Summary
- The best Back to the Future quotes have guaranteed the franchise a place in pop culture history.
- Outstanding performances from Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown and Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly are a key reason many moments are so memorable.
- Other characters like Biff Tannen have some great Back to the Future quotes, but the majority of the best lines come from Doc and Marty.
Back to the Future quotes have helped to ensure the trilogy's long-lasting legacy as one of the best sci-fi franchises of all time. All three movies took fun and unique approaches to the time-travel genre, creating a shared overall story remembered fondly decades later. The culture clash of 80s teen Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) and his eccentric genius friend, Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd), taking their time-traveling DeLorean to different time periods set up a comedic and thrilling adventure. While the visual elements of the three movies have become iconic, the best Back to the Future quotes have also become cemented in pop culture history.
The Back to the Future trilogy remains one of the few Hollywood franchises untouched by a remake or a reboot despite constant rumors of some continuation being in the works. Director Robert Zemeckis and writer Bob Gale have always maintained that as long as they have a say, the original trilogy will remain untouched and cemented in time. As a result, the best Back to the Future quotes remain as pristine as they were when they were first put out into the world almost 40 years ago.
All Back to the Future movies are available on Peacock Premium.
Back To The Future: All Three Movies, Ranked Worst To Best
Back to the Future has three movies of Marty McFly and Doc Brown's time-travelling antics, leading to a great cinematic trilogy, but which is best?20 “This Is Heavy!”
Marty McFly
“This is heavy” is one of Marty McFly's catchphrases which he says throughout the Back to the Future trilogy whenever he’s stunned or confused. Given the high-stakes time-travel adventures he finds himself sucked into, it's not surprising that the quote comes up a lot. It also sets up a great joke in the first movie when Doc asks him about the turn of phrase: “There’s that word again, ‘heavy.’ Why are things so heavy in the future? Is there a problem with the Earth’s gravitational pull?” Though it was contemporary slang, it's gained an 80s throwback element that's made it remain one of the best Back to the Future quotes.
19 “Silence, Earthling! My Name Is Darth Vader. I Am An Extraterrestrial From The Planet Vulcan!”
Marty McFly
While Marty is very much a fish out of water when he finds himself back in the 1950s, the first Back to the Future movie has a lot of fun with him using the future to his advantage. It is a bit like Marty has a superpower, knowing things that no one else does, and he is even able to use the most popular cultural aspects of the 1980s to get things done. When he needs to put some fear into his timid father back in 1955, Marty mixes together some Star Wars and Star Trek while pretending to be an alien. While it is an effective plan, it is funny to think about George's reaction when these franchises hit pop culture in a couple of decades.
18 “I Hate Manure!”
Biff Tannen
Biff (Thomas F. Wilson) ends up covered in manure as he chases Marty through the streets of Hill Valley several times in the first Back to the Future. The first time is as Biff and his friends try to run him down in Biff’s car. It is one of the recurring gags that comes back in each of the sequels, delivering some much-needed comeuppance to the trilogy's main villain. It is hard to imagine a more disgusting and humiliating punishment, and it is a joy to see Biff, in any of his incarnations, get his mouthful of manure while voicing his displeasure at the situation.
17 “Jesus, Didn’t That Guy Ever Have Hair?”
Marty McFly
In 1985, Marty is given a hard time at school by his teacher, Mr. Strickland (James Tolkan). Strickland is always getting after Marty for not paying attention to his teachers or showing up to class on time. When he travels back to 1955 and goes to the school where his teenage parent attend, he sees a younger Mr. Strickland. Hilariously, Strickland looks almost exactly the same in the 1950s as he would do in the 1980s. Marty cracks, “Jesus, didn’t that guy ever have hair?” What makes the moment even funnier is that it is never explained how Strickland has seemingly always been an old bald man.
Back To The Future: All 8 Timelines In The Movies Explained
Back to the Future's classic time travel trilogy has been delighting viewers for decades. Here's a breakdown of all eight timelines in the movies.16 "Shark Still Looks Fake."
Marty McFly
There are a lot of fun elements to see Marty explore in the future when Back to the Future: Part II takes him to 2015. However, one of the best ones is an in-joke aimed at Back to the Future producer Steven Spielberg and one of his most popular movies. Marty sees an advertisement for Jaws 19 with a 3D shark coming right at him. While it takes him by surprise at first, he remains unimpressed with the shark's look. The Back to the Future Jaws joke is a fun Easter egg and, thankfully, the shark movie franchise knew to quit at four movies.
15 “1.21 Gigawatts!?!”
Doc Emmett Brown
When Marty arrives in 1955, he wastes no time tracking down a young Doc Brown to help him fix the time machine and return to the present day. At first, Doc is skeptical that the teenage boy who showed up on his doorstep is actually from the future, but as Marty explains the flux capacitor, Doc realizes he’s telling the truth.
When Marty tells Doc that the DeLorean time machine requires 1.21 gigawatts of power to operate, Doc is horrified: “1.21 gigawatts!?!” It's Lloyd's delivery of the Back to the Future quote that makes it memorable with him leaping into a characteristically animated response. Lloyd is able to make Doc a true eccentric without going too over the top.
14 “If My Calculations Are Correct, When This Baby Hits 88 Miles Per Hour, You're Gonna See Some Serious S***.”
Doc Emmett Brown
Wild-eyed scientist characters were quite commonplace in movies before Back to the Future, but Christopher Lloyd was the first to play a mad scientist who didn’t take everything so seriously as seen when Dr. Emmett Brown describes his first experiment involving time travel as “some serious s***.” The line is a perfect tease to put the viewers on the edge of their seats for what comes next. The audience is about to see the time machine in action for the first time, and it helps to build the anticipation for the iconic moment.
13 “Why Don’t You Make Like A Tree And Get Outta Here?”
Biff Tannen
One of the main character traits of Biff Tannen is that he gets idioms wrong. Instead of “Make like a tree and leave,” he says, “Why don’t you make like a tree and get outta here?” His total oblivious nature to his frequent mistakes is part of what makes Biff such a terrific comedy villain. He leaves a lasting impression as he appears across all three movies, which is why he's the source of so many of the best Back to the Future quotes. He is a large and intimidating presence, but the dim-witted nature of this brute makes him another wildly fun character for this world.
