“The way I see it, if you’re gonna build a time machine into a car, why not do it with some style?” Emmett Brown was right and the DeLorean in Back to the Future (1985) is the most iconic time machine ever made.The movie is decades old, but there are still some great things to learn about the film.
1. Early in the script the time machine was a laser device in a room. The climax had it attached to a refrigerator on a truck which was driven to a nuclear test site with Marty inside. They changed it to lightning because they were afraid kids would lock themselves in refrigerators.
2. In the French dubbed version of the film, the DeLorean needs 2.21
gigawatts instead of 1.21. The French always try and one up us.
3. Producer Steven Spielberg used the idea of the refrigerator at a nuclear test site for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. So, Back to the Future almost “Nuked the Fridge.”
4. The license plate used in the film says “OUTATIME”, but the DeLorean’s registered license plate is actually “3CZV657”.
5. You were supposed to avoid looking at it when the flux capacitor reached a steady stream of light. We all did of course. So far so good.
6. The red, yellow and green displays are an homage to the lights on The Time Machine (1960).
7. While the car is known as “the DeLorean,” the actual model used is the DMC-12.
8. The flux capacitor was almost called the “temporal field capacitor.” Boring.
9. The Mr. Fusion Home Energy Reactor was a joke on the popular “Mr. Coffee” machines. Good to the last drop.
10. Originally the Mr. Fusion machine had a Westinghouse logo, but the company made them change it.
11. The DeLorean was chosen because it’s doors and design made it look like a UFO for the barn crash scene.
12. The original design of the DeLorean was considered too sleek and they added parts to give it a homemade look.
13. The doors would fail when cold and the crew had to use hairdryers to warm them between takes.
14. Marty hitting his head wasn’t in the script, but they added it after the doors kept falling on the actor’s.
15. The base of the nuclear reactor was constructed from a hubcap of a Dodge Polara.
16. Because of a law by Jimmy Carter, American models of the DMC-12 had speedometers that only read up to 85 miles per hour. The crew had to modify the speedometer with one that reached 95.Thank you Jimmy Carter.
17. The scenes with the train pushing the car were sometimes filmed backwards for safety reasons. Who knew having a train push a car would be dangerous?
18. At one time O’Reilly’s online auto parts sold a Flux Capacitor and Mr. Fusion Upgrade from “EB Enterprises” as a part for the DeLorean. it included warnings on the dangers of time travel.
19. To make the DeLorean look cold they used liquid nitrogen. The effect was so cumbersome they only used it in one scene. Too bad since it looked awesome.
20. The DeLorean became incredibly popular after the movie but the company stopped making the car three years before.
21. John DeLorean, creator of the DeLorean, wrote a personal letter to Bob Gale thanking him for choosing their car. He wrote, “Thank you for keeping my dream alive. Probably half
of the people who own DeLoreans today own them because they saw ‘Back to
the Future.'”
22. The coils around the car generated the time field.
23. For the flying scenes in Back to the Future II they built a full-scale replica of the DeLorean completely out of fiberglass. It even had fiberglass seats.
24. While filming one scene in the alley for Back to the Future II three of the cables holding the car up snapped and it almost fell on Michael J. Fox.
25. The original DeLorean used in the film was left outside at Universal Studio for years and was in terrible shape. Cats were known to sleep inside it. Recently, the studio fully restored the car and it is now on display.
References
- http://backtothefuture.wikia.com/wiki/DeLorean_time_machine
- http://bttf.wikidot.com/official-bttf-faq
- http://www.slashfilm.com/how-back-to-the-future-almost-nuked-the-fridge
- http://www.bttf.com/delorean/creation
- http://www.bttf.com/ron-cobb-interview
- http://www.cnet.com/news/buy-a-delorean-flux-capacitor-at-the-parts-store
- http://www.bttf.com/michael-lantieri-.php
Did you learn anything new? What do you think of the DeLorean? What would you do if you had Doc Brown’s car?
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<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="35123 ">10 Comments
I'd say all the people who still own DeLoreans today own them because of that movie.
Bet Westinghouse wishes now they hadn't asked for their logo to be removed.
Like owning a bulldog, owning a DeLorean seems cool until you realize all the work and maintenance that would go into it.
that is some great things, i knew one or two things… i actually sat in one at a friends wedding.. it was their drive to and from the church car.
I also wanted a DeLorean back in the time. Too bad they were not built for dragons. I got one for my dwarves, though.
That would be a dream wedding come true.
It's definitely a labor of love Pat.
It makes a great gift Al!
They'd be in the same place as Nike Alex. Decades of free publicity. Big mistake.
Someone at O'Reilly's has a great sense of humor.
They did but it's off the site now. So someone lost they're sense of humor David.