A Matter of Time.....Collecting Back to the Future Clocks

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If you asked most people to think of movies that involved time then chances are the Back to the Future trilogy would get mentioned at some point - the time travel epic is without a doubt the perfect example to give.

It is - without surprise - that clock based items came out both during and after the films release in cinema and on video cassette - it was an easy promo item that tied in nicely with the movies theme.

Being a big fan of the series (which I mention on here way too often) I spend time trying to find clocks that came out to tie in with the films. My collection - albeit it small - seems somewhat unique in areas - if you think tracking these items down is easy think again!

Back in November of last year I wrote a blog post on the 3 clocks that I proudly owned (pictured above)

Cut forward to today (29th September 2015) and my collection has doubled in size. Below is the write up on the original 3 - followed by an update on my newest arrivals.

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Back to the Future Video Promo Clock

First up comes a piece that is the gem of my collection - and what has been by far the most difficult to obtain. To my knowledge this is only one of two that still exists (although if someone reading this does have another please do drop me a line as I would love to hear from you!)

I knew these clocks existed after finding a sold version on screenused.com - the sold sign gave away the fact I wouldn't be able to obtain the one they had.

So - years (and I mean years) of searching on eBay and the internet proved fruitless until last summer. A routine search showed this one was for sale - and I knew it had to be mine!

The history behind this item to the best of my knowledge is that a small number of these were made and given to key members of MCA Home Video as a thank-you.

The clock itself is designed by Barry Blum at Art Concepts Inc in Los Angeles. If anyone reading this can go further into detail on this item or if you know / worked at Art Concepts in the 80's I would love to hear from you.

The clock as shown in the lead picture is big in size - it certainly wasn't a small thank-you gift!

It really is one of my favorite BTTF items - and remains a fantastic talking piece in my BTTF collection. Its unique, rare and I doubt many BTTF fans own one!

Back to the Future 2 MCA Promo Clock

Back to the Future 2 continued the popular movie franchise - and with it came some more promo items.
The above clock is still relatively easy to find.
As far as I know on this clock it came out as part of the promotional aspect for the film. Tagged with the MCA universal tag my understanding is this would have been released when the video of the film came out.
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Back to the Future 2 Ingram Video Promo Clock

The last clock I am displaying here again comes from the second film and is the first one I ever picked up.
Smaller than the previous clock discussed this one is a promo item that seems to be linked in with Ingram video and again would have come out to coincide with the video release.
This one falls into the 'harder to find' category with them very rarely coming up for sale in todays market.

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Back to the Future 3 Promo Clock

This clock became the first of my additions after writing the original article. To my knowledge this was the only 'tie in' promotional clock released for Part 3.
Sent in a box and made from cardboard this was a self assemble item.
In the year since putting up the original post I have only seen one other come up for sale - and that demanded a high price.
It would perhaps seem by the time the third instalment came out there was no need to release any more that one promo timepiece. 

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Back to the Future 2 Desktop Clock

I picked this clock up whilst at London Film and Comic Con this past summer. A silent auction was ran by the event organisers each day and this was one of the lots available to bid on.
Released to tie in with Back to the Future 2 its got the tag line 'Synchronize your Watches' much like the promotional poster that was released to let people know Part 2 was coming.
Whilst not as rare as the Part 3 clock its still tricky to track down - especially in working condition!

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Back to the Future Video One Canada Clock

The final and latest addition to my collection comes in the form of a Video One Canada promo clock. The item is a little more common than some of the others however still a great piece to own.
Its actually the second biggest clock listed here.
Released to coincide with the home video release in Canada I'd imagine this was used as display in shops.
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So there we go - update complete. I will endeavour to keep this correct and present the more I add to the collection.

I know from discussions following the original post that other clocks do exist - but the rarity of some makes them near impossible to own. 

I'm always delighted to hear from other fans of the movie so drop me a line or post a comment if you want to know more on these items or equally if you have your own collection.

All the best.

Ady