When I was your age, I never chased a boy or called a boy or sat in a parked car with a boy.
Linda
Then how am I supposed to ever meet anybody?
Lorraine
Well, it will just happen, like the way I met your father.
Linda
That was so stupid! Grandpa hit him with the car.
Lorraine
It was meant to be. Anyway, if Grandpa hadn't hit him, then none of you would have been born.
[wistfully]
Linda
Yeah, well, I still don't understand what Dad was doing in the middle of the street.
Lorraine
What was it, George? Birdwatching?
George
What, Lorraine? What?
[distracted, not really listening]
Lorraine
Anyway, your grandpa hit him with the car and brought him into the house. He seemed so helpless, like a little lost puppy. And my heart just went out to him.
Linda
Yeah, Mom, we know. You've told us this story a million times. You felt sorry for him, so you decided to go with him to the Fish Under the Sea dance.
Lorraine
No, no. It was the Enchantment Under the Sea dance. Our first date. I'll never forget it. It was the night of that terrible thunderstorm, remember, George? Your father kissed me for the very first time on that dance floor. And...and it was then that I realized...that I was going to spend the rest of my life with him.
[George wasn't listening to what Lorraine was saying]
Trouble Before Birth: A Unique Perspective
Taglines
He's the only kid ever to get into trouble before he was born.
Temporal Displacement and Its Consequences
Doc
Ha! What did I tell you?! 88 MILES PER HOUR! The temporal displacement occurred exactly 1:20 A.M. and zero seconds!
Marty
Ah, Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ, Doc, you disintegrated Einstein!
Doc
Calm down, Marty! I didn't disintegrate anything! The molecular structure of both Einstein and the car are completely intact.
[takes down notes]
Marty
Then, where the hell are they?!
Doc
The appropriate question is, "When the hell are they?"! You see, Einstein has just become the world's first time-traveler! I sent him into the future. One minute into the future, to be exact. And at precisely 1:21 A.M. and zero seconds, we shall catch up with him and the time machine!
Marty
Wait a minute. Wait a minute Doc, uh, are you telling me you built a time machine... out of a ]?
[[w:DeLorean DMC-12|DeLorean]
Doc
The way I see it, if you're gonna build a time machine into a car, why not do it with some style? Besides, the stainless-steel construction made the flux dispersal-- Look out!
[his watch beeps; the Delorean reappears]
Calculating Speed Requirements for Time Travel
Marty
Hey, Doc, (I think) we better back up. We don't have enough road to get up to 88.
Doc
]
[[Back to the Future Part II|Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads.]
Heavy Conversations About the Future
Marty
Whoa, wait a minute, Doc. Are you tryin to tell me that my mother...has got the hots for me?
Doc
Precisely!
Marty
Whoa, this is heavy.
Doc
There's that word again: "heavy." Why are things so heavy in the future? Is there a problem with the Earth's gravitational pull?
Destiny Disrupted by Time Travel
Taglines
Marty's parents were destined to meet in 1955. Until Marty dropped in from the future.
Time Travel Leads to Unexpected Consequences
Taglines
17-year-old Marty McFly got home early last night. 30 years early.
A Boy's Vision of the Future
Taglines
Before rock and roll , Before diet soda , Before designer jeans , running shoes and video games… One boy had a vision of what was to come — because he had just been there.
Time Travel and Enjoyment in Life
Taglines
Marty McFly's having the time of his life. The only question is—what time is it?
A Misunderstanding Leads to Recognition
George
Lorraine. My density has bought me to you.
Lorraine
What?
[confused]
George
Oh. What I meant to say was...
[consults his notepad]
Lorraine
Wait a minute. Don't I know you from somewhere?
George
Yes. Yes. I'm George. George McFly. I'm your density. I mean, your destiny.
Lorraine
Oh.
Sending You Back to the Future
Doc Brown
Next Saturday night, we're sending you back to the future!
Contemplating Choices and Consequences in Time Travel
Marty
You're alive! Bulletproof vest? How did you know? I di-I never got a chance to tell you. What about all that talk about screwing up future events? The ]?
[surprised; Doc unbuttons his suit to reveal the bulletproof vest; Doc reveals Marty's torn-up 1955 letter which has been taped back together; [spacetime continuum]
Doc
Well, I figured, "what the hell?
Navigating First Date Nerves
Lorraine
Marty, why are you so nervous?
Marty
Lorraine, have you ever, uh, been in a situation where you knew you had to act a certain way, but when you got there, you didn't know if you could go through with it?
Lorraine
You mean, like how you're supposed to act on a first date?
Marty
Well, sort of.
Lorraine
Oh, I, I think I know exactly what you mean.
Marty
Y-y-you do?
Lorraine
You know what I do in those situations?
Marty
What?
Lorraine
I don't worry. This is all wrong. I don't know what it is, but when I kiss you, it's like I'm kissing... my brother. I guess that doesn't make any sense, does it?
[kisses him hard, then stops and pulls back to see Marty is shocked]
Marty
Believe me, it makes perfect sense.
Race Against Time to Fix the Past
Taglines
Marty McFly just broke the time barrier. He's only got one week to get it fixed.