Go Into The Story Movie Analysis: “Back to the Future”

Starting Monday, the classic film in our bi-weekly Go Into The Story Movie Analysis series: The 1985 movie Back to the Future.

What a great excuse to watch this movie again, which you can do here for as little as $2.99. But I’ll bet you own a DVD like I do. And if for some reason have not seen Back to the Future… correct that problem by watching it this weekend, especially relevant because of Back to the Future Day celebrated this week.

Monday: General Comments
Tuesday: Plot
Wednesday: Characters
Thursday: Themes
Friday: Takeaways

Why watch movies?

Because to be a good screenwriter, you need to have a broad exposure to the world of film. Every movie you see is a potential reference point for your writing, everything from story concepts you generate to characters you develop to scenes you construct. Moreover people who work in the movie business constantly reference existing movies when discussing stories you write; it’s a shorthand way of getting across what they mean or envision.

But most importantly, you need to watch movies in order to ‘get’ how movie stories work. If you immerse yourself in the world of film, it’s like a Gestalt experience where you begin to grasp intuitively scene composition, story structure, character functions, dialogue and subtext, transitions and pacing, and so on.

Movies must be in your lifeblood — and the best way to do that is to watch and analyze them.

This series is your Call To Adventure! Do yourself a favor: Watch Back to the Future and join the discussion beginning Monday, October 26.

If you find interviews and/or analysis of the movie, please post in comments.

For an excellent Back to the Future website, go here.

To access all of the movies we have analyzed in this series, go here.

Onward!

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