Backdraft

Rating:
Summary: Fire Wins the Oscar
Review: With a creaky plot, and what seemed to me, playing fast and loose with how firemen actually fight fires, all is forgiven for the magnificent scenes of fires that actually seem to be living monsters desperately searching for oxygen so they can engulf the universe. Scary stuff!

Kurt Russell and William Baldwin are firefighter brothers carrying on the legacy of their father who was killed in the line of duty. Russell is hard nosed, swaggering "Bull" while baby brother Baldwin, a neophyte fireman, is sensitive and simmers with hostility at serving under rough, tough Russell. Political hanky panky has understaffed the fire department, plus arson is suspected causing an increase in death and injuries of firefighters.

The script is so predictable, it is hard to fault the actors; however, I would say Robert de Niro mainly showed up to collect his paycheck. Kurt Russell sparks whatever emotional empathy is available in a fine performance as the bullying, but strangely pure Stephen. I have a bit of fondness for the Baldwin brothers, so was satisfied with Billy's mostly soulful face throughout. Donald Sutherland was excellent in a small role as a creepy, soft-spoken former arsonist. Rebecca de Mornay and Jennifer Jason Leigh were both mainly wasted in their Loyal Ladies in Waiting roles. The pace is excellent, so boredom is never a factor.

The "extras" in the DVD are almost nonexistent, but sound and picture are good. I have this nervous feeling that every arsonist in the world had "Backdraft" on his/her must-see list.
-sweetmolly-Amazon Reviewer

Rating:
Summary: A great film!!
Review: If you like to watch a movie that will keep you on the edge of your seat with great special effects and wonderful, true to life character interactions, I definitely recommend Ron Howard's Backdraft. The interactions among all the actors come across as very natural, as if all the actors where actually who they were playing, making the characters more believable. Not only are the characters believable, but the special effects that continue through out the movie, whether big or small, pull everything together to make Backdraft one of the best films I have ever seen. The basis of this movie is that people around the Chicago area are dying by way of these backdrafts. It is up to the arson investigator, played by Robert DeNiro to find out what is going on. The other characters involved are two brothers who's father died serving the same fire department they work for. Kurt Russell plays the oldest brother, Lieutenant Stephen 'Bull' McCaffrey ,who has been with the force for many years, and William Baldwin plays the younger brother, Brian McCaffrey who just joined the force. Throughout the movie the two brothers battle conflict with each other relating to sibling rivalry among other things, and Brian ends up leaving the force to join the arson investigating office.. Other characters involved around the two brothers are Rebecca De Mornay, who plays Helen McCaffrey, the ex-wife of Kurt Russell. Her part is not that large, but the importance of her character in regards to Kurt Russell is definitely noticeable, and the friendship that still exists between them is easy to relate to. Jennifer Jason Leigh, who plays Jennifer Vaitkus, the ex-girlfriend of William Baldwin, has a bit of a larger role. Not only does she appear from William Baldwin's past, but she now holds the position of Assistant to the Alderman, to whom many contacts will be made. Donald Sutherland, who plays Ronald Bartel, a former arsonist who understands the criminal psychology of pyromaniacs, gives insight to the arson investigation team, by sharing some of his own stories of arson from his past. Scott Glenn plays the role as a fellow firefighter "Axe" Adcox. His character is that of a supporting brotherly figure, to which is not quite appreciated. Finally there is J.T. Walsh, who gives an excellent supporting performance as the sleazy Alderman Swayczak. He is responsible for making changes within the Chicago fire department that do not benefit the department all that well. All of the actors work great together, and seem natural among one another. These special effects, by far, make the movie mesmerizing. Not only do you see the fire as it threatens the characters and destroys everything in its path, but you get to see an insight of how fire really moves, how it breaths, and how it can dance and hide with the wink of the eye. One particular scene, where a building is on fire and the two brothers must go in after a little boy, really give you the feeling of being up close and personal with the fire around them.. You feel the fear of being hurt along the anticipation of trying to save the life of the little boy right along side the characters. The combination of great characters and believable situations, make this story memorable. The story, written by Gregory Widen, is not only full of action, but in some situations, it shows how life really is.. Whether it is the friction felt by siblings trying to live up to false expectations of one another, or doing the right thing when it comes to your job and your personal friendships, nothing in this story appears impossible. Over all a great combination of characters, actors and producer that make one heck of a good film.

Rating:
Summary: "You Go...We Go!"
Review: This is one of my favorite movies of all time. I still have a lot of memories of being thrilled when watching this movie so many times when I was younger when this movie was released all those years ago and now nearly 13 years after it's release, "Backdraft" still succeeds on all fronts in delivering the action and explosive fiery special effects. In regards to certain events of recent times, this movie has become very compelling on both a personal and worldly level. It even reminds me of when much of Chicago looked so gritty back around the late 1980s and early 1990s even in some of the nicer neighborhoods around that period in time. Plus it also kind of explores the unknown areas. While the movie isn't based on a true story, the writer behind this film witnessed a comrade actually lose his life because of a backdraft which blasted him across a street and into a fence. It was this loss that inspired him to write the storyline of this movie.

Anyhow let's get to the movie. It's a tale of two feuding McCaffrey brothers Stephen and Brian McCaffrey who have generally been at odds with each other for almost their whole lives but both of their lives are changed when their father Dennis and now amidst the conflict they've had with each other, the two struggle to carry on the family firefighting business. Amidst their longstanding distant relations, their fire department is grappled with a large outbreak of arson attacks that have been occurring at a disturbingly frequent rate in Chicago and the whole department is at a fast pace to track down the causes, and possibly the one responsible for the fires. Also, another major hurdle in the fire department's investigation into the cause of the numerous fires sweeping Chicago ARE major funding cutbacks from an inept bureaucratic alderman (played by the late J.T.Walsh) and it's making an already dangerous task a much bigger headache not only for lieutenant Rimgale, but also making things a lot more complicated for the feuding McCaffrey Brothers.

Back when this movie was new back in the early 1990s, I enjoyed it for its edge-of-your seat action but today, I love this movie for many more reasons now. First, the movie's tale of the heroism of firefighting and how they are ready and not afraid to put their own lives on hold to save others is absolutely gripping and sometimes saddening to know but also very compelling. Another thing that really makes this compelling as well is the sometimes heartbreaking tale of what it's like to be in the shadow of an experienced firefighter who is also one's own brother. Although I've experienced little sibling conflict, as a younger brother, I can especially understand all the insecurity of what Brian goes through in this movie. The movie is also very compelling with the intense and rich music by composer Hans Zimmer. The fiery special effects are absolutely amazing especially for it's time.

However, I would have to say that I have noticed some occasional flaws in this movie but they do not take away any of its power and entertainment factor by any stretch of the imagination. Perhaps the greatest speed bump is that this defies some of the real life laws of physics. In several scenes, the firefighters go right into the burning buildings with no gas masks and no oxygen tanks either. This is probably what has turned some people off here. In real life, these firefighters in this movie would have suffered third degree burns and burned to death in just a matter of minutes but also there are also the numerous noxious fumes that fires can generate and they would have suffered permanent and or serious lung damage from the heat of the hot air and the smoke. That brings to mind, in several of the fires in this movie, I have noticed little smoke in many of them. I've seen cooking grills in the backyard generate smoke than some of the scenes in the movie. These are just some things that I feel were evident in this movie but I guess even then, it would've been impossible to create a movie that would perfectly follow the laws of physics especially one like "Backdraft" so I forgive them for this and it doesn't subtract any stars from the ratings.

I give my hands down to Kurt Russell and William Baldwin who played the emotionally distant brothers Stephen "The Bull" and Brian McCaffrey. Kurt Russell's role as Stephen was very intense and sometimes heart-wrenching as he played the emotionally unstable elder McCaffrey brother. I especially was moved by William Baldwin's portrayal as the younger firefighter brother Brian. Although I've gotten along very well with my older brother on an overall note, but as a younger sibling, I especially identify quite well with Brian's character. It's very emotionally heartbreaking seeing the often very fractious relations between the two firefighting siblings especially towards the latter half of the movie. The other cast are really great as well. Robert De Niro's role as the lieutenant Donald Rimgale was so cool especially when Rimgale is disgruntled when trying to find out the causes of all of these numerous fires. I really feel that De Niro's role is hindered by the fact that Rimgale is more of a background character than a major character. Although only a minor role and in a few scattered scenes, I really thought that Donald Sutherlands role as the former arsonist Donald Bartel was absolutely a thrill to watch and even very chilling at times. The only disappointing thing about Rimgale and Bartel is that this movie doesn't allow much insight into these two and I felt they could really have used more development. While not to the degree of dropping the ball necessarily, the female roles of Rebecca De Mornay as Stephen's estranged wife, and Jennifer Jason Leigh as the secretary to the alderman I felt were rather unremarkable in my opinion.

Everyone involved with this project deserves all of the praise that they can get. Not only have they created a very entertaining film, they've also succeeded in making a very compelling and heroic movie about the most underappreciated heroes that our country is blessed with. The ending is also very touching in a way the few movies do once finished. "Backdraft" is one of the most underrated movies of the past 25 years and is one of the greatest action movies ever made. If I were to pick a favorite of mines from Ron Howard, "Backdraft" is my pick for his best movie to date not only because of excellent directing but because of a highly compelling plot, excellent script and incredible special effects as well. The music, courtesy of Hans Zimmer, is absolutely amazing and makes this movie even more compelling and encouraging to the extent that it almost makes you want to do something good for society. I highly recommend that you get your hands on a copy of this movie because it's one of the most compelling and emotional movies that has ever been made. The ending is really one of the most moving endings I've ever seen in a movie outside of "Lord of The Rings: Return of The King". The DVD unfortunately offers little in the way of extras and the transfer is asking for a better re-transfer for perhaps a "Special Edition" DVD some unknown future.

Rating:
Summary: respectable movie
Review: I was a fire fighter 82-83, and i seen the movie when it was in the theatre, i liked it a lot, in fact i used to work but a few blocks away from the china town station on cermak road where some of the footage was shot, it dealt with fire house comrades, dealt with " hero syndrome", i was not expecting a techical as it really suppose to be movie, but the heroism displayed by
the fire fighters are 5 star commendable.

Rating:
Summary: Predictable but watchable
Review: Backdraft sticks to convention and only innovates in its special effects. The plot is rather contrived and provides the excuse for the filmmakers to play with fire -- lots of it.

Rating:
Summary: Great special effects, plus a moving ending
Review: "Backdraft is the story of two brothers. After the death of their firefighter father, older brother Steven (Kurt Russell) follows Dad's footsteps into the Chicago Fire Department. Younger brother Brian (William Baldwin) bounces from one scam or get-rich-quick scheme to another. But Brian eventually winds up back in Chicago in the Fire Department, and in Steven's Co. 17, no less. They go back and forth for a while, until finally Steven drives Brian out of the department and into arson investigation. Brian winds up working for an arson investigator (Robert De Niro) investigating a series of murders-by-arson.

This movie features a stellar cast, giving mostly excellent performances. Special notice should be given to Russell, in what I think is his best performance ever. J.T. Walsh gives an excellent supporting performance as the sleazy Alderman Swayczak, as do Rebecca De Mornay as Steven's estranged wife and Scott Glenn as Firefighter "Axe" Adcox. Donald Sutherland is especially creepy, yet charming as an imprisoned arsonist to whom De Niro and Baldwin go to for advice on identifying the arsonist. Baldwin and Jennifer Jason Leigh (playing Brian's girlfriend and Swayczak's aide) could have held up their parts better, but that doesn't detract from the movie as a whole.

The fire is the real star of this movie. The special effects are truly incredible, and have to be seen to be believed. This movie boasts the best effects I've ever seen in a non-science-fiction movie. Whoever the effects man is should have won an Oscar for the fire scenes in this movie.

Some may criticize the ending for being overly sentimental, but every single time I see this movie, I get choked up during Steven's last scenes. As an older brother, I really identified with Steven and how he wants the best for his brother, but he isn't quite sure of the line between pushing him to improve and pushing him down.

The special effects alone are worth getting this movie, but director Ron Howard put together an all-star cast that (mostly) managed to put together a movie in which the plot isn't entirely overshadowed by the effects. All in all, a very good movie that's well worth your $15.

Rating:
Summary: Hollywood inferno.
Review: "Backdraft" is Hollywood's version of the firefighter's life. The men are blue collar, ordinary guys who are at times heroic and other times cowardly, men who fight fires because it's their job. Being a Hollywood movie, however, most of the men are in-shape, rugged masculine types who cruise to an alarm call with rock music blasting from the fire engine stereo system and who fight fires that contain surprisngly little smoke. Kurt Russell is not altogether likeable in this film, and yet he carries his two roles off successfully with his familiar macho persona. William Baldwin is the standout character, and shows a vulnerable side to the world of firemen that is usually not seen on film. Pyrotechnics are first rate, although there are many more explosions and a lot less smoke than in real-life fires. Another slick film from Opie Taylor.

Rating:
Summary: Another First Rate Movie By Ron Howard
Review: Ron Howard presented us with another first rate movie. The steller cast alone makes it wonderful. The subject is an issue we sometimes take for granted and will cause us to stop and pause and be grateful for all that our beloved firemen do for us. Call it favortism if you will because my son and grandson are both firemen but this is a truly collectiable movie I can watch over and over.The sibling rivalry is believeable as well as the marital discord for Kurt Russell because of the danger he is constantly exposed to and he LOVES being a fireman!It has all of the dirty politics and mystery of "who done it" that makes a great plot!It also gives us a chance to see how the internal behind the scenes fire department works for us.An absolute MUST SEE movie!

Rating:
Summary: Great Movie!
Review: I love this Movie, being I am a Fire Fighter, I can relate to alot of of happenes. Sure you wont see Backdrafts in every fire like in the movie, But thats why its a movie. Its not going to be 100% correct all the time.
The special effects are awsome, and the actors fit the parts perfectly. I wish they would have givin Dinero a bigger part in the movie, but ohh well. I highly suggest this movie to everyone. You will get to see what Fire Fighters do, and how they put there life on the line everyday to save lives and property. One of my favorite movies, and it reminds me why I put my life at risk to do what I love....... being a Fire Fighter.

Rating:
Summary: Breathtaking!
Review: One of my all time favorite movies "Backdraft" still blows me away with it's breathtaking fiery special effects and it's intense plot about firefighters fighting fires all over Chicago's ghetto neighborhoods. The fires are being caused by a series of vicious arson attacks and the firefighters are now on a mission to track down the arsonist and are in the midst of fighting off budget cutbacks from a sleazy alderman. They are in for a surprise for who they discover is the real arsonist.

This movie is absolutely amazing with it's fire scenery and the awesome acting from Kurt Russell and William Baldwin. Robert De Niro's role isn't all that great but not that bad either.

Go and buy this DVD! You can't go wrong with this breathtaking classic. By far one of my all-time favorites and don't listen to the negative reviews.