"Whoa.... rock n' roll."

—Marty McFly

A CRM-114 amplifier was present in Doc Brown's garage in 1985. It measured about 8 feet by 8 feet. When Marty McFly entered the garage to play his guitar, he turned up the volume and overdrive knobs all the way. Playing a single "power chord", he was suddenly thrown backwards into a bookcase, and blew the speaker out. Seconds later, Doc called his own home, warning Marty too late that it might overload.

Some time after returning to 1985, Marty repaired and upgraded the blown-out speaker to be more accommodating and resilient to his high-decibel requirements. By May of 1986, it was up for sale. Marty used the amplifier to trick Biff Tannen, sending him across the room, and allowing Marty to take Doc's notebook from him. Fortunately, no visible damage was done to the amplifier.^[1]

Behind the scenes

The CRM-114 is the nomenclature of the Strategic Air Command encryption/decryption device aboard the B-52 Stratofortress in the 1964 film Dr. Strangelove.

Writer Bob Gale confirmed that Michael J. Fox performed his own stunt when he was thrown backward, presumably suspended on hidden wires.

This scene may be a reference to music videos in which loud guitars throw someone backwards, such as the 1984 music video for "We're Not Gonna Take It" by Twisted Sister.

Appearances

• Back to the Future (First appearance)
• Back to the Future: The Game
  • Back to the Future: The Game - Episode 1: It's About Time

Notes and references

1. ↑ Back to the Future: The Game - Episode 1: It's About Time

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