It stars Michael J. Set in , it follows Marty McFly Fox , a teenager accidentally sent back to in a time-traveling DeLorean automobile built by his eccentric scientist friend Emmett "Doc" Brown Lloyd , where he inadvertently prevents his future parents from falling in love β threatening his own existence β and is forced to reconcile them and somehow get back to the future. Gale and Zemeckis conceived the idea for Back to the Future in They were desperate for a successful film after numerous collaborative failures, but the project was rejected more than forty times by various studios because it was not considered raunchy enough to compete with the successful comedies of the era.
A development deal was secured with Universal Pictures following Zemeckis's success directing Romancing the Stone Fox was the first choice to portray Marty but was unavailable; Eric Stoltz was cast instead. Back to the Future was filmed in and around California and on sets at Universal Studios , and concluded the following April.
After highly successful test screenings, the release date was brought forward to July 3, , giving the film more time in theaters during the busiest period of the theatrical year.
The change resulted in a rushed post-production schedule and some incomplete special effects. Critics praised the story, humor, and the cast, particularly Fox, Lloyd, Thompson, and Glover. Back to the Future has since grown in esteem and is now considered by critics and audiences to be one of the greatest science fiction films and among the best films ever made.
Spurred by the film's dedicated fan following and effect on popular culture, Universal Studios launched a multimedia franchise , which now includes video games , theme park rides , an animated television series , and a stage musical.
