Back to the Future

Continuity mistake: After the DeLorean with the dog in zooms in between Doc and Marty's legs, all of the angles show that there is no license plate anywhere around. Suddenly it appears spinning in front of them, as if it had been there all the time.

Sacha

Continuity mistake: After Marty exits the cafe to make himself a skateboard out of two wooden crates, the crates are half a meter apart from each other, but close in the next angle. Also, the chubby kid holding his friend's crate swaps to holding his between one frame and the other.

Sacha

Continuity mistake: After Marty is looking in awe at the 1950's records store, his hair swaps from messy to brushed backwards right when he walks backwards on the grass.

Sacha

Continuity mistake: After Doc Brown sends Einstein one minute into the future, the rest of the scene until he returns is played out in real time. There are no scene cuts, and any camera angle changes are accompanies by continuous audio which negates any possibility that time has been stretched or compressed. However, it takes Einstein 1 minute 21 seconds to return.

Back to the Future mistake picture

Continuity mistake: Whilst George McFly is pegging out the laundry, Marty is explaining his plan as to how he can make Lorraine fall in love with him. At the start of the scene, both of Marty's breast pocket flaps are untucked. After putting the bag down, one tucks itself in, then they return to normal when Marty says "let's go over the plan again". (01:09:55)

Back to the Future mistake picture

Continuity mistake: As the Delorean accelerates towards Doc and Marty in the car park, in a shot from the car's perspective they're a few feet apart, then we cut to a close up, and they're right next to each other. (00:21:45)

Jon Sandys

Back to the Future mistake picture

Continuity mistake: While Marty is admiring the new truck, Jennifer walks onscreen. Once the angle changes, Marty's left arm is resting on an entirely different part of the door. (01:49:50)

ryguy_1983

Continuity mistake: When Biff and gang are chasing Marty on the skateboard, they eventually crash into the rear of a manure-hauling dump truck. When the car swerves left in an attempt to miss it, it will obviously pull somewhat to the left. In the shot just before impact, you can see that just the rear half of the car should impact the truck, but in the next shot the car rests perfectly centered behind the dumps open load. (01:07:25)

Back to the Future mistake picture

Continuity mistake: When Marty skates off after knocking over the couple, the car behind him is red and cream, but in the next shot, it turns completely red. A yellow car also appears in the second shot, when it was not present in the first. (01:07:10)

apikachu68

Back to the Future mistake picture

Continuity mistake: When Doc finds Marty's letter in his pocket, the big hook fastened to the DeLorean's passenger side is seen facing the sky. Pretty soon Marty slides across the hood and into the DeLorean, but now at this point it's facing the ground instead. (01:33:35 - 01:35:50)

ryguy_1983

Continuity mistake: When the McFlys are together in their kitchen, Lorraine asks everyone to drop Uncle Joey a line. At this point George lowers his left hand and seemingly reaches for silverware on the table. But between shots, he lifts his hand back to its original position all of a sudden. (00:15:00)

ryguy_1983

Continuity mistake: Before Lorraine brings Joey's cake, George leaves a bunch of crumbs on the table and starts to watch TV and do some numbers. After the cake lands on the table, the place is spotless.

Sacha

Continuity mistake: When Doc syncs his stopwatch and the dog's, he holds them away from their bodies. A frame later his hands are close to his chest and there's dog hair all around.

Sacha

Continuity mistake: After Joey's cake lands on the table, George puts his arm to the right of the cereal package. A frame later it's on the left side and holding a pencil.

Sacha

Continuity mistake: After escaping from the Peabodys, Marty stops the car in the middle of the road and exits with his hair all messed up. A frame later it's brushed. (00:33:57)

Sacha

Continuity mistake: When Marty gets hit by the car and wakes up in Lorraine's bedroom. She constantly calls him Calvin. Marty says "Calvin, why do you keep calling me Calvin"? When he says this he puts his arm on his lap. In the next shot behind him when Lorraine replies, his hand/arm is by his side. (00:43:40)

lporzio4

Back to the Future mistake picture

Continuity mistake: When Marty rides off after borrowing the skateboard, a woman in the background bends over towards the end of the shot, but in the next shot, she is standing upright. (01:06:10)

apikachu68

Continuity mistake: While Marty's 1950s family is having dinner, the milk bottle's level is one mark below the red printed label. A second later it's 5 centimeters above the red mark.

Sacha

Back to the Future mistake picture

Continuity mistake: When Marty chases after Biff on the borrowed 'skateboard', Marty is wearing a dark grey belt and a red/blue print shirt under his red/beige jacket. However, when Marty is hanging on to the front of Biff's car as they turn a corner (and in another shot), Marty (stunt double) is wearing a light brown belt and solid tan shirt. (01:07:00)

Super Grover

More mistakes in Back to the Future

Dr. Emmett Brown: Don't worry. As long as you hit that wire with the connecting hook at precisely 88mph the instant the lightning strikes the tower... Everything will be fine.

More quotes from Back to the Future

Trivia: The farm where Marty arrives in 1955 belongs to a man called Peabody, and he calls his son Sherman; the names are a tribute to "Sherman and Mr. Peabody," two cartoon time travellers from a 1960s American TV show.

More trivia for Back to the Future

Question: What does the saying "Why don't you make like a tree, and get out of here", mean?

Answer: It's a way of saying "scram" or "get lost." But Biff is so dim, he doesn't realize he's saying it wrong; the expression is "make like a tree and leaf", with the joke being that "leaf" is meant to sound like "leave."

Cubs Fan

More questions & answers from Back to the Future

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