Originally slated for release in the 20th century with the dawn of the DVD format, “Back to the Future” and its two sequels went through what DVDFile.com once called “one of [the] more convoluted histories of any release in recent memory.”

The wait is over.

“Back to the Future” takes Marty McFly from 1985 to 1955 in a DeLorean time machine built by Dr. Emmett Brown. He interferes with his parents’ first meeting and has to set things right before he is erased from existence – and before lightning strikes the clock tower to get, well, back to the future. The sequels pick up where the original left off, visiting 2015, an alternate 1985, the same 1955 of Part One, and 1885 before coming back to the same weekend in which the trilogy started.

Each movie is divided into only 20 scenes, comparatively few for a two-hour movie. The audio brings out background noises not easily heard in the VHS version, including crickets on a mid-fall California night and some subdued score.

For the most part, the video transfer is done very well, especially when compared with deleted scenes. Any effects “problems” from the original releases were not cleaned up for the DVD.

There is, however, an acknowledged problem with the widescreen framing in the second and third parts. It is most visible in two segments where a focal point of the scene – a button on Marty’s 2015 jacket – is cut off the bottom. Starting in late February, Universal will exchange discs to correct this problem, but you will have to pay to send in your current copies. If you want widescreen, hold off until at least early March.

One of the best qualities of Part One is a simple one: It’s not the butchered version shown on TV beginning Sept. 15, 2001, that eliminates nearly all of the first terrorist scene and removes product placements.

The box says there are more than 10 hours of special features, but in reality there’s only about 2 1/2 hours of extra video. The rest of that 10 hours comes from two audio commentaries. One is a 3-hour-total question-and-answer session; the other is standard regular feature commentary.

Each separate disc contains a featurette done when each movie was made and a segment of a three-part “making of” series done for the DVDs. The 21-minute “Secrets of the `Back to the Future’ Trilogy” is included, as are deleted scenes and outtakes. Sadly, even though two “trailers” – ads, really – for Universal theme parks are included, there are no video clips or even a mention of “Back to the Future. The Ride.”

The “animated anecdotes” trivia feature has problems with some players, and that is mentioned in the menu. Part One’s anecdotes crashed a brand-new Samsung player 101 times – the movie would stop completely for 12 seconds before picking up again. However, Part Two’s worked flawlessly on a Panasonic. A lot of headaches would be resolved if facts had been run as a straight subtitle track, without animations.

Overall, the trilogy has finally made it to DVD, and that’s good. There are many special features created for this set, and those that work add greatly to enjoyment of the movies.

It’s a solid release, and a must-have for anyone interested in this trilogy, but at times you feel like you want to hop in the DeLorean and go back in time to make sure the set doesn’t have all the little flaws this release ended up with.