Aussie set is excellent indication of what to expect for U.S. release
Just days before it's released nationwide in Australia and its surrounding territories, we've gotten our hands on an early review copy of the Region 4 release set for August 21, 2002!
Let me start this review by saying I'm not an expert on the DVD format. I won't even pretend to be an expert on its sound qualities, technical aspects, etc. You can get that information from other sites who focus on those features of the release and are much more qualified to do so than me. I, on the other hand, will cover the contents of each film on this set. The bonus features, commentaries, and other unique features are what BTTF.com readers inquire about the most, thus my review of the Australian set focuses pretty much exclusively on these features.
As we learned some time ago, the three films were remastered for this release, and the results certainly show. The colors are vibrant and breathtaking, and the sound is spot on. The films themselves have never looked better than they do now!
Each disc breaks the respective film into 20 chapters, with language tracks set in English and English DTS. Subtitles in English are also available. Encoded in PAL format for Region 2 & Region 4 players. The animated menu screens are a real treat as well, making adequate use of the common clocktower theme throughout the series. Here's a look at the bonus features contained on each disc:
BACK TO THE FUTURE
Without a doubt, the first film got the most attention out of this release. There are more bonus materials included with Back to the Future than what is included with the two sequels, and it certainly qualifies to be classified as a "Special Edition", although such a phrase is not contained on the packaging anywhere. The Zemeckis & Gale commentary recorded at USC on May 23, 2002 is included, as is Universal's "Did You Know That?" animated trivia. Here's a breakdown:
The Making of Back to the Future: This 1985 featurette is a real gem, and has some considerable differences in the edited version I've seen before. Running at 14:26, the documentary is a delight to see, and includes a bevy of on-screen cast & crew interviews with Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale, Michael J. Fox, Lea Thompson, Steven Spielberg, Alan Silvestri, Huey Lewis, Kevin Pike, and Lawrence Paull.
Making the Trilogy, Chapter 1: This first part of a new documentary created specifically for the DVD release includes 1998 interviews with Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale and Michael J. Fox, as well as a 2002 interview with Bob Gale. Making the Trilogy gives fans a very detailed look into the making of the entire series. Famed documentarian Laurent Bouzereau wrote, produced & directed this three-chapter documentary, and his experience & professionalism he brings to every Universal release shines no brighter than it does here.
Feature Commentary: Hosted by Bouzereau at Zemeckis & Gale's alma mater earlier this year, this commentary gives some wonderful stories and insight into the making of the first film. Some of the same material is covered in the Making the Trilogy documentary, but you'll want to listen to all of this regardless. There's far too many priceless pieces of information contained than what I can mention here, so it's best that you find out all of this on your own. Bob Gale has got some very humorous stories to tell, and the USC audience gets quite a few chuckles throughout the track from his delivery. Oddly enough though, the commentary doesn't last the entire length of the film — ending about the time Marty arrives at Lone Pine Mall.
Outtakes: Definitely one of my favorite features — these outtakes are wonderful to take in. Several of these are indeed laugh-out-loud hilarious, and are just a sample of how much fun it must have been for the cast to make this film. From goofed lines, to props that don't work, to practical jokes, you'll be wishing there were a lot more of these included on this release.
Deleted Scenes: Also a major favorite of mine. Having heard of most of these over the course of the past 17 years, it was a thrill to finally see these seven scenes (one of which we've seen before) in all their glory. I'm quite pleased with the presentation of the deleted scenes for the first film too, in that each one is introduced with a brief description, and most are shown edited into the footage from the film where they would have been. Unfortunately, these scenes have not been remastered, and there are some sound drop-outs as well. But it's quite interesting to see these reinserted into the scene where they belong, since they weren't put back into the film, although you can certainly see the difference in the remastered portions of the film wrapping around these deleted scenes as they transition back & forth. The extended scenes for George's "Darth Vader" encounter and Doc showing his "permit" to the policeman are particularly quite funny andworthy of repeated viewings.
Did You Know That? Universal's Animated Anecdotes: I'm quite pleased with the way this feature turned out. Having only seen one other title in Universal's catalog with this feature (Peyton Reed's Bring It On), it's a pleasure to see the feature live up to its name as screen-specific trivia facts pop up in the form of spinning license plates, zooming DeLoreans, and rolling skateboards.
Original Makeup Tests: This brief segment shows Christopher Lloyd, Tom Wilson, and Lea Thompson in various stages of makeup for their respective characters. Having seen the lengthy bootlegged footage floating out there on eBay, I'm curious as to why Crispin Glover's makeup tests weren't included.
Storyboards to Final Feature Comparison: This is an interesting feature, where certain climatic scenes are shown in storyboard form split-screen above the actual completed scene as shown in the film. Here we're shown Marty's skateboard chase and the Clocktower sequence at the end of the film.
Production Archives: You'll love flipping through these still photographs from the film's production, seeing many never-before-seen pictures of the cast in the "Marty McFly Photo Album", crew on the set in the "Behind the Scenes Photographs", "DeLorean Designs", and "Time Travel Designs". Definitely some very interesting stuff to be found here among the 150 or so photos.
Theatrical Trailer: This is the teaser trailer we've all seen before (and contained here on BTTF.com) with Marty kicking the tires of the DeLorean and testing out the switches before telling the off-camera female voice that he's going "About 30 years" into the past. Originally included on the laserdisc for BTTF3 some twelve years ago.
Unfortunately, the sequels did not receive the same full-attention the original film did in terms of presentation of the bonus features. Don't get me wrong — there's PLENTY of material here to satisfy most fans of these films, and had each film been released individually and not part of a boxed set, these differences would not be quite so evident. But when BTTF2 and BTTF3 are compared to BTTF1 in terms of bonus feature presentation, they unfortunately fall a bit short on this release. Fortunately, these shortcomings are said to be non-existent on the Region 1 release since additional time was available in the production process leading up to their release here in the States in December.
BACK TO THE FUTURE, PART II
Back to the Future Part II Featurette: This is a brief but very interesting featurette that originally aired on HBO in 1989 to promote the theatrical release. It includes some of the same documentary information seen in the fan-favorite NBC Sneak Preview hosted by Leslie Nielsen (which is not included on the discs), although in a more compact presentation. This is where Robert Zemeckis inadvertently started the whole "hoverboards are real" rumor that just won't die.
Making the Trilogy, Chapter 2: Without a doubt, this is my favorite chapter of the three segments to this feature, as some very interesting information is revealed regarding the direction of the sequels, particularly where Old Biff was originally going to travel to after stealing the DeLorean. Seeing George, Lorraine, Dave & Linda in this time period would have certainly been quite a different film entirely!
Outtakes: More flubbed lines, props that won't work, and costumes caught in car doors are set to music from the film's score this time. One laugh-out-loud outtake involves Christopher Lloyd on the bicycle in Biff's driveway.
Deleted Scenes: There are four scenes included here from BTTF2 — two of which we've seen before from the Secrets of the Back to the Future Trilogy special. Unfortunately, these scenes have not received the same treatment that the deleted scenes from BTTF1 did. They are simply presented in their entirety, but not reinserted into the scene where they would fit in from the film. Of great concern to me was the fact that the scene where Marty finds the charred remains of his high school no longer has sound. Sometime in the past 12 years since this scene was included in the Secrets special (complete with sound), the soundtrack has regrettably been lost/damaged for this particular scene. And we finally get to see Marc McClure's complete scene as a drunken Dave McFly in the alternate 1985, which is a real treat. This one, along with Old Biff's death are the two that in my opinion should have definitely stayed in the final cutof the film.
Hoverboard Test: We saw most of this feature back in late June when Entertainment Tonight aired a preview of the DVDs. The 56-second segment contains no sound whatsoever, but is quite an interesting piece of footage that shows a group of stuntmen riding hoverboards out in an open field in the same formation we know and love from the film. The footage is surprisingly realistic, given the fact that there's absolutely no special effects applied to it.
Storyboards to Final Feature Comparison: Only one scene is depicted in storyboard form this time — Marty's hoverboard escape from Griff & gang.
Production Archives: More intriguing photos are seen for the first time here in the "Marty McFly Photo Album", "Behind the Scenes Photographs", "Futuristic Designs" of the sets, and the "Vehicles of the Future".
Theatrical Trailer: This is the full-length trailer that was included on the laserdisc release for BTTF3, and the same version you'll find here on BTTF.com.
BACK TO THE FUTURE, PART III
Making the Trilogy, Chapter 3: Rounding out this wonderful documentary, this final chapter gives some very interesting insight into Zemeckis' unbelievable schedule of editing BTTF2 while filming BTTF3. Bob Gale also tells how when he knew BTTF had entered American pop-culture after learning of President Ronald Reagan's appreciation of the first film. Another look at Alan Silvestri conducting the largest orchestra in Universal history at the time is pleasing too.
Outtakes: Once again set to the musical score from the films, you'll find yourself begging for more of these as we see yet more flubbed lines, on-set jokes, and problems with insects & horses. Christopher Lloyd gets the vote once again for funniest outtake here.
Deleted Scenes: As first reported here on BTTF.com, there's only one scene included for BTTF3. The scene here with Buford and his gang approaching Marshal Strickland and his son is quite a departure and would have certainly set a different tone moments later when Marty is shot by Buford. Be sure to notice Buford's cockiness in Marshal's willingness to let him pass on by — it certainly lends more credibility to Buford's little strut in front of an audience after seemingly killing Marty in the showdown. Brilliant Tom Wilson material here.
Storyboards to Final Feature Comparison: Three more action scenes are shown in this format — Marty's encounter with the Indians, Marty's showdown with Buford, and the Final Train sequence.
Production Archives: More photos from the "Marty McFly Photo Album" and "Behind the Scenes Photographs", plus "Production Designs" and "The Trilogy Poster Concepts". This is probably my favorite of the three discs for this feature, particularly several never-before-seen poster concepts from BTTF1 and BTTF3, plus photo-shoot pictures of Christopher Lloyd & Michael J. Fox posing for the poster for BTTF2. Also note the touching pictures of Zemeckis & Gale with their young children on the set of BTTF3. Classy stuff, folks.
ZZ Top music video to "Doubleback": I'm quite pleased to see this included here, although I can only imagine the legal hurdles that must have been overcome to get the rights from Warner Bros. (ZZ Top's recording label at the time) to include this video, especially given the fact that the song was not included on the film's soundtrack. If you've never seen this video before, you're in for a real treat as scenes from the film are superimposed into black & white footage of ZZ Top performing on the same Jamestown sets the film took place on. The only downer to this video's inclusion is the sad reminder that Huey Lewis & The News' video to "The Power of Love" wasn't included on the first film's disc.
Theatrical Trailer: Yet again, the full-length trailer also found here on BTTF.com. A trailer for the upcoming E.T. DVD release is also included on this disc.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Without a doubt, the boxed set is going to fly off the shelves in every territory they're released in. BTTF1 is almost flawless in its presentation, but sadly BTTF2 and BTTF3 lack the full attention that BTTF1 received. The inclusion of the USC commentary with Zemeckis & Gale and the Animated Anecdotes on BTTF1 are a glaring reminder of their omission from the sequels on this incarnation of the DVD set. (The USC commentaries Zemeckis & Gale recorded for the sequels on May 28, 2002 as well as additional trivia tracks will be included on the Region 1 set later this year.)
Still, casual fans of the series and the general DVD-buying public will eat these up. They're priced right and are not overwhelming in their content & presentation like so many other sets being released today. Aficionados of DTS will be quite pleased to have this track included — an exclusive to the international release. Hard-core fans will no doubt be left wanting more, and luckily anyone who has a multi-region DVD player will have that option — being able to purchase the set of their choice regardless of their locale. This is certainly a wonderful appetite-whetter for the Region 1 set headed our way in mid-December. [Thanks to 'The Insider' for his multiple contributions towards this review!]
My rating for the international set — 3½ DeLoreans out of 4. 
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