For years, the hunt for more footage of Eric Stoltz's original rendition of Marty McFly in Back To The Future has been an elusive quest. After several huge anniversaries, and just as many home video re-releases, no further release of the four week's that were shot with Stolz's incarnation has been released to the public - outside of clips included in previous documentaries. But if you watch the video below, you'll see a clip of footage that's been right under your nose all this time.
YouTube contributors Too Old To Grow Up are the mad geniuses that spotted the shot in the cafe during Marty and George's pep talk back in 1955. It's a classic scene that we've all seen countless times, and it's never stood out as anything weird in comparison to the rest of the film. But little did we know that during all of this time, Eric Stoltz's part of the Back To The Future legacy had a little fragment that remained in the original film, and Thomas F. Wilson – the man who played Biff Tannen throughout the trilogy's history – can attest to that fact, as he's stated the following in the above clip:
It's my belief that Eric Stoltz's fist punches me in the 50's cafe, because I do not think we re-shot that, because it was a close up of me.
Actor testimonials are one thing, but we can hear you asking, "Where's the evidence, Doc?" Well, that's where Too Old To Grow Up came through like gangbusters, as they slowed down the infamous showdown between past and future, and what they found pretty much corroborates this. Slowed down enough to be examined frame by frame, the scene shows that Stoltz's facial profile is visible when Marty delivers the punch that invented the skateboard. Further evidence to back this claim ranges from the time of day the different shoots took place, as well as the difference in facial features on Wilson's mug from two different points in the shooting. The evidence is there, a witness is on record; if this was a court of law, we'd have a case – complete with a blown up version of the following image taken directly from the video.
Which begs the question: besides the previously issued reasons, why hasn't the alternate footage of Back To The Future been released after all this time? With the 30th anniversary of the first film already passed, and the day that Marty and Doc went into the future during Back To The Future Part II fast approaching, wouldn't the time be right for a release of the original four weeks of shooting for posterity? Surely all parties have no grudges, at least none so great that they've become public knowledge, so why not kick in a little extra gas into the tank when it comes to fans double dipping only five years after upgrading to a Blu Ray copy?
Maybe, much like Jerry Lewis's The Day The Clown Cried, the powers that be don't think that the world is quite ready for Eric Stoltz's deadpan performance as Marty McFly. But perhaps, in time for the 40th anniversary, our generation's kids will be given the opportunity to love it. For now though, you can purchase the 30th anniversary edition of the Back To The Future trilogy – with or without the complete run of the animated series – on October 21st.
