Back To The Future (30th Anniversary Trilogy) (4-Disc Set) [Blu-Ray] 
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Cast: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd
Release Date: Now Available on Blu-ray & DVD
A Review By: Kevin Lovell
Disc Rating: 9.5/10
Synopsis:
Experience the future all over again with the Back to the Future 30thAnniversary Trilogy! Join Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox), Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) and a time traveling DeLorean for the adventure of a lifetime as they travel to the past, present and future, setting off a time-shattering chain reaction that disrupts the space time continuum! From filmmakers Steven Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, this unforgettable collection features hours of bonus features and is an unrivaled trilogy that stands the test of time.
Conveniently arriving in stores the day before Marty and Doc’s arrival in the future taking place in the second film, the latest release of the iconic trilogy has arrived with the inevitable ‘Back to the Future: 30th Anniversary Trilogy’ in addition to ‘Back to the Future: The Complete Adventures’ and ‘Back to the Future: The Complete Animated Series’ on DVD. This review focuses specifically on the 4-Disc ‘30th Anniversary Trilogy’ edition.
The discs for the first three films appear to be identical to the versions released in the 25th Anniversary Trilogy collection, the only noticeable difference being the discs now sport the artwork from each movies poster as opposed to the clear disc with simply the title and specs. More detail and information regarding the video and audio specifications and transfer/quality can be found below in the technical specification coverage as always. The fourth disc on the other hand is the one most will be far more interested in, a brand new inclusion this time around and featuring a number of brand new extras including Christopher Lloyd reprising his role as Doc Emmet Brown and providing us some answers as to why our 2015 is in many ways drastically different from the 2015 they initially visited in the second film and what resulted in those changes occurring.
While many fans of the wonderful and iconic ‘Back to the Future’ films who own the previous Blu-ray release will be understandably hesitant to cough up the cash for another full trilogy release simply for a new bonus disc and updated packaging, some other fans will likely still want to make certain to pick up a copy of one of these new ‘30th Anniversary’ releases to add to their collections, even with the feature film discs (including the discs supplemental material) being identical in content to the previous ‘25th Anniversary Trilogy’ release. Many fans will be willing to double dip in order to get their hands on the new disc full of bonus content including Christopher Lloyd reprising his role as Doc in two of the new inclusions and much more (more detailed information regarding the bonus content can be found in the special features section of the technical specification coverage below), not to mention the new packaging which I must say is certainly superior to the previous release. Some of the diehard franchise fans might also be far more enticed with the ‘Back to the Future: The Complete Adventures’ release which also hit stores on the same day and includes a fancy Flux Capacitor packaging in addition to the inclusion of ‘Back to the Future: The Complete Animated Series’ on DVD, (which is also available for purchase on its own for those who prefer).
VIDEO:
The ‘Back to the Future: 30th Anniversary Trilogy’ Blu-ray release features full 1080p High Definition presentations utilizing the original 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio on all three films. The video presentations included are identical to the previous 25th Anniversary Trilogy Blu-ray release, the first two films sporting VC-1 encoded video presentations while part 3 is AVC encoded. All three films look pretty great as a whole, delivering sharp, detailed presentations throughout, holding up impressively even during the darkly lit and fast moving sequences in all three entries, never resulting in anything occurring on screen to become negatively affected or rendered indiscernible. Overall, the high definition video presentations on all three films look fantastic and should easily please those who may not have yet had the pleasure of experiencing the trilogy on Blu-ray.
AUDIO:
The Blu-ray release features a lossless 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack for all three films. These lossless multichannel soundtracks sound wonderful and deliver sharp, clean and at times surprisingly aggressive audio presentations for each film, utilizing all five available channels regularly in order to immerse the viewer with the trilogy’s memorable score in addition to plenty of background activity during the chase sequences, along with crowd chatter present in group environments among more, never causing any dialogue which may be occurring simultaneously to become distorted or rendered inaudible. Overall, all three films feature solid 5.1 channel DTS-HD MA soundtracks that shouldn’t disappoint.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The ‘Back to the Future: 30th Anniversary Trilogy’ Blu-ray release is absolutely jam-packed with extras. While the majority of the bonus content included on the discs for each film is identical to the 25th Anniversary Trilogy content, this new edition includes a fourth BD disc featuring all-new extras. For the sake of simplicity I’ve broken down the supplemental material by disc below.
Disc 1 – Back to the Future:
The first disc includes ‘2 Audio Commentary’ tracks; the first a Q&A Commentary with Director Robert Zemeckis and Producer Bob Gale, the second a Feature Commentary with Producers Bob Gale and Neil Canton. Also included are a number of ‘Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary by Bob Gale’ (running approximately 11 minutes in length altogether), and a ‘Michael J. Fox Q&A’ (approximately 10 minutes). A number of newer and Archival Behind the Scenes Featurettes and short videos which feature behind the scenes footage and interviews/comments with the cast and crew are also included, they are ‘Tales from the Future: In the Beginning…’ (approximately 27 minutes), ‘Tales from the Future: Time To Go’ (30 minutes), ‘Tales from the Future: Keeping Time’ (6 minutes), ‘The Making of Back to the Future’ (14 minutes), ‘Making the Trilogy: Chapter One’ (approximately 15 minutes), ‘Back to the Future Night’ (27 minutes), ‘Original Makeup Tests’ (2 minutes), ‘Outtakes’ (3 minutes), and storyboards for the ‘Nuclear Test Site Sequence’ (4 minutes). ‘Photo Galleries’, ‘Huey Lewis and the News “Power of Love” Music Video’ (6 minutes), and the ‘Theatrical Teaser Trailer’ are also included.
Disc 2 – Back to the Future Part II:
The second disc also includes ‘2 Audio Commentary’ tracks; just as with the first film the first track is a Q&A Commentary with Director Robert Zemeckis and Producer Bob Gale, the second a Feature Commentary with Producers Bob Gale and Neil Canton. Also included on the disc are a number of ‘Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary by Bob Gale’ (running approximately 6 minutes altogether). We are also once again treated to a number of both newer and Archival Behind the Scenes Featurettes and short videos which feature behind the scenes footage and interviews/comments with the cast and crew, this time around they include ‘Tales from the Future: Time Flies’ (running approximately 29 minutes), ‘The Physics of Back to the Future with Dr. Michio Kaku’ (approximately 8 minutes), ‘The Making of Back to the Future Part II’ (7 minutes), ‘Making the Trilogy: Chapter Two’ (16 minutes), ‘Outtakes’ (1 minute), ‘Production Design’ (3 minutes), ‘Storyboarding’ (1 minute), ‘Designing the DeLorean’ (4 minutes), ‘Designing Time Travel’ (3 minutes), ‘Hoverboard Test’ (1 minute), and ‘Evolution of Visual Effects Shots’ (6 minutes).‘Photo Galleries’ and the ‘Theatrical Trailer’ for the film are also included on the disc.
Disc 3 – Back to the Future Part III:
The third disc yet again includes ‘2 Audio Commentary’ tracks with the same folks featured in the first two; the first a Q&A Commentary with Director Robert Zemeckis and Producer Bob Gale, the second a Feature Commentary with Producers Bob Gale and Neil Canton. Also included is a ‘Deleted Scene with Optional Commentary by Bob Gale’ (running approximately 1 minute), ‘FAQ’s About the Trilogy’ and the full experience of ‘Back to the Future: The Ride’. Just as with the first two discs, we are once again treated to a collection of newer and Archival Behind the Scenes Featurettes and short videos which feature behind the scenes footage and interviews/comments with the cast and crew, the entries on this disc include ‘Tales from the Future: Third Time’s the Charm’ (running approximately 17 minutes), ‘Tales from the Future: The Test of Time’ (17 minutes), ‘The Making of Back to the Future Part III’ (8 minutes), ‘Making the Trilogy: Chapter Three’ (16 minutes), ‘The Secrets of the Back to the Future Trilogy’ (21 minutes), ‘Outtakes’ (2 minutes), ‘Designing the Town of Hill Valley’ (1 minute), and ‘Designing the Campaign’ (1 minute). ‘Photo Galleries’, ‘ZZ Top “Doubleback” Music Video’ (4 minutes) and the ‘Theatrical Trailer’ are also included.
Disc 4 – New Bonus Disc:
The fourth disc featuring the all-new bonus content is certainly the one fans are most interested in. This new bonus disc includes a ‘2015 Message from Doc Brown’ (running just shy of a minute), and a new short titled ‘Doc Brown Saves the World!’ (approximately 10 minutes) both of which feature Christopher Lloyd reprising his infamous role of Doc Emmet Brown. We are also treated to a couple of Behind the Scenes Featurettes, one reflecting on the films and their impact while the other focuses on the recent restoration of its iconic time traveling car, these include ‘Outatime: Restoring the DeLorean’ (22 minutes) and ‘Looking Back to the Future’ (46 minutes). Lastly we are treated to 2 hilarious ‘2015 Commercials’; the ‘Jaws 19 Trailer’ and a ‘Hoverboard Commercial’ (running approximately 1 minute apiece), in addition to two episodes of ‘Back to the Future: The Animated Series’: ‘Brothers’ and ‘Mac the Black’ (each running approximately 23 minutes).
*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray’s and resized. They additionally will suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.
Disc Rating: 9.5/10
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