Happy anniversary, ‘Back to the Future’ fans!

Happy anniversary, ‘Back to the Future’ fans!

Crispin Glover, from left, Lea Thompson and Michael J. Fox star in the ‘Back to the Future,’ in which the iconic Under the Sea dance was held on Nov. 12, 1955.

There are a lot of important dates in the movies that we love.

Like, January 1972 (the date Charlton Heston leaves Earth in “Planet of the Apes”). And August 1962 (the month Richard Dreyfuss and pals cruise Modesto, Calif., in “American Graffiti”). Or June 1980 (Javier Bardem arrives in west Texas in “No Country for Old Men”).

But none are as fun as Nov. 12, 1955, because, well, that’s when lightning struck.

In “Back to the Future” — director Robert Zemeckis’ 1985 blockbuster that still stands as one of the most enjoyable, perfectly played and intricately plotted rides ever to roll out of Hollywood — that’s the day Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) is sent back to 1985 by his once and future pal, Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd).

Christopher Lloyd wearing a concoction on his head while playing Doc Brown in a scene from 'Back To The Future.'

If you’re not up to date, here’s how it played out in Zemeckis and Bob Gale’s script: At 1:15 a.m. on Oct. 26, 1985, Marty and Doc are in the parking lot of the Twin Pines mall. Suddenly, to escape Libyan terrorists wanting the plutonium Doc stole from them, Marty takes the scientist’s time-traveling DeLorean to Nov. 5, 1955 — the date Doc Brown states he invented time travel.

After spending a week in the Eisenhower era, Marty has to help his future parents (Crispin Glover, Lea Thompson) fall in love at Hill Valley High School’s Enchantment Under the Sea dance on Nov. 12, 1955. And at 10:04 p.m. that night, Doc intends to harness the power of the lightning bolt that strikes Hill Valley’s clock tower to approximate the 1.21 gigawatts needed to get Marty home at 88 mph.

The seemingly straightforward mission takes more narrative twists and turns than a flux capacitor at full power. Zemeckis made sure that the film’s internal logic is tight as a drum, and filled the movie with knowing winks, wordplay and foreshadowing. (Ever notice the little man hanging on the arms of a mantle clock in the opening moments. Look again.)

And of course, as “BTTF parts II and III” came around in 1989 and ’90, respectively, all those details became even more essential. For the record, there are those of us who, if forced to choose, would take the “Back to the Future” trilogy onto a desert island instead of the 1977-83 “Star Wars” adventures. And now, hearing that, is when you use Doc Brown’s favorite phrase: “Great Scott!”

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