Backdraft is a 1991 American action-drama film directed by Ron Howard and written by Gregory Widen. The film stars Kurt Russell, William Baldwin, Robert De Niro and Scott Glenn. Donald Sutherland, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Rebecca De Mornay, Jason Gedrick and J.T. Walsh co-star in the film. The story is about firefighters in Chicago on the trail of a serial arsonist. A fictional chemical substance, trychtichlorate, is used by the arsonist to set the fires.

The film received three Academy Award nominations (Sound Effects Editing, Visual Effects and Best Sound). It also received two nominations at the first annual MTV Movie Awards.

There are attractions at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Japan based on the film.

Plot

The movie tells the story of a group of Chicago firefighters at Engine 17, two of whom are brothers. Lt. Stephen "Bull" McCaffrey (Kurt Russell), the elder of the two brothers, is obsessed with beating the fires that he fights. He is always at the heart of the fire - the most dangerous place. Brian (William Baldwin) is a bit of a drifter who quit the fire academy several years before, then embarking on a number of other unsuccessful careers before returning to become a firefighter. He is looked down on by his elder brother who expects him to fail in his newly chosen career. As a child, Brian was bullied by Stephen and also witnessed the death of their father (who was also a firefighter) first hand when a gas pipe ruptured and burned alive the elder McCaffrey.

Donald Rimgale (Robert De Niro) is an arson investigator who is dedicated to his profession. (The real Donald Rimgale, a veteran Chicago fire investigator, served as one of the technical advisors on the film.) He is called in because a number of fires that have occurred have somewhat similar connections.

Convicted arsonist Ronald Bartel (Donald Sutherland) has been imprisoned for many years and can appear very normal on occasions but at the mention of fire his mind becomes obsessed with the idea of living fire, one that takes over not only buildings but also people's lives. His latest application for parole is turned down.

The longest serving of all the firefighters, John "Axe" Adcox (Scott Glenn), served under the McCaffrey's father in the Chicago Fire Department and was like an uncle to the two boys when their father died. He takes great pride in his work and has a love of the department. Obviously brave, he is the firefighter who "takes the pipe" and attacks the fire head on, but is also concerned about Stephen's blatant unorthodox methods, and disregard of safety procedures. An important scene to show the distrust of the other men occurs when 17 answers a call in a highrise building downtown. Steven urges to move in quickly to take out the fire. Brian's friend and fellow probie Tim, under Steven's wing, accidentally opens a door, only to be met by a backdraft. His face is badly burned beyond recognition, but he survives. Steven, on the other hand, is ridiculed by his team, later getting into a heated argument with Adcox at the hospital, as well as a brawl with Brian.

Martin Swayzak (J.T. Walsh) is an alderman on the City Council. He has obvious hopes of being elected to mayor, but has had to make a number of budget cuts to the fire department. Many of the rank and file firemen believe that the cuts that he has made are endangering the lives of the firefighters. However, Swayzak is initially successful in portraying the fire department as bloated and ineffectual after firemen are repeated being killed in blazes. It is revealed during an investigation that he was paid off by several businessmen and contractors to shut down the firehouses for purposes of rebuilding and/or rehabbing the firehouses into community centers, with the aforementioned businessmen receiving the contracts for the construction.

There are also two main female characters: Helen McCaffrey (Rebecca De Mornay) and Jennifer Vaitkus (Jennifer Jason Leigh). Helen is Stephen's estranged wife, Jennifer is Brian's ex-girlfriend and works in the office of Martin Swayzak. Her loyalties are torn between her job with the alderman (who is making financial cuts in the fire department) and Brian who is obviously concerned about the damage that the cuts are doing to the firefighters, eventually choosing Brian's side.

In the climactic scene, Stephen confronts Adcox about the deadly backdrafts during a multiple-alarm fire at a chemical plant. Adcox admits that he set the fires to kill associates of Swayzak because he is angered that Swayzak was gaining politically over the deaths of firefighters. During the confrontation, an explosion destroys the catwalk they are standing on, and Stephen just barely grabs Adcox's hand while also just barely grabbing the edge of what is left of the catwalk with his other hand. Fire from the floor below then envelops Adcox, severely burning him. When Adcox requests Stephen let go of him, he responds with "You go, we go" and loses his own grip on the catwalk. Adcox is killed and Stephen is mortally wounded in the fall. Brian, having been injured by Adcox during the confrontation, rushes to Stephen and helps to bring the blaze under control, earning Stephen's respect. Stephen dies in the ambulance on the way to the hospital with Brian at his side, his final request being that Brian not reveal that Adcox was behind the series of arson fires. Shortly afterwards is the funeral of Stephen and Adcox.

Donald and Brian, with the help of the police, interrupt a press conference that alderman Swayzak has hosted. Donald questions Swayzak on a fake manpower study which led to the deaths of several firemen, including Stephen and Adcox, effectively killing the latter's campaign as mayor. It is implied in the final scene that Brian continues on with his firefighting career despite the losses of both his father and brother.

Production notes

• The film's original theatrical trailer is set to the end title music from the movie Glory.

• Its soundtrack was used for the trailer to "Jurassic Park" and its sequel, "The Lost World".

• Prior to writing the script for Backdraft, Gregory Widen worked as a firefighter for three years. A leading inspiration of his was witnessing a friend's death in an explosive backdraft.

• Kurt Russell responds to an arson fire and uses the line, "You're so sly, but so am I." Bill Smitrovich uses the same line in Manhunter based on the book Red Dragon. Dan Butler uses the same line in The Silence of the Lambs when investigating a Death's Head moth. All three films feature characters investigating crimes by interrogating captive criminals (in Backdraft, arsonist Donald Sutherland; in Manhunter and The Silence of the Lambs, cannibal Anthony Hopkins). The line first appeared in Thomas Harris' book Red Dragon which was first published in 1981, years before either Backdraft was released or The Silence of the Lambs was written.

• Ron Howard's first choice for Brian McCaffrey was Brad Pitt. William Baldwin was his second choice but preferred by the studio because he was more experienced and they felt that he was a bigger name that would attract more of an audience. When Baldwin was offered the lead in Backdraft he had to back out of a smaller part in another film. The film was Ridley Scott's Thelma & Louise and the part of JD went to Brad Pitt. This story is from the DVD commentary for Thelma & Louise.

• Many of the extras in the film are actual Chicago firefighters. A casting call was put out in a Department memo prior to the start of shooting. In addition, many suburban firemen participated in the funeral procession.

• The two arson victim names are Cosgrove and Seagrave. Cosgrove's namesake is real-life Chicago fireman and author William Cosgrove, who served as Robert De Niro's technical advisor for the movie. Seagrave is the name of a fire apparatus (fire and ladder truck) manufacturer. The firehouse where Engine 17 and Truck 46 were quartered is the real, in-service firehouse of the Chicago Fire dept's Engine 65 and Truck 52.

• The numbers of the fire companies are all "dead" numbers in the Chicago Fire Dept. Engine 17, Truck 46, Engine 24, Truck 6 (now back in service as of March of 2004), & Engine 33, (referred to, not actually seen in the movie), are all out of service. The Chicago Fire Dept. has 24 battalions, battalion 25 was created for the movie.

• The production company totally refurbished 6 pieces of fire apparatus, and upon completion of filming, donated 5 of them to the Chicago Fire Dept., who used 4 of them as front line equipment for several years, and one as a spare. The only one that was not donated to the city was the truck that was flipped over, which was totaled for that shot.

• Kurt Russell, Scott Glenn, and William Baldwin did a lot of their own stunts, and stunt coordinator Walter Scott was so impressed by their performances that they are listed as stunt performers in the credits.

• Ron Howard once again cast his brother Clint Howard in this movie. Following the tradition of playing obnoxious, unlikable characters in his brother's films, Clint plays Ricco, a forensic pathologist who sneers at Brian McCaffrey's squeamishness at handling a badly burned corpse: "Jesus Christ, he's not going to sell you insurance...pick him up!"

• At the party on the boat, Jennifer Jason Leigh mentions that she has to talk to one of the guests, Larry DeWaay, a producer of the movie.

• The photos of firefighters seen on the walls of the investigator's office are of the Los Angeles County fire fighters, who were on scene during the filming of the fire scenes as a precautionary measure.

• After reading the film's script, Jennifer Jason Leigh reportedly told director Ron Howard that she wished she was the fire because it has the best part.

• 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.

• At one point during filming, the fire began to burn through one of the actor's suits. The take was stopped and the fire put out.

• Gregory Widen and co-producer Pen Densham later collaborated on the short-lived science-fiction series Space Rangers.

Crew

• Directed by: Ron Howard
• Written by: Gregory Widen
• Produced by: Richard Barton Lewis, Pen Densham, John Watson
• Executive Producers: Brian Grazer, Raffaella DeLaurentiis
• Cinematography: Mikael Salomon
• Production Designer: Albert Brenner
• Editors: Daniel Hanley & Michael Hill
• Music: Hans Zimmer and Bruce Hornsby
• Costume Design: Jodie Lynn Tillen
• Casting: Jane Jenkins & Janet Hirshenson
• Stunt Coordinator: Walter Scott
• Assistant Directors: Aldric La'Auli Porter, Ian Foster Woolf and Jeff Okabayashi

Critical reaction

Backdraft has been criticized for its lack of realism regarding firefighting techniques. Among other things, self contained breathing apparatuses are rarely used in this film, as well as the lack of face shields, though this allows each character to be identified. There is also a lack of smoke (which is present in any fire), also to allow easier filming. A large amount of furniture is destroyed by the firefighters for no apparent reason.

In one scene, the firefighters break the windows of a car parked in front of a fire hydrant, so they can pass a hose through it. This is true, as the hose should be kept straight for maximum effectiveness, instead of running it over or under the offending vehicle.

The film repeatedly attributes mystic, animalistic consciousness to fire itself (though the latter could be considered as less than a statement of fact than a cinematic technique. In certain scenes, the fire appears to ambush or attack the firemen. This personified fire is also the means by which "expert" firefighters are distinguished from less successful greenhorns by their "understanding" of the "bestial" characteristics of fire; in the world of the film, those who view fire as an animal have an edge against it).

Influences

The Japanese cooking TV show, Iron Chef, used Backdraft 's music (composed by Hans Zimmer). The music from Backdraft has since been removed from Iron Chef for airings on the Fine Living Network.

The film was the basis of an attraction at Universal Studios Theme Parks where visitors can learn how the pyrotechnic effects were created and experience some of them first hand.

See also

• List of firefighting films

External links

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