Back to Back to the Future

European traveler Massimiliano Russi (left) sought the help of Allen Royce, of Chinese Camp, in his quest to find locations used in “Back to the Future” films. Amy Alonzo Rozak/Union Democrat, copyright 2009

Russi recently traveled to Jamestown from Switzerland to trace the footsteps of McFly — actor Michael J. Fox’s character in the “Back to the Future” trilogy, which ran from 1985 to 1990.
  

Specifically, Russi was looking for areas where “Back to the Future III” was shot in the late 1980s. In that film, McFly time travels to the Old West to rescue his friend Doc, an eccentric professor played by Christopher Lloyd. The film was shot largely in Tuolumne County’s Red Hills, Railtown State Park and rural Jamestown.

“The problem is when you do this, time has already passed and things change,” Russi, 37, said, while comparing a pond on the outskirts of Jamestown to a movie still he held in his hand.

After a few minutes of observation, Russi, an IT specialist, determined that he had found a legitimate site, meaning it’s worthy for posting on a Back to the Future Internet fan page — www.bttt.info — he and his brother operate.

But the big find — one that Russi said hasn’t yet been documented — is the site of a partial railroad bridge, built on-site, that was used in the final scene of “Back to the Future III.” That had been the “highest priority” in his search.

In the final scene, Marty uses a train engine to push his DeLorean sports car/time machine up to 88 mph, allowing him to get back home to 1985. He must do so before the train runs out of track over a canyon, located on the Keystone Ranch near Table Mountain.

The track has since been removed.

Russi was able to find the two sites thanks largely to the expertise of Allen Royce — the caretaker for the movie’s Red Hills set —and the hospitality of property owners.

Russi admits that some people back home think he and his brother Alessandro “are nuts” due to their obsession of looking for movie sites.

Their “Back to the Future” obsession has brought them site-hunting in California previously — but back then they didn’t have the aid of GPS, making their search much harder.

“Because of no information, we could not figure it out,” Russi said. “It was very complicated.”

Luckily for Russi, his wife, Mara Beinerte, 29, isn’t among those who question the brothers’ sanity.

“If people have passion, I think it’s cool,” she said.

It helps that she’s a fan of the movie.

“I think the third one is brilliant,” she said, before explaining in detail some of her favorite scenes.

The first movie is Russi’s favorite. He’s already documented many of its sites, located mainly in greater Los Angeles.

“It’s a complete movie,” he said. “It can be followed up or it can be finished.”

He even gave his take on Los Angeles.

“I don’t like LA,” he said. “LA, for me, is just a place to land.”

Mostly, though, his quest for “Back to the Future” sites has taken him where he wants to go, especially his searches in Tuolumne County.

“ ‘Back to the Future’ locations are very pretty places,” he said. “I love hiking.”

He noted that, after his stint in Tuolumne County, he was on his way to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, where more sightseeing and hiking would ensue.

Russi said his brother is the bigger “Back to the Future” fan of the two. But Russi’s passion for the trilogy is obvious. To him, it’s a lesson in geography, culture, science and history.

“You have, in three movies, the history of the United States,” he said. “The U.S. lifestyle has come to Europe thanks to these movies. In the 1980s, it wasn’t easy to reach the U.S.”

But, even so, he noted that some things were lost in translation in his native Italy. For instance, in part one, in which McFly takes on the alias “Calvin” after traveling back to the 1950s — the result of a girl noticing the brand name Calvin Klein on his underwear — the name is changed to Levi, after the jeans company, which was well-known in Europe at the time.    

Apparently, the Russis aren’t alone in their love of the “Back to the Future” trilogy. Next year, Alessandro is planning on giving a tour of the movie sites to a group of Europeans.