Back to the Future is a 1985 American science fiction adventure comedy film. It is directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale and produced by Steven Spielberg. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd and Crispin Glover. The film tells the story of Marty McFly, a teenager who is accidentally sent back in time from 1985 to 1955 in a plutonium-powered "time machine" invented by slightly mad scientist Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown. He meets his future parents in high school and accidentally attracts his future mother's romantic interest. Marty must repair the damage to history by causing his parents-to-be to fall in love. With the help of the scientist, he must find a way to return to 1985 and go back to the future.
Zemeckis and Gale wrote the script after Gale mused upon whether he would have befriended his father if they attended school together. Back to the Future was released on July 3, 1985 and became the most successful film of the year, grossing more than $383 million worldwide. It won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation and the Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film. Ronald Reagan quoted the film in his 1986 State of the Union Address. In 2008, the American Film Institute acknowledged the film as the 10th-best film in the science fiction genre. The film marked the beginning of a franchise, with sequels Back to the Future Parts II and III released in 1989 and 1990.