Backdraft (1991)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Ron Howard

Writer (WGA):

Gregory Widen (written by)

Release Date:

24 maj 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

One breath of oxygen and it explodes in a deadly rage.

Plot:

Two Chicago firefighter brothers who don't get along have to work together while a dangerous arsonist is on the loose.

Plot Keywords:

Brothers | Firefighter | Fire | Arson | One Word Title

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Kurt Russell	...	Stephen 'Bull' McCaffrey / Dennis McCaffrey
William Baldwin	...	Brian McCaffrey
Robert De Niro	...	Donald 'Shadow' Rimgale
Donald Sutherland	...	Ronald Bartel
Jennifer Jason Leigh	...	Jennifer Vaitkus
Scott Glenn	...	John 'Axe' Adcox
Rebecca De Mornay	...	Helen McCaffrey
Jason Gedrick	...	Tim Krizminski
J.T. Walsh	...	Alderman Marty Swayzak
Anthony Mockus Sr.	...	Chief John Fitzgerald (as Tony Mockus Sr.)
Cedric Young	...	Grindle
Juan Ramírez	...	Ray Santos
Kevin Casey	...	Nightingale
Jack McGee	...	Schmidt
Mark Wheeler	...	Pengelly

MPAA:

Rated R for language and a scene of sensuality.

Runtime:

132 min | Canada:137 min (Ontario)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby (35 mm prints) | 70 mm 6-Track (QSound) (70 mm prints)

Certification:

Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-14 | France:U | Germany:16 (w) | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R | Canada:14A

Filming Locations:

Archer Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Imagine Films Entertainment

Trivia:

To draw audiences into the intensity of real fire, a cameraman was outfitted in fire-proof suit and wandered through the flames with a hand-held camera.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the first fire, Stephen has a door chuck in his helmet when he comes through the door. When he is talking to Brian, the door chuck is gone.

Quotes:

Firefighter Brian McCaffrey: You see that flash of light in the corner of your eye? That's your career dissipation light. It just went into high gear.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993)

Soundtrack:

The Show Goes On

Great when alight but far too soppy between infernos

Backdraft has some of the most impressive fire scenes ever shot and some daring stunt work (three of the leads, Kurt Russell, Scott Glenn and William Baldwin, are actually billed as stuntmen), but unfortunately it's wrapped up in a trite two-brothers-at-each-other's-throats plot that keeps it from being anything more than a high-priced soap opera with burning buildings. And, it has to be said, it looks a lot less impressive on the small screen than it did on the big one. Despite the ostensibly impressive ensemble cast, some of the supporting performances are weak, with Jennifer Jason Leigh proving big time that she really can't play 'normal' while Donald Sutherland's Hannibal Firelighter is too Looney Tunes to convince even in his brief screen time, while Baldwin is a considerably less compelling leading man than Russell but gets the lion's share of the screen time anyway. The result is a modestly entertaining but entirely predictable studio picture that plays everything but the conflagrations safe.

While many of the plethora of deleted scenes on the recent Region 1 special edition DVD are trims or purely redundant, it seems that a lot of the murder mystery plot and much of Robert De Niro's lazy turn as an arson investigator also hit the cutting room floor, alongside a couple of good fraternal confrontations, but there's little to imply that a better film was left on the cutting room floor.