Original artwork, not a still
Wait, hold on Doc, are you telling me that you built a time machine...out of a DeLorean?
— Back to the Future · 1985
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
This is the first big wow of the film, and Marty's dazed disbelief says out loud what the audience is thinking. Doc's answer, that a time machine might as well have style, made a short-lived sports car as famous as any starship; the first draft had a fridge instead. Fans quote it whenever someone builds something clever out of the wrong thing.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Back to the FutureShow the scene
The film's first big scene: in the Twin Pines Mall car park in Hill Valley in the small hours, Doc Brown has invited Marty to watch a test. Einstein, Doc's dog, is the first time traveller, and Doc sends him and the DeLorean one minute into the future. The car reappears covered in ice. Marty, working it out, asks if Doc built a time machine out of a DeLorean. Doc's answer is that if you are going to build a time machine into a car, you might as well do it with some style, and the stainless steel body helped the flux anyway.
Sources (2)
- Back to the Future transcript, Back to the Future WikiTwin Pines Mall demonstration of the DeLoreanReference checked
- DeLorean time machine, Back to the Future WikiTrivia, first scriptReference checked
Context reviewed
