Back to the Future, 1985

One of the most innately crowd-pleasing movies of all time, Back to the Future takes a brilliant core concept (a time-traveling DeLorean designed by a kooky scientist!) and makes the absolute most of it with phenomenal performances, a stirring musical score, a sharp, hilarious script, gee-whiz special effects, and exceptional, propulsive direction by Robert Zemeckis. Moving effortlessly between sci-fi action, zany comedy, and moments of existential crisis and heartfelt connection, Back to the Future is an example of a story that can only be effectively told through the medium of cinema. Sure, its concept of how time travel works may not hold up to rigid scientific questioning, but it doesn’t need to. Cinema is a purely visual medium, and I’ll never forget that image of the photograph Marty carries with him that shows his siblings fading from existence, or the thrill of the lightning strike that sends the Delorean back to the future, leaving nothing but flaming tire tracks in its wake. — Carolyn Petit