Back to the Future
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

Continuity mistake: When Doc puts Einstein in the car, the dog turns his head inside the car. A frame later, from a new angle, it's outside the car.

Sacha

Other mistake: Just before Marty starts playing Johnny B Goode on stage, he tells the band members to watch for changes and other guidance advice to start the song. When the song starts, ALL the band members (who have never heard this song before) suddenly play all the chord changes perfectly and even the drums are perfect like the real song. In reality, never hearing that song before, the band would not have had this song perfected like that - every note and instrument sound.

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: This is, of course, done intentionally to make the song sound like it actually is. It's highly unlikely but not impossible that these musicians put it all together just as the actual song sounds. You also have to keep in mind that the idea is given that Chuck Berry came up with the song hearing it through the telephone, so that's why the actual song sounds the same, as he is just mimicking what he heard.

lionhead

Besides which, if this posting were valid, every movie musical in history would be riddled with similar errors.

Continuity mistake: When Goldy (or Golby?) says, "Mayooorr", George is facing Marty. Then when Goldy starts saying, "Now that's a good idea," George is facing Goldy, without any motion of turning. (00:40:35)

DeathGawd

Back to the Future mistake picture

Continuity mistake: When Doc and Marty are watching the DeLorean burn out from across the vacant Twin Pines Mall parking lot, the radio control unit's antenna is seen lowered one shot then fully raised in the next, despite Doc not having touched it. (00:21:20)

ryguy_1983

Continuity mistake: When Marty sees the Lyon Estate works there's a mild breeze blowing. Just a frame later, from a new angle, there's a very strong wind. (00:34:18)

Sacha

Revealing mistake: When Marty begins to slump down due to fading from existence look at the guy playing the piano behind Marty, he's not even pressing the keys on the piano just putting his palms on them repeatedly.

jbrbbt

Continuity mistake: Before Marty kicks the speaker while playing Johnny B Goode, there is a case of Pepsi below it which disappears between shots.

oswal13

Continuity mistake: When Doc and Marty are looking for his dad at school, you can see a girl with a blue sweater going downstairs twice. (00:56:49)

Continuity mistake: When Marty stops the Delorean in front of the Lyon Estates sign after escaping the farm, notice the sun - it's overcast and kind of foggy. When he looks at the sign from another angle, it has become more sunny, and later in the day. When the couple with the car passes, it has returned to the same as before.

manthabeat

Back to the Future mistake picture

Continuity mistake: When Marty confronts George as "Darth Vader", after George asks "who are you?" Marty plays the music again, and George presses his hands to his ears. In the shot from behind, his hands are cupped around his ears, in a very different position. Then when Marty says "silence earthling", in the shot from the front his hand is away from his ear entirely. (01:02:35)

Sacha

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
Back to the Future trivia picture

Trivia: Eric Stoltz was originally cast as Marty. After filming quite a few scenes they realised his acting style was too dramatic for the humor desired, so they cast Michael J Fox (who they couldn't originally get because he was busy with the TV show Family Ties). Filming was on weekends and nights around his TV schedule and using his double at other times.

Stefanie

More trivia for Back to the Future

Question: How is Marty able to play a 1980s videotape on a 1950s television set? Is this just another example of Doc's ahead-of-his-time inventiveness?

Answer: The video camera was in the DeLorean. With the right kind of adapter, which was common enough in the 80s that Doc might've had it on the camera or been able to jury-rig something in the 50s, it would have been possible to connect it into the antenna screws in the back of the TV like an old Atari and play it directly from the camera.

Captain Defenestrator

TVs in the 50s had a two prong antennae connection (two screws in the back that you put a prong antennae into) TVs in the mid 80s also had this. The coax connection (the one wire that screws in) was starting to become common, but, the two prong connection would have been more likely on any given TV at the time, so, whatever wire they used to preview recordings probably had that. very convenient that Marty brought those cords with him.

An old Atari 2600 RF Adapter would be how one would link a video camera to an old-fashioned television. A simple-enough part that Doc could probably make one with 1950s technology.

Captain Defenestrator

Answer: Video tape system back then could output an NTSC video signal, just like broadcast at the time, and up to HD in the 2000s. Usually there was a switch on the video device to change the output frequency between channels 3 or 4. Depending on what was an open channel in your area.

Answer: Doc is smart and eccentric enough to probably have such a thing randomly rattling around in the Delorian as old burger wrappers would rattle around inside a normal car. And Marty could also conceivably have such a thing at his or Doc's domicile for his own video gaming convenience.

dizzyd

More questions & answers from Back to the Future

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