Sunday, December 11, 2011

River Road Tunnel (1955)

This weekend I made a trip to the Griffith Park Observatory, high up in the hills of Los Angeles. Little did I know that the road to the observatory would also lead to a planking adventure. The River Road Tunnel is where Marty steals the sports almanac back from Biff during a hoverboard-car chase in Back to the Future Part II. In reality, the tunnel is part of the road that leads to the observatory. There wasn't a close place to park near the entrance to the tunnel, but a friendly security guard let us pull off to the side of the road while I jumped out and took a photo. It is not a very long tunnel. In the movie a wide-angle lens and unevenly placed interior lights make the tunnel seem longer using perspective tricks. You might also recognize this tunnel as the entrance to Toontown in Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

Back to the Future Part II screenshot.
Back to the Future Part II screenshot.