OUTATIME: Saving the DeLorean Review

The DeLorean Time Machine is the most iconic car in movie history but over the years the car itself was on the verge of heading to the scrapyard after decades of harsh weather, manhandling and souvenir hunters taking bits and pieces along the way.

Back to the Future writer / producer Bob Gale, Universal Studios and a team of dedicated fans decided to take action and restore the DeLorean back to its former glory.

OUTATIME: Saving the DeLorean Time Machine is a documentary chronicling the restoration of the world’s most famous film car. Meet the filmmakers, celebrities, studio exe , and movie fans who worked together to bring the original Time Machine back to life.

OUTATIME does a great job of balancing the restoration seamlessly with interviews from all of those involved with the project.

Head of the restoration Joe Walser is the go-to guy for all things DeLorean and this man was entrusted by Back to the Future Producer Bob Gale to head the restoration project.

Joe gathered his merry men of Back to the Future fans and experts and within 12 months had transformed a beat-up movie prop into a beautiful shining piece of cinema history, preserved for all to see.

Bob Gale (Producer, BTTF trilogy), John Murdy (Creative Director, Universal Studios), Michael Scheffe (Construction Coordinator, BTTF), Michael Lantieri (Special Effects Supervisor BTTF 2 & 3),  all add their own stories to this documentary and it’s clear to see the dedication and passion that was put into this project where the only reward was the satisfaction of preserving one of their favourite iconic movie props.

What OUTATIME does so brilliantly is that it doesn’t focus too heavily on the intricate details of the build, after watching many episodes of Tested online, you can only really enjoy a long-winded build if you are interested in engineering, prop making or another form of industry creative position and that’s definitely not me.

If the documentary was 60 minutes of in-depth welding, electronics and cleaning rust and debris off a car this would have been a rather tedious journey.

Instead, OUTATIME adds the best bits, the ups and downs and finally the big reveal at the end.

Keeping it short and sweet as a whole was the best way this documentary could have been portrayed as documenting the 12 months of blood, sweat and tears, the arguments, the late nights would have been over-kill.

The process is highlighted in the best possible way and cutting the documentary this way really makes me appreciate the sacrifice and hard work that went into this project without me suffering through it myself, it’s mind-blowing just how much effort these guys put into this project and it’s something they will all treasure for the rest of their lives.

OUTATIME is the perfect documentary for any Back to the Future fan, seeing the car all beat up and worn down at the start of the movie was so disheartening to see, every single ounce of magic was sucked out of the car and it literally looked as thou it would become yet another movie prop destined for the scrap heap.

By the end of the documentary, I almost had a tear in my eye, everything was so beautifully done, as many screen-used pieces were preserved as humanly possible to maintain its originality and what a job they’ve done!

I remember going to Hollywood for the first time in 2013 and I actually saw the restored DeLorean for the first time at Universal Studios in its very own display case and it took my breath away.

Sadly Universal couldn’t keep a hold of the car so it was taken under the wings of the curators at the Petersen Museum in Los Angeles.

A befitting resting place for the DeLorean alongside some of Hollywood’s best-known film vehicles including a Batmobile, Herbie, Walter White’s car from Breaking Bad and more.

OUTATIME was one hell of a fun 60 minutes and the bonus content was equally as thrilling to watch.

It’s a time-travelling thrill ride! 

Hats off to Joe Walser and the team, by the end of the movie I jumped out of my seat and yelled GREAT SCOTT!