Stars who bashed their own comedy films.

[johnlogan]

Nah, because Back to the Future: Part II and III were shot at the same time (the latter being released in cinemas 6 months after the former).  Part II doesn't have that slightly cheap look and feel that Part III does.  I think it's a result of a number of factors; the movie largely being set during the daytime, the lack of many special effect shots, a rather workman like approach to direction, the limited sets and locations and so forth.  It should also be noted that all three Back to the Future movies were shot on variations of the same camera (the first movie with the Panavision Panaflex and the two sequels with the Panavision Panaflex Platinum).

Hadn't really occurred to me until you'd mentioned it, but it was treated as one big $80 million dollar production, wasn't it? I'm guessing they burned through more than half of that with all the flashiness of the second film, and had less money left for the third, but I'm almost certainly talking out of my arse there.

I do think the third one is better, mainly for feeling more in spirit with the original, but with the recycled material present in both sequels does give the impression of films that were rushed to a deadline.

[St_Eddie]

Hadn't really occurred to me until you'd mentioned it, but it was treated as one big $80 million dollar production, wasn't it? I'm guessing they burned through more than half of that with all the flashiness of the second film, and had less money left for the third, but I'm almost certainly talking out of my arse there.

The budget would have been set at what was required based upon the final drafts of the two scripts, so it's highly doubtful that they ran out of money halfway through shooting, especially given that by all accounts Robert Zemeckis is a budget conscious and responsible director.  Also, movies aren't shot sequentially from scene to scene, so scenes from Back to the Future: Part II would have alternated with scenes from Back to the Future: Part III during the shoot.

[H-O-W-L]

I think the reason I like BTTF3 a LOT more than 2 is that the repeated elements are justified by the fact the plot is sort of an inversion of the first film, rather than the second's "let's do this, then that, then this, oh and that too!"

The pared-down nature of the plot and the quainter setting forces them to be a little bit more creative, and do some more historical, era-based gags and plot points moreso than the future where they were allowed to make up whatever the fuck (and as a result the plot feels directionless) or 1985-A which they seemed to want to get out of as soon as possible, despite it being a rich enough setting it could've sustained most of the movie IMO. The original draft involved Marty and Doc going back to the mid-sixties in order to encourage Lorraine and George to fuck and have their first kid, but that never transpired sadly.

Also RE the money: I don't know if they ran out of money, but there were a shitload of effects shots for 2 that were completely wasted. Especially the 1985A segments. The set-dressing for that is legitimately insane -- go look up some set pictures. They spent millions making a square of which 20% is seen for less than a full 60 seconds.






Also some legitimately fantastic effects shots for said 1985A segment that were completely unused, like this:



Real good cyberpunkish shit that was just pissed down the drain.

You can watch the scene (sans audio as it was never dubbed) here. Obviously Marty's a green-screen infront of what's presumably a miniature, but in '89 this still probably cost a good fistful.

[willbo]

Wouldn't the casino Biff one be 1985 C? with "A" being the original (Biff is an Alpha male, George is a wimp) and "B" being the "George is a confident author" one.

[Leej88]

We never see Biff's Dad who would be Biff's snr's Son it is very confusing.

[stonkers]

The budget would have been set at what was required based upon the final drafts of the two scripts, so it's highly doubtful that they ran out of money halfway through shooting, especially given that by all accounts Robert Zemeckis is a budget conscious and responsible director.  Also, movies aren't shot sequentially from scene to scene, so scenes from Back to the Future: Part II would have alternated with scenes from Back to the Future: Part III during the shoot.

Yeah the earlier "Paradox" script is for one movie combining the plots of II and III. The story goes that they split it because it was too expensive for one movie, but Gale and Zemeckis persuaded the studio that they could effectively get two movies for the price of one.