Back To The Future's Deleted Darth Vader Scene Makes It Even Better
The original extended version of the Darth Vader scene in Back to the Future was better since the deleted content included more ridiculous sci-fi references and tactics. The scene features Marty (Michael J. Fox) attempting to scare his father George (Crispin Glover) into taking Lorraine to the dance by pretending to be an "alien," making reference to sci-fi media well-known in the '80s: In just one minute, Marty references Star Wars, E.T., and Star Trek, all of which premiered long after George's 1955 timeline.
The Darth Vader scene occurs about halfway through Back to the Future after George McFly tells Marty that he, nor anyone else on this "planet" can change his mind about taking Lorraine to the dance. Marty uses George's interest in science fiction to create a space creature with elements frightening enough to convince George to finally make a move on Lorraine. The strange "alien" scare tactic works and George eagerly asks Lorraine to the dance the next day, though is interrupted when Biff Tannen and Marty start to fight.
The fun of the Back to the Future scene is all of the callbacks to sci-fi entertainment well-known in the ‘80s, and how jarring the language and physical presentations are to someone unaware of them. The deleted two minutes from the scene provide more Star Trek references, increased absurdity, and plot clarifications which make it much more humorous than the original version. The alternate Back to the Future scene adds Marty pulling out a hairdryer and threatening to vaporize George with his “heat-ray.” Marty also expands the Star Trek references by explaining that the supreme Klingon order George to take Lorraine to the high school dance. The most bizarre addition is that Marty puts George back to sleep using chloroform, then heads out of the window to Doc Brown’s car. With more references that George would (and wouldn’t) understand and the insanity of Marty drugging and threatening his dad with a "weapon," the extended scene is much more entertaining than the one-minute bit used in Back to the Future.
George's magazine collection and personally written stories already show he's a big science fiction fan, and the extended scene does a better job of referencing an alien weapon that George would have already understood, thus adding a layer of why he was so fearful of the experience. When Marty threatens George with the "heat-ray," this is the only explicit fear-tactic George would know because it was used by Martians in the 1989 book "The War of the Worlds." Every other aspect of Marty's fake "alien" comes from Back to the Future's "present timeline," so only the futuristic nature of the language would spark fear in George McFly.
The deleted scene also helps clear up some inconsistencies in the original Back to the Future scene and its aftermath. Because the “heat-ray” bit is excluded in the released film, it’s confusing as to why a hairdryer appears and disappears from Marty’s belt in-between shots. It also explains why George frantically tells Marty the next day that Darth Vader wanted to “melt his brain” and the reason George overslept. The extended sci-fi aspects also suggest that future George included a lot more of the Star Trek and heat-ray material into his future novel “A Match Made in Space,” which he based on the terrifying experience.
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