Hill Valley (Back to the Future)
This article possibly contains original research. (February 2020) |
Hill Valley | |
---|---|
Universal Studios backlot, known as Courthouse Square | |
First appearance | Back to the Future (1985) |
Created by | Robert Zemeckis Bob Gale |
In-universe information | |
Type | City |
Characters | Marty McFly Emmett Brown Biff Tannen |
Hill Valley is a
The city name "Hill Valley" is a joke, being an oxymoron. However, an early script for Back to the Future Part II mentioned that Hill Valley was named after its founder, William "Bill" Hill.
Production
For
The Hill Valley courthouse can be seen in the movies
Many of the cars that appear in the 2015 scenes are either modified for the film or concept cars. Examples include
For Back to the Future Part III, Hill Valley 1885 was filmed in Sonora, California. The producers were able to use the land rent-free under an agreement to leave the set buildings on site. All buildings except the clock tower were left intact after production completed.
On November 6, 1990, an arson fire on the
On February 14, 1999, a fire at
Real-life locations
Other real-life shooting locations of Hill Valley landmarks include:[8]
- Doc's house in 1955 is the Gamble House in Pasadena, California. Doc's garage in 1985 was a façade set up next to a Burger King on North Victory Boulevard in Burbank, California.[11]
- Twin Pines/Lone Pine Mall is actually the Puente Hills Mall in Industry, California.
- Marty's Lyon Estates house in 1985 is actually at 9303 Roslyndale Avenue, Pacoima, California.
- The 1955 Lyon Estates field is actually along farmland between the city borders of Chino, California and Corona, California.
- Peabody's Twin Pines Ranch is really at Golden Oak Ranch, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company and used in many Disney productions.
- The houses of George McFly, Lorraine Baines, and Biff Tannen in 1955 are all in South Pasadena, California.
- The train that hit the DeLorean and the Futuristic Train were parked in Port Hueneme, California.
- John F. Kennedy Drive is actually Victory Boulevard in Burbank, California.
- The River Road Tunnel is actually Observatory Tunnel at Griffith Park in Los Angeles. The actual tunnel is only a fraction of the length of the one depicted in Part II.
- The Pohatchee Drive-In Theater where Marty initially travels from 1955 back to 1885 was not a real theater. It was constructed full-scale for the third film in Monument Valley, Utah(near the Arizona/Utah border) and was torn down after that portion of filming was completed.
- Marty's race with Needles was shot on Doris Avenue in Oxnard, California.
- Hilldale in 1985 was filmed at Doris Avenue and Oxford Drive in Oxnard, California.
- Hilldale in 2015 was filmed at Oakhurst Street and Somerset Avenue in El Monte, California.
- Hill Valley High School was filmed at Whittier High School in Whittier, California.
Location
According to an 1885 Central Pacific Railroad map in Back to the Future Part III, Hill Valley is located in Northern California in the Sierra Nevada. Dialogue in Back to the Future Part II and Back to the Future Part III places it in "Hill County", a fictional county in California.[12]
Fictional history
The following information is taken directly from places and events shown or mentioned in the three films:
Early settlement
The town of Hill Valley was first settled in 1850 and incorporated in 1865. By the 1880s, it was connected by railroad to San Francisco. Construction of a new county courthouse was well underway in 1885, the setting of Back to the Future Part III, in which a new clock was dedicated for the building. The Shonash Ravine Bridge was completed in the summer of 1886, around the same time the ravine was renamed Clayton Ravine in memory of Clara Clayton, a school teacher who died from falling into the chasm. In a revised timeline where Doc Brown saved Clara's life, the town renamed it Eastwood Ravine after Marty McFly's persona when it is believed that "Clint Eastwood" fell into the ravine.
Town square
By 1955, as seen in the first two Back to the Future films, the area around the courthouse has developed into the
In Marty's original timeline, many of the town square businesses have moved or closed down by 1985. The new businesses which replaced them include a
The grassy park outside of the courthouse has been converted into a parking lot. "That was always one of the major elements of the story even in its earliest incarnation," screenwriter Bob Gale says in The Making of Back to the Future, "was to take a place and show what happens to it over a period of thirty years. What happened to everybody's home town is obviously the same thing. They built the mall out in the boonies, and killed all the business downtown, and everything changed."[13]
By the 21st century, the downtown area has experienced a revival. The courthouse has been converted into the Courthouse Mall. Businesses have begun to move back into and around the town square and the parking lot has been replaced by a pond. The clock on top of the courthouse is still preserved at 10:04 and the mall's logo is an illustration of a lightning bolt striking the clock tower. The Town Theater/Assembly of Christ building has been converted to an art museum with a mural painted on the front side of the building above the marquee. The Texaco station remains, while the Toyota dealership is now a Pontiac dealership, though in reality General Motors discontinued the Pontiac brand in 2010 as part of its bankruptcy.
Signs that say "Welcome to Hill Valley" are seen in 1955, 1985 and 2015. Both 1955 and 2015 signs have symbols representing the
In the alternate 1985, Marty is seen walking over the sign, which has been knocked down and an 'E' has been spray painted over the 'I' in HILL VALLEY making the name HELL VALLEY. This sign does not display the name of the mayor but instead the words "A Nice Place to Live" as seen in 1955. A sign referencing US Highway 395 is shown next to the Town Square in 1955.
Twin Pines Mall / Lone Pine Mall
Twin Pines Mall is a shopping center located outside Hill Valley, where
Alternate history
In
The clock on the courthouse remains at 10:04, although despite the damage the Doc did to the tower's platform in 1955, for whatever reason, it now seems to have disappeared. Biff murdered George McFly, Marty's dad, on March 15, 1973, so that he could marry George's wife Lorraine, Marty's mom, making him a corrupt family man as well as town ruler. He helped Richard Nixon remain President of the United States until at least 1985. Biff's effect on history affected the whole world – in this version of history, the Vietnam War was still ongoing by May 1983.
According to the original script for Back to the Future Part II a partial view of the alternate 2015 was also to be depicted. By this time Biff now owns half the state of California with his influence having gained his son, Biff Jr., the seat of governor and they uphold their power and corruption with an army of large, powerful cyborg police officers, which now has its 5 star resort in what would have been the courthouse mall in 2015.
Back to the Future: The Game alternate history
Another timeline, branching off the events of Back to the Future: The Game, sees Irving "Kid" Tannen, the father of Biff Tannen and a prohibitionism era mafioso, avoid his lengthy incarceration for illegal consumption and sale of alcohol. In the alternate 1986 Biff Tannen has two brothers, and the Tannen family is a recognized crime family, ruling over Hill Valley with an iron grip.[14]
In yet another alternate history, branching off the events of Back to the Future: The Game, in 1931 a teen Emmett Brown, fell in love with the young journalist Edna Strickland: as a result she married Emmett, convincing him to pursue sociological and political goals. She managed to win him over by keeping him interested in science, but in a manner that his scientific skills could be used to control people instead of using science to understand mysteries and for the betterment of humanity. Under "Citizen Brown"'s influence, by 1985 Hill Valley is a technological dystopia, where Emmett Brown oversees a fascist regime, controlling every single activity of his citizens, routinely brainwashed and spied over.[15]
In this new Hill Valley, in a reversal of their usual roles, Marty McFly is a square, serious and devoted to Emmett Brown to a fault, as the "original" McFly is dismayed to discover, and Jennifer is a rebellious rocker, a wild child with an unpredictable streak. Lorraine is again a mildly obese, inebriated sad woman. George has reverted to be the loser he is in the first, original timeline, although his oppressor is big government instead of Biff. George reprises his "peeping Tom" activities as seen in Back to the Future, under the guise of monitoring security camera footage for Citizen Brown.[16]
Biff Tannen is now one part of the Citizen Plus program, brainwashed into obedience. Hill Valley is a technologically advanced marvel, owned by a now rich and powerful Emmett Brown, with even the iconic Town Hall replaced by a huge pane with the E. Brown Industries symbol. Since in this timeline Emmett Brown never developed time-travel technology, the events of the original series never took place, and the Eastwood Ravine is still known as the Clayton Ravine, as no one saved Clara from her death.[17]
The last attempt to fix the damages involved with the events of Back to the Future: The Game ends with even a more radical change. Edna Strickland travels under an assumed name to 1876 to act as a moral guide of the newly founded Hill Valley. After a failed confrontation with Beauregard Tannen, a Confederate soldier who built and founded the Palace Saloon, she accidentally causes a conflagration that consumes Hill Valley, turning it into a ghost town with herself as the only resident.[18]
Again, Marty and Doc manage to restore the continuity, that now sports minor alterations: Arthur and Silvia, Marty's grandparents, prepone their marriage to 1931. It was 1936 in the original timeline. Doc Brown spends more time in 1986 and less traveling through time. Kid Tannen is now reformed, married to Edna Strickland and having a better influence over Biff.[19]
Places
Many family businesses are passed down from generation to generation in Hill Valley. As a result, the city changes but remains similar from one generation to the next, as businesses are updated but rarely change. These recurring elements were a deliberate choice on the part of the filmmakers. The production designer of Back to the Future Part II, Rick Carter, is quoted in a DVD extra as saying, "The future is built on the present." Director Robert Zemeckis adds that the continuity between the different eras in Hill Valley's history is an example of the adage, "the more things change, the more they stay the same".[20]
The following is a list of such places. When a place is not seen or mentioned in a movie, it is marked unknown. Some buildings shown in 1885 scenes are actually located further down the street in an area not shown in the first two movies.
place No. | 1885 | 1955 | 1985 | Alternate 1985 | 2015 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Hill Valley Courthouse and Clock Tower (under construction) | Hill Valley Courthouse | Department of Social Services | Biff Tannen's Pleasure Paradise Casino & Hotel The Biff Tannen Museum |
Hill Valley Courthouse Mall |
2 | Nothing | Town Theater (showing "The Atomic Kid") | Town Theater (as the Assembly of Christ Church) | Biffco Toxic Waste Reclamation Plant | Hill Valley Museum of Art A Bellman Retrospective |
3 | Nothing | Holt's Diner | Elmo's Rib Cafe | (part of Biffco) | (part of the Hill Valley Museum) |
4 | Honest Joe Statler's Fine Horses (in different location — this spot actually empty) | Statler Studebaker | Statler Toyota | PIG Mart | Pontiac Sales and Hover Conversions |
5 | Nothing | Ruth's Frock Shop | Goodwill Industries | Tanya Exotic Sex Goddess | Hyatas All Natural Earth-Grown Fruits |
6 | Nothing | Jacobson & Field Attorneys at Law | Loans | Bad Rap Bail Bonds | Simulex |
7 | Building under construction | Western Auto Stores | Empty Store (displaying Re-Elect Mayor Goldie Wilson signage) | Bondage | Hill Valley Gifts / The Hydroponic Gardner |
8 | Wells Fargo & Co | Bluebird Motel | Al's Tattoo Art (out of business, for sale) |
Video Nude Hardcore Movies Pawn Shop |
Sight Sound and Mind |
9 | Nothing | Elite Barber Shop | Empty Store (Sign on window saying "We Moved to Twin Pines Mall") | Bangkok Sauna & Asian Massage | Mr. Perfect All-Natural Steroids |
10 | Nothing | Hill Valley Stationers | Cupid's Adult Book Store | Hell Hole XXX | Eclipse — Contemporary & Traditional Lighting Store |
11 | Nothing | Zale's Jewelers | Abrams Brokerage Corporation | Hardcore X | Pizza Hut |
12 | Unknown | J.D. Armstrong Realty | Loans | Peeparama | True Blues |
13 | Unknown | Ask Mr. Foster Travel Service | Ask Mr. Foster Travel Service | Naughty and Naked | Uniglobe Travel |
14 | Marshal's Office | Bank of America | Bank of America | Naughty XXX | Hill Valley Transit bus stop (Second floor advertising Goldie Wilson Hover Conversions and Major League Baseball World Series Sports-Flash news on a holographic billboard sign) |
15 | Palace Saloon (setting before Lou's Cafe) | Lou's Cafe | Lou's Fitness Aerobics Center (originally Lou's Cafe in 1955) | War Zone Bar | Cafe 80's (originally Lou's Cafe in 1955 and Lou's Fitness Center in 1985) |
16 | Barber shop | Roy's Record Store | The Third Eye | Time to Shoot Photo Store | Blast From The Past Antique Store |
17 | Docs Blacksmith shop (different building) | Texaco full-service station | Texaco gas station/food mart | (area cluttered with piles of junk furniture and other garbage) | 7-Eleven (first floor) and Texaco automated Havoline station (second floor) |
18 | Unknown | Hal's Bike Shop | Hog Heaven | French Fantasies | The Bot Shoppe |
19 | Livery and Feed Stable | Lawrence Building | Broadway Florist | French Fantasies | Hill Valley Surrogate Parenting Center |
20 | Building under construction | Essex Theater (as a mainstream movie house showing Cattle Queen of Montana) | Essex Theater (as an adult movie house showing Orgy, American Style XXX) | Hill Valley Theater of Live Sex Acts | Holomax Theater (Now showing) Jaws 19 "this time its really really personal" |
21 | Hill Valley Telegraph | Building with Sherwin-Williams Paint billboard sign | Building with Sherwin-Williams Paint billboard sign | Toxic Waste Reclamation Plant | Unknown (office building displaying Skyway Information) |
22 | Nothing | Lyon Estates (under development) | Lyon Estates (middle-class neighborhood) | Lyon Estates (rough neighborhood) | Lyon Estates (low-class neighborhood) |
23 | Empty land near Shonash Ravine | Farmland near Clayton Ravine | Hilldale, a new housing development near Clayton/Eastwood Ravine with 1980s-style homes and described as being a rather affluent part of Hill Valley
|
Neighborhood destroyed, (Now extremely dangerous neighborhood) | Hilldale, now a rough neighborhood |
24 | Hill Valley School (in different building than later schools) | Hill Valley High School | Hill Valley High School | Remains of Hill Valley High School (burned down in 1979) | Hill Valley High School |
25 | Unknown | Gaynor's Hideaway Bar | Gaynor's Hideaway Bar | Dee Dee's Delight Bar | Fusion Bar |
26 | McFly Farm | Twin Pines Ranch | Twin Pines Mall (Lone Pine Mall upon return from the timeline of events Marty McFly created in 1955) |
Lone Pine Mall | Lone Pine Fli-Drome |
27 | Empty lot | Brown Mansion | Doc Brown's garage/Burger King | Doc Brown's garage | Doctor Brown's futuristic laboratory |
Reception
Back to the Future has been criticized for presenting an idealized 1950s setting almost entirely populated by White people, and contrasting this with a more troubled 1985 town run by a Black mayor. In Black Space: Imagining Race in Science Fiction Film, Adilifu Nama writes, "The film performs robust semiotic work around race by symbolically associating the degraded cityscape of Hill Valley with inept black leadership. Marty's personal family crisis, marked by a socially impotent father and an alcoholic mother, is mirrored in the condition of Hill Valley. Boarded-up businesses, schoolyard graffiti, and an adult-video bookstore placed in the center of town indicate that the Hill Valley of 1985 is suffering from severe economic and moral decline. Alongside these visual signifiers of socioeconomic crisis are posters of the Black mayor, Goldie Wilson, scattered throughout downtown Hill Valley."[21]
See also
References
- ISBN 9780786457656. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
- ^ Bob Gale (2002). Production Design: Back to the Future Part II (DVD special feature). MCA Universal.
- ^ Robert Zemickis and Bob Gale, Q&A, Back to the Future [DVD], recorded at the University of Southern California
- ^ Rudolph, Christopher (12 November 2013). "The Surprising History Of The 'Back To The Future' Clock Tower". HuffPost. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
- ^ "Gallery". Universal Studios Hollywood Studio Tour. Universal Studios Inc. Retrieved 2006-12-01.
- ^ Universal (2002). Universal Animated Anecdotes: Back to the Future Part II (DVD special feature). MCA Universal.
- ^ "Universal Studios Hollywood History File: November 6, 1990". thestudiotour.com. www.theatrecrafts.com/. Retrieved 2006-12-01.
- ^ a b Gordon, Bruce (1995). "Back to the Future — For Real!". www.BTTF.com, reprinted from Hill Valley Telegraph #16. To Be Continued... Archived from the original on 2006-12-05. Retrieved 2006-12-03.
- ^ "Huge fire burns movie sets at Universal Studios". Today.com. Today.com/. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
- ^ "Courthouse Square". thestudiotour.com. www.theatrecrafts.com/. Retrieved 2008-01-30.
- ^ "Back to the Future Locations — Doc Brown's 1985 Burger King House". BTTFtour.
- ISBN 9780425122402– via Google Books.
- ^ a b Les Mayfield, Director (1985). The Making of Back to the Future (TV special, DVD extra). MCA Universal.
- ^ Back to the Future: The Game, Get Tannen
- ^ Back to the Future: The Game, Citizen Brown
- ^ Back to the Future: The Game, Citizen Brown
- ^ Back to the Future: The Game, Citizen Brown
- ^ Back to the Future: The Game, Outtatime
- ^ Back to the Future: The Game, Outtatime
- ^ Universal (2002). Production Notes: Back to the Future Part II (DVD special feature). MCA Universal.
- ISBN 9780292778764. Retrieved 11 November 2020.