Back To The Future Part II 4K Ultra HD

"Getting back was only the beginning." Following the phenomenal success of the first movie, a sequel was inevitable. Picking up where the last movie ended, "Back To The Future Part II" has Marty (Fox), Doc Brown (Lloyd), and Jennifer (Elisabeth Shue taking over for Claudia Wells) racing off to the future, where Marty ends up purchasing a sports almanac and unknowingly changes history. Biff (Wilson) steals the book and as a result disrupts the space-time continuum, creating an alternate 1985 that Marty and Doc return to. This leads to Marty's attempts to retrieve the book from Biff to set history back on its correct course. And in a dazzling display of showmanship on the part of the filmmakers, we are treated to an inventive reenactment of the Enchantment Under The Sea dance sequence from the first movie from a totally new perspective. While the sports book is retrieved, Marty never corrects the parallel existence, and Doc is accidentally sent back in time to 1885, which leads to a classic cliffhanger ending. Look for future "Lord Of The Rings" star Elijah Wood as a video game-playing kid in the Cafe 80s. (Michael Coate)

The second film in the Back To The Future 35th Anniversary Trilogy, special features on "Back To The Future Part II" include Q&A commentary with Director Robert Zemeckis and Producer Bob Gale; feature commentary with Producers Gale and Neil Canton; seven deleted scenes with optional commentary by Gale; the featurettes "Tales From The Future: Time Flies" (HD 28:37) and "The Physics Of Back To The Future With Dr. Michio Kaku" (HD 08:25); the following archival featurettes: "The Making Of Back To The Future Part II" (SD 06:40) and "Making The Trilogy: Chapter Two" (SD 15:30); "Behind The Scenes," which includes the following: outtakes, the featurettes "Production Design" (SD 02:55), "Storyboarding" (SD 01:29), "Designing The DeLorean" (SD 03:31), "Designing Time Travel" (SD 02:41), "Hoverboard Test" (SD 00:58), and "Evolution Of Visual Effects Shots" (SD 05:42), as well as five photo galleries; the theatrical trailer; My Scenes; D-BOX Motion Code; BD-Live; U-Control™; up-front previews; and a Movies Anywhere digital code.

The 1.85:1 2160p HEVC/H.265 Ultra HD HDR10/Dolby Vision picture, reviewed on a Sony Bravia Z9D 4K Ultra HD HDR display, was photographed on 35 mm film stock using the Panavision Panaflex Platinum, VistaVision VistaFlex and VistaVision VistaGlide camera systems and sourced from a 4K master Digital Intermediate format. This newly restored and remastered 4K Ultra HD is far superior in every visual aspect compared to previous releases with no objectionable film grain. The presentation delivers far richer and better balanced hues with accurate fleshtones. Color saturation is much more saturated and enhances the vibrancy of the imagery with warm and rich hues. HDR contrast delivers deep blacks and revealing shadow delineation, which are quite satisfying throughout. Bright highlights exhibit excellent luminance. Sharpness and clarity are outstanding, especially compared to the softer look of the previous release and the original theatrical presentation. The restoration is well executed and will please fans with a picture that is the best that this film has looked. As with Part I, this is a terrific restoration with superb dimensionality that will please fans. The picture is absolutely gorgeous, (Gary Reber)

The Dolby Amos/Dolby TrueHD 7.1-channel soundtrack is an extension of the characteristics of Part I with wonderful dimension with an aggressive holosonic® impact. Bass energy is deep during sequences of the Delorean and other effects. Scenes involving the Delorean time machine are frequently engaging with enhanced motion sound effects. The four-channel surrounds are directionized, especially in the presentation of Alan Silvestri's orchestral segments with distinctive instrumentation and imaging, occupying a wide and deep soundstage. The music is wonderful and very spacious and dimensional with a wonderful surround presence. Still, overall, the sound is frontal focused with subtle surround envelopment in atmospherics, but during the action sequences surround energy is energized and thrilling, especially during scenes in which the Delorean time machine is engaged. Dialogue for the most part is nicely dimensional and spatially integrated.

The Immersive Sound element is nicely aggressive but limited to the extension of music segments to the height layer, except for the lighting and thunder and rain sound effects.

The back-and-forth soundscapes often enliven the storytelling, for a fun sonic adventure that enlivens the storytelling of this fun classic. (Gary Reber)