Back to the Future - comparing the last scene in Part I with the first scene in Part II

Marty McFly's girlfriend Jennifer Parker was played in Part I by actress Claudia Wells, and by Elisabeth Shue in Parts II and III. This required them to reshoot the last scene from Part I, which was then shown at the beginning of Part II. Here these scenes are compared side-by-side.
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[wonderfuljoey]

You can tell that Michael is older in Part 2. It’s crazy how much can change in 4 years.

[David-gjqr]

I didn't even realize Elizabeth Shue played both Ali in Karate Kid and Jennifer in back to the future part 2. She played the girlfriend of two 80's icons.

[futuremovieactor]

I never noticed the differences between the scenes until now.

[aborda]

I can't stop laughing when the audio syncs almost perfectly and also when they de-sync completely and is total chaos.

[justingreen]

I'll always be fascinated with how they seamlessly intercut shots from the old version just to sell the fact that your watching the same scene. Such slick camera work and editing. And acting! The actors had to mimic there performances to a tee!

[nuviaerivez]

I love the original Jennifer. Wish she would have been able to make the second one so bad. I bet it would of turn out so much better too.

[bernlin]

Elizabeth's hair started blowing immediately when the DeLorean pops up 😂 Michael's hair is also noticeably different, but overall pretty damn impressive. It's a real shame they couldn't get the original actress, I thought they were a better match-up although I loved Shue's "figure self" thought she did a great job with the campy humor, considering she was coming to the series brand new.

[davidcolantuono]

That look on Biff's face after the DeLorean zaps away into the future makes him look like a villain again (as he was in 1955).

[michaelblaine]

Michael J Fox’s “I can explain” look to Jennifer is hysterical and he does it exactly the same both times

[matthiasplatz]

The first time I saw this, I didn't even realize they had re-cast Jennifer. To be fair, her part in the first movie was pretty small, and it had probably been a couple of years since I had seen it. I did realize it had been re-shot, but couldn't figure out why. Then, some years later, I watched them both back-to-back and felt like an idiot 😂!

[Engineer_Who]

The only major differences I can see are the recasting of Jennifer and the insertion of the joke where Doc has to think for a second about whether the future McFlys are assholes. And the Biff reaction, of course.

[TheMangeGrain]

In this scene, I prefer Claudia's acting. With all this world shattering babbling and gesticulations from Doc Brown and Marty, she has an appropriate reaction : looking in awe, open mouthed, anchored to her love interest. Elisabeth has a more cartoonish acting IMO, staring in every direction like a Tex Avery character. Claudia is also 19 in 1985, so a genuine teenager, while Elisabeth is 26 in 1989. Having late 20's adults impersonating teenagers was a very common feature back then, but it really shows when comparing the 2 versions of this scene.

[anticorncob]

Imagine if they never made any sequels. We would've had a forever cliff hanger at the end of Back to the Future.

[psps]

1:18 "Uh..No, no Doc...ya see, I got Claudia Wells here so..."

[Gadgetbig]

I watched all back to the futures about 20 times, , I never realised they re did the scenes and changed the actress that played Jennifer until now, , , I feel so stupid lol

[mattgalardo]

One of the key differences is Doc's delivery of the line "no both you and Jennifer turn out fine..."

In Part One, he delivers it quickly. In Part Two, there's this momentary hesitation as if he has to think about it. Since in the original, a sequel wasn't planned, the ending was meant to be a joke. When the sequel was written and Marty's future required fixing as well, Doc had to think about how much to tell him.

It's very subtle, but the delivery of the line is important.

[KenAdams.]

wow, this is beyond weird. I just watched these two scenes last night and compared them. I think the first one is slightly better.
Tonight I'm gonna watch BTTF Part 3.

[rogernevez]

Both Elisabeth Shue and Michael J. Fox doesn't look like 17 yo teenagers in the reshoot ...

[jk-]

From Claudia Wells to Alli with an I 😂

[tonyHern]

the actress playing Jenifer was acting more natural in the first movie (left screen)