Back to the Future Part II appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Despite the most challenging source of the trilogy, this became a satisfying presentation.
At times, the image looked a little soft, but those concerns occurred infrequently. As a whole, the movie appeared crisp and distinct.
Though all three Future films used a lot of visual effects, these became heaviest during Part II, and they caused the majority of the movie’s softness. Sharpness was generally fine, with a picture that came across as accurate and detailed.
I noticed no issues related to jagged edges or shimmering, and edge haloes remained absent. A good layer of grain suggested no problematic use of noise reduction, and print flaws failed to materialize.
With a broad palette, the colors worked well. Some of those pesky visual effects shots occasionally made the tones a little pale, but they usually felt lively and vivid.
Black levels looked rich and dense, while shadow detail was appropriately opaque but never became too thick or impenetrable. Even with some issues caused by the movie’s ample use of visual effects, the image looked appealing.
I also felt pleased with the DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio of the film, as the soundfield of Part II provided a moderately active affair. As with the original flick, the audio mostly focused on the front channels.
In that spectrum, the sound presented a good sense of environment, as elements moved cleanly across the speakers and blended together nicely. Music also showed solid stereo imaging and seemed well integrated.
Part II demonstrated more prominent use of the surround speakers, though these still remained somewhat passive. The scenes in the future and during the flick’s action climax provided the most active usage of the rear channels.
For example, flying cars zoomed nicely around the room. The track never became stunning in its utilization of the different speakers, but given its age, it seemed more than acceptable.
Audio quality also sounded fine. Speech remained natural and crisp, and the lines integrated into the movie smoothly. Effects appeared reasonably accurate and distinct, and they offered moderate bass impact at times.
The score also came across as fairly bright and vibrant. The audio of Back to the Future Part II provided a good auditory experience for a film of its era.
How does the 2020 “Ultimate Trilogy” Blu-ray compare to the 2015 30th Anniversary BD? Audio was identical, as both used the same DTS-HD MA 5.1 track.
Visuals offered improvements, though, as the 2020 release lost edge haloes and digital processing from the prior release. This became a more filmic and concise presentation that became a clear upgrade over the prior disc.
Note that the 2015 Blu-ray literally reproduced the original BD from 2010. This made the 2020 version the film’s first remastering in 10 years.
With Part II, we get most of the prior Blu-ray’s extras as well as some new ones. Like the first movie, we start with an unusual form of audio commentary. Instead of a traditional screen-specific track, we hear a Q&A with Director Robert Zemeckis and Producer Bob Gale.
This comes from a session at the University of Southern California, as disc producer Laurent Bouzereau hosts a chat about the film. They cover a lot of stimulating subjects, as we hear about how they developed the sequel as well as concerns with the absence of Crispin Glover, effects issues, and many other topics.
Though the piece only fills about 55 minutes of the film – as opposed to the 99-minute track with the first flick - it still offers a lot of intriguing material and it definitely merits a listen.
A second audio commentary provides a more standard format. This one involves producers Bob Gale and Neil Canton, both of whom sit together for a running, screen-specific piece.
As with a similar piece on the first movie, this one tends to act as something of a catchall track. Mostly it covers material not discussed elsewhere, though inevitably some repetition occurs. Once again, Gale heavily dominates the track, as Canton rarely speaks.
The commentary for the first film suffered from a moderate number of empty spaces, but those problems occur less frequently here. They still happen, but not as often.
Gale covers a lot of good topics, from problems related to his and Zemeckis’ contract to technical issues to trivia and nit-picking plot issues. The low-key commentary offers a nice level of information that makes it worth a listen.
After this we get a vintage featurette that promoted the film’s theatrical release in 1989. The Making of Back to the Future fills six minutes, 40 seconds with movie clips, images from the set, and interviews.
We receive remarks from director Robert Zemeckis, actor Michael J. Fox, production designer Rick Carter, and producer/writer Bob Gale.
While way too short and far too promotionally oriented to be very valuable, “Making” still includes enough cool material to merit a look. We see some images of the planning for the future Hill Valley and a few other stimulating elements. Yeah, it exists to tout the movie, but it nonetheless provides some nice moments.
Created for the 2010 Blu-ray, Making the Trilogy: Chapter Two takes 15 minutes, 30 seconds and gives us a more complete documentary, though it also remains pretty short. It mostly shows film shots and interviews plus a few images from the set; we hear from Zemeckis, Gale, and Fox.
Logically, one would expect it to totally cover Back to the Future Part II, but the first six minutes or so discuss the original flick. We get some information about Fox’s work on the ending guitar scene as well as a discussion of the movie’s impact.
After that, we move to material about the second film. We hear about how the filmmakers never planned to make a sequel as well as the complications it created.
From there we go through the challenges that popped up for this production, such as the failed attempts to get Crispin Glover back on the set, alternate period settings considered, some technical concerns, and other issues. Despite its brevity, “Chapter Two” gives us a decent little examination of the movie.
Next we get seven deleted scenes, and these last a total of five minutes, 45 seconds. These seem less compelling than the clips found on the first movie’s disc, but we find some interesting segments nonetheless.
You can watch the deleted scenes with or without commentary from producer Bob Gale. Except for the first snippet, he tells us why they didn’t make the final film, and he adds a few other notes as well.
Additional unused footage appears in the Outtakes area. It runs a mere 49 seconds and seems pretty limp. The first movie’s gag reel was actually pretty funny, but this one feels more half-hearted.
A Production Design featurette takes two minutes, 55 seconds and mixes remarks from Bob Gale with movie clips and production materials. It gives us a quick and perfunctory look at the sets for the first two flicks.
Storyboarding runs one minute, 29 seconds and also mixes film scenes, production art, and comments from Gale. We see a few storyboard-movie comparisons, and Gale discusses how they used the process for the three movies.
Two more short featurettes appear next. Designing the DeLorean goes for three minutes, 31 seconds and includes Gale and the same kinds of materials seen previously. We learn of the ideas behind the visual look of the car.
Designing Time Travel follows the same path and takes two minutes, 41 seconds. Gale tells us how they came up with the visual appearance of the time travel sequences.
Much of the prior material primarily discusses work done for the first film, but the Hoverboard Test concentrates strictly on II’s effects. The 58-second clip gives us a look at the early efforts to make the hoverboards come to life.
Evolution of Visual Effects Shots provides somewhat similar information in this five-minute, 42-second program. Gale narrates as we watch five different scenes develop.
The “Photo Galleries” break into five smaller domains. These include “Production Art” (50 stills), “Additional Storyboards” (20), “Behind the Scenes Photographs” (288), “Marketing Materials” (49) and “Character Portraits” (128). We find interesting pics in all the domains, but “Behind the Scenes” works best because it lets use get a close look at the period details in the then-future 2015.
In addition to the film’s theatrical trailer, we find a featurette called Tales from the Future: Time Flies. In the 28-minute, 37-second piece, we hear from Gale, Fox, Canton, Zemeckis, Carter, executive producers Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall, special effects supervisor Michael Lantieri, director of photography Dean Cundey, future consultant Michael Scheffe, associate producer Steve Starkey, costume designer Joanna Johnston, editors Arthur Schmidt and Harry Keramidas, makeup artist Kenny Myers, and actors Claudia Wells, James Tolkan, Christopher Lloyd, Marc McClure and Lea Thompson.
This piece looks at the challenges related to the creation of a sequel and bringing back participants in the original, story/character domains, cast and performances, shooting Part II and Part III back to back, design and effects, costumes and moving toward the final chapter.
Inevitably, some of the information here repeats elsewhere, but “Flies” nonetheless delivers a good overall take on the project. It mixes interviews with behind the scenes bits to create a satisfying overview.
The Physics of Back to the Future lasts eight minutes, 25 seconds and delivers comments from theoretical physicist/author Dr. Michio Kaku. He discusses the science involved with the movie’s antics and offers a decent look at the facts behind the film’s fiction.
The 2020 Blu-ray loses an interactive “U-Control” feature found on the 2010 and 2015 releases. This offered a text commentary as well as storyboard comparisons and a discussion of connections among the trilogy’s three films. “U-Control” provided some good info, so it seems like a shame that it gets the boot.
Despite my initial misgivings about Back to the Future Part II, I’ve come to rather like it over the last 31 years. It will probably always be my least favorite flick of the trilogy, but it nonetheless provides a fairly lively second part in the series, and it does its job well. The Blu-ray delivers very good picture as well as satisfying audio and supplements. This might be the weakest of the three movies, but it’s still entertaining, and the “Ultimate Trilogy” remaster offers the most satisfactory Blu-ray yet.
Note: This film can be purchased only as part of Back to the Future: The Ultimate Trilogy, a boxed set that also includes the original film and Part III along with a bonus disc. I like all three flicks, so I felt happy to pick up the boxed set.
To rate this film, visit the original review of BACK TO THE FUTURE PART II
