As one of the most eagerly anticipated releases in DVD history (its releaseleaves only the original "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones"trilogies as the last major holdouts for the medium), "Back to the Future:The Complete Trilogy" is a set with a lot to live up to. And for the mostpart, it does do a better job of presenting the material than the ThanksgivingDay marathons on TBS, but given the amount of time they had to put out a definitiverelease (this thing has been on and off Universal's schedule for yearsnow), it's a bit of a disappointment.

Firstly, you should know that you can't buy any of the entries separately.If you're no big fan of the sequels, tough titties to you, as even thefirst film is only available as part of this collection. Shame, shame. Pointsoff for bad marketing behavior. "Well," you say, "if they'regoing to jam that ZZ Top western crap down my throat, they at least put it togetherin a spiffy package, didn't they?" Given the care Universal put into the sublime packaging for something like the "Legend Director'sCut" earlier this year, you'd think so, but you'd be wrong. It'sa three-disc plastic snap case that slips into a cardboard sleeve, with a slightbooklet that contains mostly chapter listings. Universal, you must be joking.

The extras are where things begin to pick up: a happy surprise are deleted scenesfrom the first film, long the stuff of legend, including an extended versionof the scene where Marty, dressed as "Darth Vader" pays a visit toGeorge McFly and tortures him with a walkman loaded with Eddie Van Halen solos.Good stuff. The remastering of the film itself isn't too bad for somethingof its vintage, and though it's not as sharp or colorful as you'dhope for, it is nice to see the Libyans as villains again. Remember them?

The sequels look and sound significantly better, and though some would liketo see them deleted from the space/time continuum, they really are a lot offun, especially the overtly clever and elliptical "Part II." Otherextras include some rather dry commentaries and behind-the-scenes segments.And though the hardcore fans deserved a much more lavish treatment after thelong wait, it's the only way to see "Back to the Future" on DVD,so we'll all buy it anyway.