Summary

• The best Back to the Future quotes have guaranteed the franchise a place in pop culture history.
• Outstanding performances from Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown and Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly are a key reason many moments are so memorable.
• Other characters like Biff Tannen have some great Back to the Future quotes, but the majority of the best lines come from Doc and Marty.

Back to the Future quotes have helped to ensure the trilogy's long-lasting legacy as one of the best sci-fi franchises of all time. All three movies took fun and unique approaches to the time-travel genre, creating a shared overall story ed fondly decades later. The culture clash of 80s teen Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) and his eccentric genius friend, Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd), taking their time-traveling DeLorean to different time periods set up a comedic and thrilling adventure. While the visual elements of the three movies have become iconic, the best Back to the Future quotes have also become cemented in pop culture history.

The Back to the Future trilogy remains one of the few Hollywood franchises untouched by a remake or a reboot despite constant rumors of some continuation being in the works. Director Robert Zemeckis and writer Bob Gale have always maintained that as long as they have a say, the original trilogy will remain untouched and cemented in time. As a result, the best Back to the Future quotes remain as pristine as they were when they were first put out into the world almost 40 years ago.

All Back to the Future movies are available on Peacock .

20 “This Is Heavy!”

Marty McFly

“This is heavy” is one of Marty McFly's catchphrases which he says throughout the Back to the Future trilogy whenever he’s stunned or confused. Given the high-stakes time-travel adventures he finds himself sucked into, it's not surprising that the quote comes up a lot. It also sets up a great joke in the first movie when Doc asks him about the turn of phrase: “There’s that word again, ‘heavy.’ Why are things so heavy in the future? Is there a problem with the Earth’s gravitational pull?”

There is a lot of humor about the 80s culture clashing with the 1950s setting. However, what makes this line so funny is that Doc Brown approaches it through a scientific mind and tries to make sense of what it would mean for the future. Though it was contemporary slang, it's gained an 80s throwback element that's made it remain one of the best Back to the Future quotes.

19 “Silence, Earthling! My Name Is Darth Vader. I Am An Extraterrestrial From The Planet Vulcan!”

Marty McFly

It is a bit like Marty has a superpower, knowing things that no one else does, and he is even able to use the most popular cultural aspects of the 1980s to get things done.

While Marty is very much a fish out of water when he finds himself back in the 1950s, the first Back to the Future movie has a lot of fun with him using the future to his advantage. It is a bit like Marty has a superpower, knowing things that no one else does, and he is even able to use the most popular cultural aspects of the 1980s to get things done.

When he needs to put some fear into his timid father back in 1955, Marty mixes together some Star Wars and Star Trek while pretending to be an alien. While it is an effective plan, it is funny to think about George's reaction when these franchises hit pop culture in a couple of decades. It also shows Marty's teenage mind dealing with this situation by just grabbing from every sci-fi property he can think of.

18 “I Hate Manure!”

Biff Tannen

Biff (Thomas F. Wilson) makes for a terrific villain in the first movie with him being the kind of easily detestable character that audiences love to see get what he deserves. The first humiliation comes when Marty meets the Bully in 1955. Biff ends up covered in manure as he chases Marty through the streets of Hill Valley several times in the first Back to the Future. The first time is as Biff and his friends try to run him down in Biff’s car.

It is one of the recurring gags that comes back in each of the sequels, delivering some much-needed comeuppance to the trilogy's main villain. It is hard to imagine a more disgusting and humiliating punishment, and it is a joy to see Biff, in any of his incarnations, get his mouthful of manure while voicing his displeasure at the situation.

17 “Jesus, Didn’t That Guy Ever Have Hair?”

Marty McFly

Though the first movie doesn't spend too much time in the 80s, it does include a quintessential 80s teen movie character with the harsh and domineering authority figure. In 1985, Marty is given a hard time at school by his teacher, Mr. Strickland (James Tolkan). Strickland is always getting after Marty for not paying attention to his teachers or showing up to class on time. When he travels back to 1955 and goes to the school where his teenage parent attends, he sees a younger Mr. Strickland.

Hilariously, Strickland looks almost exactly the same in the 1950s as he would do in the 1980s. Marty cracks, “Jesus, didn’t that guy ever have hair?” What makes the moment even funnier is that it is never explained how Strickland has seemingly always been an old bald man.

16 "Shark Still Looks Fake."

Marty McFly

There are a lot of fun elements to see Marty explore in the future when Back to the Future: Part II takes him to 2015. However, one of the best ones is an in-joke aimed at Back to the Future producer Steven Spielberg and one of his most popular movies. Marty sees an ment for Jaws 19 with a 3D shark coming right at him.

While it takes him by surprise at first, Marty then makes a joke about how even after all these years, the killer shark still looks fake. The Back to the Future Jaws joke is a fun Easter egg and, thankfully, the shark movie franchise knew to quit at four movies. However, regardless of Marty's criticisms, there are many who think that the original shark in the first movie looks far more realistic than what was to come in the sequels.

15 “1.21 Gigawatts!?!”

Doc Emmett Brown

When Marty arrives in 1955, he wastes no time tracking down a young Doc Brown to help him fix the time machine and return to the present day. At first, Doc is skeptical that the teenage boy who showed up on his doorstep is actually from the future, but as Marty explains the flux capacitor, Doc realizes he’s telling the truth.

When Marty tells Doc that the DeLorean time machine requires 1.21 gigawatts of power to operate, Doc is horrified: “1.21 gigawatts!?!” It's Lloyd's delivery of the Back to the Future quote that makes it memorable with him leaping into a characteristically animated response. Lloyd is able to make Doc a true eccentric without going too over the top. As much fun as Marty's misadventures are with his young parents, seeing these moments in which Doc Brown excitedly tangles with the science are some of the most entertaining moments.

14 “If My Calculations Are Correct, When This Baby Hits 88 Miles Per Hour, You're Gonna See Some Serious S***.”

Doc Emmett Brown

Wild-eyed scientist characters were quite commonplace in movies before Back to the Future, but Christopher Lloyd was the first to play a mad scientist who didn’t take everything so seriously. Doc Brown is deeply invested in his work and excited about the possibilities of what he can achieve. However, as he describes the experiment at hand as being “some serious s***", it shows a charming fun side to the character.

The line is a perfect tease to put the viewers on the edge of their seats for what comes next. The audience is about to see the time machine in action for the first time, and it helps to build anticipation for the iconic moment. It also makes Doc Brown an instantly likable and relatable character despite being an eccentric genius and helps to explain why Marty would hang out with this old man.

13 “Why Don’t You Make Like A Tree And Get Outta Here?”

Biff Tannen

One of the main character traits of Biff Tannen is that he gets idioms wrong. While he might be intimidating in size, he is also a massive buffoon who cannot help but make a fool of himself. Instead of “Make like a tree and leave,” he says, “Why don’t you make like a tree and get outta here?” His total oblivious nature to his frequent mistakes is part of what makes Biff such a terrific comedy villain.

He leaves a lasting impression as he appears across all three movies, which is why he's the source of so many of the best Back to the Future quotes. The movies perfectly balance the fact that he can be a real threat to the heroes while allowing the audience to laugh at him for his dim-wittedness, which makes him another wildly fun character for this world.

12 "Why Do You Keep Calling Me Calvin?"

Marty McFly

The awkward interactions between Marty and his own mother when he travels back to the 1950s make for some of the most memorable scenes in the first movie. This is especially true of their first meeting after Marty is hit by a car and taken to Lorraine's room to recuperate. Marty is understandably confused by the whole situation of him in his underwear in his mother's bedroom in the past, as she continually calls him Calvin. When asked why, she points out the name on his underwear, a reminder that Calvin Klein products weren't around in the 1950s.

Given that the 80s are so far into the past, it is interesting to look back on the movie and see how the 80s and the 50s differed so much.

It is a hilarious origin for Back to the Future which lasts throughout the rest of the movie. Given that the 80s are so far into the past, it is interesting to look back on the movie and see how the 80s and the 50s differed so much. The idea of a company putting brand names on their underwear was a new concept in the 50s.

11 "It’s Leave, You Idiot! 'Make Like A Tree, and Leave.' You Sound Like A Damn Fool When You Say It Wrong."

Biff Tannen

Biff is Back to the Future's villain throughout the trilogy, and he seems to get meaner and more detestable with each new installment in the franchise. Some of the best scenes with the character come from Back to the Future: Part II involving two versions of Biff interacting which shows that he is a bully to everyone, including himself. The sequel has Biff able to meet his past self and use him to alter their future.

However, even future Biff cannot stand his own stupidity, as past Biff uses his moronic insult "Why don’t you make like a tree and get outta here?" and the older Biff angrily corrects him. It is a funny idea of how embarrassing people would be to meet their younger selves and be confronted with how embarrassing they really were back in the day.