Christopher Lloyd was totally blind while shooting the movie's opening scene.
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00:00Like the first movie, Back to the Future Part 2 is absolutely crammed with subtle details.
00:05This is the kind of movie that was made to be rewatched, and rewatch it we have for decades now.
00:11As such, poring over behind the scenes footage, looking at interviews with the cast and crew,
00:16and seeing what the fine folks on R Movie Details have picked out over the years,
00:21there are plenty of things to sink your teeth into that you might not have noticed
00:26on the third, fourth, or tenth rewatch.
00:29With that in mind then, I'm Josh from WhatCulture.com, and these are 20 things you probably missed in Back to the Future Part 2.
00:35Number 20, Jaws 19 is directed by Steven Spielberg's son, Max.
00:40At the start of the film, Marty travels back to 2015 with Doc and Jennifer and spies an ad for Jaws 19.
00:48While this gag is fairly obvious and does draw attention to itself,
00:51what you might not have noticed is the name of the director for the movie, which is Max Spielberg.
00:57Of course, it doesn't take a genius to deduce the fact that Max Spielberg is one of Steven Spielberg's own children,
01:03which is exactly the case. Max Spielberg is real, and he was born in 1985.
01:09So, by 2015, when this portion of the movie takes place, Max Spielberg would have been around 30 years old,
01:16which is just about the age his father was when he made the first Jaws.
01:20Number 19, the smoking required sign outside Biff's Museum.
01:25Later in the movie, when Marty returns to 1985, it's clear that Biff has remade the entire country in his own image.
01:32There's even a Biff Tannen Museum, which, in addition to featuring a creepy waxwork of him in the entrance window,
01:39has an especially tacky sign for those who wish to come inside.
01:42The sign says, smoking required, which is an obvious joke in and of itself,
01:46but it gets funnier the longer you think about it because Biff is absolutely the type of dude
01:51who would insist on someone lighting up a cigarette when they enter one of his buildings.
01:56Number 18, the totally insane newspaper stories.
01:59After Marty prevents Marty Jr. from taking part in a robbery in 2015,
02:03the USA Today newspaper changes its contents to reflect the change in the time.
02:09However, the rest of the newspaper's wacky stories largely stay the same,
02:14and these fascinating blink-and-you'll-miss-them headlines include
02:18a gang of thumb bandits who are amputating hospital patients' thumbs,
02:22a man being killed by litter thrown from a hovering car,
02:25a Swiss terrorist sect threatening the US,
02:28Princess Diana becoming Queen Diana,
02:30the US having a female president,
02:32a baseball pitcher being suspended for using a bionic arm,
02:36and Jaws 19 being critically panned.
02:40For something that's only on screen for a handful of seconds, the attention to detail here is truly amazing.
02:45Number 17, Doc's shirt foreshadows the events of Part 3.
02:49Early on in the movie, we see Doc wearing a shirt with a white, blue, and yellow pattern design.
02:54The shirt, however, actually depicts cowboys on horseback chasing down a train,
02:58which is very clearly foreshadowing for the events of the western-themed third film,
03:03where both horses and trains play a major part in the narrative.
03:06But the gag doesn't just end there.
03:09In fact, in Back to the Future Part 3,
03:11Doc actually uses this shirt as a bandana while performing a stick-up,
03:15though the material's design can only barely be made out
03:19through the reversed fabric covering Doc's face.
03:22Number 16, Rich Biff was inspired by Donald Trump.
03:25Now, it might seem hilariously obvious to us now re-watching this film,
03:30but who of us growing up watching Back to the Future Part 2
03:33realized the connections between the alternate Biff and Donald Trump?
03:38In a 2015 interview, the film's screenwriter Bob Gale
03:41actually confirmed that the comparisons were more than deliberate,
03:45and he was supposed to be a reflection of how Donald Trump was at the time.
03:49Though Gale could've never anticipated the full extent of Trump's political bearing in recent years,
03:53the physical resemblance to even an 80s-era Trump does speak for itself.
03:58Number 15, Roger Rabbit's cameo in The Antiques Store.
04:02Shortly after Marty's run-in with Jaws 19 in 2015,
04:05he runs into an antique store where you can actually see a plushie of Roger Rabbit.
04:10Now, this is significant, of course, because the director of this movie,
04:13Robert Zemeckis, also directed Who Framed Roger Rabbit,
04:16and that film also starred Doc Brown himself, Christopher Lloyd.
04:20And just to put this into context, in a five-year period,
04:24Robert Zemeckis made all three Back to the Future movies and Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
04:29That is an insane run of quality.
04:32Number 14, Marty Jr. and Griff have different eye colours to Marty Sr. and Biff.
04:38Though Marty Jr. and Griff have different clothes and characteristics
04:41that separate them from their ancestors,
04:44director Robert Zemeckis did go one step further to add
04:47a subtler visual flourish that separated these characters.
04:52See, Marty Jr. and Griff both have brown-coloured eyes,
04:55while Marty Sr. and Biff's eyes are both blue.
04:58It's a clever piece of visual shorthand,
05:00because even if you don't consciously understand that one eye colour is blue
05:04and one eye colour is brown,
05:05something in your brain recognises that there is a difference there.
05:10Number 13, a stuntwoman is visibly injured during the hoverboard scene.
05:14As fantastic as the movie's 2015 hoverboard scene is,
05:18the moment when Griff and his cronies are catapulted out the entrance of the mall
05:22wasn't as smooth as you might have expected to film.
05:25In fact, stunt performer Cheryl Wheeler,
05:27who played the stunt double of the female member of Griff's gang,
05:30has recounted in detail that she wasn't convinced at all
05:34of the stunt's safety before shooting it,
05:36despite receiving assurances from the crew.
05:39And so when Wheeler and the other stunt performers
05:41were launched towards the mall's giant glass window,
05:44she went off course and collided with one of the pillars.
05:48To make matters worse,
05:49a cable that had to be disconnected to drop the four performers
05:52onto a crash mat inside the mall
05:54was cut before she made it inside due to this collision,
05:57causing her to fall roughly 30 feet to the floor below.
06:01Wheeler was immediately hospitalized due to wounds to her face, hands and arms,
06:05but thankfully didn't sustain any lasting damage
06:08and went on to continue her career as a stunt performer very quickly.
06:12Number 12, the last Starfighter's star car makes a cameo.
06:16At the start of the hoverboard scene,
06:18keep an eye on one of the futuristic cars just parked at the side of the scene
06:22because it might look familiar.
06:25In fact, this is the star car from 1984's The Last Starfighter,
06:29which is the flying vehicle owned by the alien Centauri.
06:33Considering that both movies were produced by Universal Pictures
06:36and The Last Starfighter was only made a few years prior to Back to the Future Part II,
06:41it might just be that this prop was left on the lot
06:44and when the Back to the Future team came around,
06:46they were like, this is perfect for this futuristic scene.
06:50Number 11, Christopher Lloyd couldn't see through the metal sunglasses.
06:53The film of course kicks off with the iconic scene of Doc Brown
06:57showing up in Marty's front yard to take him on another adventure
07:00and most importantly in this scene, he's wearing a pair of silver sunglasses.
07:05Now, these aren't silver and I look less cool than Doc Brown in them,
07:10but we do have one thing in common.
07:13Neither me nor Christopher Lloyd could see out of our sunglasses,
07:17like I have no idea what's going on,
07:19even though there were just like lights at me, I don't know.
07:22So yeah, that's right, hilariously his sunglasses didn't even work.
07:25He couldn't see the sun, but also he couldn't see anything else in the scene either
07:30and effectively had to act blind.
07:32And watching the scene with this in mind is totally hilarious.
07:36Lloyd clearly uses the DeLorean to steady himself while running towards Michael J. Fox
07:41and his eyeline doesn't even nearly match up with Fox's face.
07:45So yeah, knowing this will probably make you appreciate this scene even more.
07:49Number 10, Marty's daughter Marlene is played by Michael J. Fox.
07:53While it might seem so obvious as an adult,
07:55for those of us who grew up with Back to the Future Part II,
07:58it is a mind-blowing revelation when you realize that Marty's daughter Marlene
08:03is actually played by Michael J. Fox.
08:06Fox is layered under heaps of makeup to play the part,
08:09yet his soft facial features sell the transformation into a cute teenager quite fantastically,
08:14even though some adult viewers might have failed to notice Fox himself in the role.
08:19Number 9, Nixon was elected four times and the Vietnam War is still going on in the 1980s.
08:25In Biff's alternate 1985 dystopia, we see an updated version of the Hill Valley Telegraph.
08:31Among a bunch of other information, this paper also features the incisive headline
08:36that says that Richard Nixon is looking to pursue a fifth term as president.
08:41And worse still, it says that he vows to end the Vietnam War by 1985.
08:46Now considering that in our slightly less terrible reality,
08:50Nixon only served one term in the office and was gone by 1974,
08:54and the Vietnam War ended one year later, this truly is a nightmarish scenario.
09:00Number 8, George McFly was born on April Fool's Day and died on the Ides of March.
09:05When Marty visits his father George's grave in alternate 1985,
09:10notice the dates on his headstone.
09:12It turns out that George was born on April 1st, 1938, April Fool's Day,
09:17a rather fitting birthday for someone as goofy as George.
09:21As for his demise, he died on March 15th, 1973,
09:25and March 15th is historically known as the Ides of March, a date in the Roman calendar
09:30for settling debts and also the day on which Julius Caesar was assassinated.
09:36Number 7, the manned fundraising for the clock tower also appears in 1955.
09:41A minor but memorable character in the film is Terry,
09:44a man who asks Marty for a donation to help preserve the town's clock tower.
09:49Now Terry is played by actor Charles Fleischer,
09:51who in addition to providing the voice of Roger Rabbit,
09:54was also only in his late 30s when the film was being shot.
09:58As such, Fleischer was piled under extensive old man makeup
10:01to give him the appearance of someone much older,
10:03as pays off when Fleischer slowly plays the same character in the 1955 portion of the movie.
10:10So if you ever wondered why they didn't just cast an older dude
10:13as this character in the first place, this is your answer.
10:15In fact, he was supposed to feature in more scenes than this,
10:18which gives it an even deeper explanation.
10:20Number 6, Lorraine's breast implants were foreshadowed.
10:23One of the most low-key horrifying parts of Bip's alternate 1985 reality
10:28is not only that he killed Marty's father,
10:30but also that he took his mother Lorraine as a wife.
10:34And not only that, but Bip also made her get breast implants.
10:38What's interesting about this though,
10:40was that this development was actually foreshadowed earlier in the movie.
10:43In Marty's home in 2015, the gigantic multi-channel video screen
10:47displays an ad for two types of futuristic breast implants,
10:51those being inflatable and headlights.
10:54Also, when Marty and Doc first arrive in 2015,
10:57we can see stacks of unused silicone material piled up by the wall,
11:01indicating that implants in the future moved away from that outdated design.
11:06Number 5, Hill Valley Courthouse became a mall because all lawyers were abolished.
11:11One of the first sites that Marty happens upon in 2015 is the Hill Valley Courthouse,
11:15which is now being transformed into a futuristic mall.
11:19Hilariously, Doc explains that the United States justice system
11:22now issues a verdict within two hours of someone's arrest.
11:26And the reason for this?
11:27Well, in Doc's own words, quote,
11:29the justice system works swiftly in the future now that they've abolished all lawyers.
11:34So, this is surely why the courthouse was transformed into a mall with little resistance,
11:38because who's gonna need a courthouse when lawyers don't exist?
11:42Number 4, LaserDiscs are in the trash in 2015.
11:45Another hilarious Easter egg in the 2015 portion
11:48comes from the alleyway that I mentioned earlier
11:50that housed all of those discarded silicone products,
11:53because near them is a bunch of discarded LaserDiscs.
11:57Not LaserDicks, which is what I keep saying
11:59and have to keep retaking this portion of the video
12:02because I can't just say LaserDiscs.
12:04It's like a Freudian slip.
12:06Though LaserDisc failed to pick up mainstream traction after launching in 1978
12:10due to strong competition from the cheaper VHS,
12:12it was only officially discontinued in 2009.
12:16In that respect, then, the movie was only a few years out.
12:19Number 3, the wires holding up the DeLorean are just barely visible.
12:23Now, unlike the previously mentioned hovercraft stunt,
12:25this was one that went off without a hitch.
12:28Well, mostly.
12:29In alternate 1985, Marty memorably jumps off the roof of Biff's Hotel Casino
12:34to his apparent death before landing on the DeLorean being piloted by Doc.
12:38It's a great moment.
12:39So great, in fact, that you probably didn't even notice
12:42the wires that are holding up the DeLorean in this scene.
12:45Rather than suspend a real DeLorean in the air,
12:48the production created a double out of considerably lighter fiberglass,
12:52which Christopher Lloyd then sat in and Fox stood atop.
12:55And just above the left-hand side of the door,
12:58for but a few moments,
13:00you can actually see the fade lines of the wires holding everything together.
13:05It's a real blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment,
13:06but once you notice it, you will never unsee it.
13:10Number 2, Biff's curious taste in porn.
13:13Now, keep an eye on some of the viewing materials strewn around Biff's apartment
13:18because there is a strange theme linking all of his porno videos.
13:23While Marty talks to Lorraine and takes in everything that's changed,
13:26two tapes can be seen around the apartment.
13:29Black Taboo and Playing With Fire.
13:32Now, they might sound like made-up titles just for this movie,
13:35but they are, in fact, or at least my research tells me,
13:38I don't know this from first-hand experience,
13:40they are, in fact, real porn movies.
13:43More so than that, again, my research tells me
13:46that they both share an incest theme.
13:49Now, this is an interesting choice if you look back on the story of the original,
13:53Back to the Future, which had incestuous themes itself
13:56because Lorraine fancied her own son unknowingly when Marty travelled to the past.
14:01Number 1, the 2015 DeLorean has a barcode license plate.
14:05In the 2015 timeline, the DeLorean has a very identifiable,
14:10yet easily missed license plate change.
14:13Instead of the usual string of numbers and letters,
14:15the plate now contains an identifying barcode.
14:18Now, admittedly, this was glimpsed in Back to the Future Part 1 as well,
14:21but it's still worth noting here because you see it a few more times in this sequel.
14:26So, it's easy to assume that in this future,
14:28the authorities can just scan the barcode on the back of every car
14:31and glean all the information they need to know about that vehicle as well as the driver.
14:36Upon closer inspection, though, the barcode also has a number below it,
14:40that being 136113966.
14:44And though everything in these movies appears to have been done with intention,
14:48fans still categorically have no idea what this number means.
14:53Like, for real, if you figure this out, let me know in the comments because I have no idea.
14:57So, that's our list. I want to know what you guys think down in the comments below.
15:00Did you notice all of these Back to the Future Part 2 details
15:03or are there some that have blown your mind and will get you re-watching immediately?
15:07Let me know and while you're down there, could you also please give us a like, share, subscribe
15:11and head over to whatculture.com for more lists like this every single day.
15:14Even if you don't, though, I've been Josh, thanks so much for watching and I'll see you soon.