recently rewatched back to the future for the first time in a while and its amazing how every single line of dialogue from 1985 gets put to use in 1955. there is absolutely no fat on the first 20 minutes, and yet it also doesn't feel overly expository or unnatural. AND YET STILL it's also discoverable, and part of the fun of the movie, that you can watch it a second time and go "oh there it all is. there's the whole movie plotted out in the present". its just this perfect little thing.
it sort of reminds me of Del the Funky Homosapien talking about how he wrote his parts for Clint Eastwood based off a "How To Write A Hit Song" book his mom got him (i think that's the story anyway).
Sometimes "textbook" is bad, but sometimes... it's good!
