The most rewatchable movie of the ’80s has hit Netflix
Going back in time


Back to the Future has officially landed on Netflix, giving audiences the perfect excuse to fire up the flux capacitor and revisit one of cinema’s most iconic adventures. And with the film turning 40 this year, there’s never been a better time to go back to Hill Valley.
Released in 1985, Robert Zemeckis’s sci-fi comedy masterpiece remains one of the most perfectly balanced blockbusters ever made. It’s funny, fast, clever, and full of heart.
Michael J. Fox stars as Marty McFly, a laid-back teen who accidentally travels from 1985 to 1955 in his eccentric friend Doc Brown’s (Christopher Lloyd) homemade time machine, a stainless steel DeLorean that’s as cool now as it was then.
Once stranded in the past, Marty finds himself face-to-face with his teenage parents, and must somehow make sure they fall in love, or risk erasing his own existence.
Four decades on, the film still feels electric. The pacing is sharp, the dialogue endlessly quotable, and the chemistry between Fox and Lloyd remains one of the best double acts in movie history.
Zemeckis and co-writer Bob Gale built a film that’s part screwball comedy, part sci-fi thriller, and part family drama, all underscored by Alan Silvestri’s soaring, instantly recognisable score. It’s the kind of film Hollywood has been trying (and mostly failing) to recreate ever since.
Its arrival on Netflix also couldn’t be better timed. Nostalgia is at an all-time high, the Back to the Future musical is still wowing West End audiences, and a whole new generation is discovering Marty, Doc, and the time-travelling DeLorean for the first time. The film’s themes, friendship, fate, and the eternal struggle to make your parents understand you, haven’t aged a day.
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40 years later, Back to the Future isn’t just a movie, it’s a time capsule of the ‘80s, a masterclass in blockbuster filmmaking, and proof that great storytelling never goes out of time and with the new LEGO DeLorean and the calculator watch.

Morgan got his start in writing by talking about his passion for gaming. He worked for sites like VideoGamer and GGRecon, knocking out guides, writing news, and conducting interviews before a brief stint as RealSport101's Managing Editor. He then went on to freelance for Radio Times before joining Shortlist as a staff writer. Morgan is still passionate about gaming and keeping up with the latest trends, but he also loves exploring his other interests, including grimy bars, soppy films, and wavey garms. All of which will undoubtedly come up at some point over a pint.
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