The Back to the Future trilogy is one of the most identifiable and enduring science fiction films ever made. This Spielberg production is a portrayal of time-travel that not only captured the imagination of its audiences, but also shaped it.

In spite of its “timeless” subject matter, this comedy sci-fi film also captured the best of the 80s spirit – with Michael J. Fox playing a character whose wide-eyed youthful teenage spirit made him an icon for the generations who grew up watching this movie.

Anyone who grew up in Pakistan during the 80’s and 90’s can testify to when Back to the Future was one of the rare English films that were played on television many times, to the delight of kids who were rarely treated to such entertainment at the time.

For those who haven’t seen the film, it is the story of Marty McFly, “a typical American teenager of the 80s”, who finds himself sent back to 1955 in a time machine invented by his friend and crazy scientist “Doc” Emmet Brown. Both Michael J. Fox (Marty) and Christopher Lloyd (Doc Brown) arguably played their most famous roles in this film.

In the first of these movies, we are introduced to the time machine which is interestingly crafted out of a Plutonium fueled Delorean (what could be more 80s than nuclear power and a stainless-steel sports car?). The famous time-machine works with a “flux capacitor” that makes it jump through time whenever it hits 88MPH. It just takes a few hapless accidents before the testing of the machine goes wrong, and our protagonist finds himself on an “often hysterical, always amazing trip back in time”.

What would you do if you had a time-machine? Would you want to go 30 years into the future to see what they’ve invented? Would you like to see what your parents were like when they were young? In the “making of” DVD of the film, writer Bob Gale reveals that he would have liked to find out if his father would befriend him had they gone to the same high school together. Robert Zemeckis (the Director of the film) liked the idea and that’s how the film came into being.

Marty McFly ends up in 1955, when his parents are the same age as him, however instead of just observing, he ends up endangering his own existence by interfering with critical events leading up to his parents’ first meeting. He then has to figure out how to get them together by the time of their high-school dance, and faces strange obstacles along the way – the weirdest of which is that his young mother develops a crush on him.

Biff Tanner is another problem, a classic bully who (as Marty discovers) comes from a long line of delinquents who have tormented his family members. Finally his biggest challenge is trying to coax and coach his hopelessly dorky father to work up some courage and actually ask his mother out.

In addition to many famous lines, scenes and props in the film, there is also some great comedy; Doc Brown’s crazy frenetic behavior, Marty’s clumsy teenage mishaps, his horror-struck interactions with his young mother, and other clever comedy that results from their ad hoc interactions with the bewildered people from another era.

The next film in the series “Back to the Future II” continues the story, but takes the adventure 30 years into future as well as the past. This 1985 film’s portrayal of the world in 2015 is a fascinating peek into where we thought we’d be by this time.

This movie also shaped a whole generation’s idea of what the “future” would be, and is probably the reason we still dream of flying cars and hover boards, in spite of the fact that we have neither. You’ll of course find yourself checking how many things we actually have that the movie foresaw correctly – you aren’t alone! Here is a list of some of the things the movie got right and what it missed – and here’s another.

This second film too, retains the fresh and energetic vibe from the first one, and takes Marty to his future home and family. While in the future he is tempted to buy a sports almanac and make a fortune in sports-betting back in the past (who wouldn’t be?), but of course this plan goes awry and it ends up disturbing the “space-time continuum” with disastrous consequences.

Like in many trilogies, the third film in the series (set in the wild west) was not as successful as the other two – however if you liked the other ones, you will probably find yourself watching the third one too.

The Back to the Future series is rated highly in many top-films lists (63 on IMDB’s top 250), and is definitely part of anyone’s top-ten sci-fi films. It has of course, spanned many franchises, including games, toys and even apparel. Its fans include Ronald Reagan who has even quoted the film in one of his speeches. The film was also included in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.

For those of us who saw the film growing up, its characters and extraordinary plot has left a permanent mark on our imagination and sense of wonder. For those who haven’t seen it, it will definitely be a classic film worth watching.

View Dawn.com’s weekly classics archive here.

Nadir Siddiqui is a photographer and interactive producer at Dawn.com. You can view some of his photography here.

The views expressed by this blogger and in the following reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Dawn Media Group.