Backdraft
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Directed by Ron Howard
Music Composed by Has Zimmer
Screenplay by Gregory Widen
Starring Kurt Russell, William Baldwin, Robert De Niro, Donald Sutherland, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and not Robert Patrick, unfortunately
Released May 24, 1991
Budget: $40M ($76.8M in 2021)
Box Office: $152.4M ($292.7M in 2021) $77.9M domestically, $74.5M internationally
Gross: $112.4M
Ratings: IMDb 6.7/10 Rotten Tomates 74%
Metacritic 38% Google Users 89%
Nominated for 3 Oscars: Sound Effects Editing, Visual Effects, Best Sound
Plot:
Opens in 1971, two brothers fighting about how to wear firefighter equipment when the alarm sounds. The younger brother, Brian, is asked if he wants to ride and see what his dad does. They arrive at what seems to be a routine fire, save a little girl, when Brian notices the fire “acting” funny, and then witnesses his father in an explosion. 20 years later, Brian McCaffery is grown, is shown to have passed his fireman test, again, and looking to get placed at a station, which he bribed a chief to do. Meanwhile, a man gets blown up opening his door. Outside the bar, Brian bumps into Jennifer Jason Leighs, Jennifer. After a tense exchange, Brian and the other firemen go to the scene. Brian sees his brother, Stephen, and he learns Stephen has him transferred from the station he wants to his station, 17. De Niros’, Donald Rimgale is shown investigating the fire.
S:
-Is it weird Kurt Russell plays his own father? Is that two credits and paychecks?
-The guy who addresses the fire fighters when they arrive is David Crosby, from Crosby, Stills and Nash.
-First notice how the fire has a distinctive sound.
-Music change when De Niro is shown
Brian goes to Stephens house to see him, and finds out from Stephens wife, Helen, Stephen doesn’t live there anymore. Brian founds him on their dads old boat. They share some exposition, and history of Brian quitting the fire academy before. Stephen tells Brian not to be late, cut to the next day and Brians car won’t start. He runs to the station as the engines are pulling out to a call. We meet some of the other firemen on the way. They enter the building looking for the fire, find it and begin fighting it. They start using the fire as a character, talking about how it moves. One of the firemen falls through the floor and they save him, saying, “if you go, we go.” Brian observes some very strange fire behavior, before rescuing a mannequin. Brian and Stephen have some words about team and work. Rimgale arrives and is asked by Mayoral candidate Swayzak if he’s dragging his feet investigating the fires because his office made cuts to the fire budget, Stephen sees him, comes down and is very aggressive towards Swayzak, claiming 3 men had died that year because of his cuts. Brian sees that Jennifer is an aide to Swayzak.
S:
-Pepsi/Budweiser product placement Woot
-Why is everyone wearing gas masks but Kurt Russell?
-Filmed fire upside down for it to ‘crawl’ on the ‘floor’
-Ron Howard wanted to make the fire sequences feel like combat.
Back in the fire house, Brian and Tim are showering and Tim is psyched about how intense their first fire on their first day way. Talk about how the fire is an animal. The “probies” are called down to make lunch. The company is then shown attending Chief Fitzgeralds retirement, where they found out Brian is on the front page of the paper, incorrectly getting credit for saving someone from the fire. Swayzak offers Brian a job to help Rimgale investigate the fires, which he turns down. Stephen starts a fight with the guy dancing with his estranged wife. Brian goes Stephen to the boat, they share a brotherly moment. Montage of training and fighting fires. It ends with Stephen and Brian racing up stairs carrying hoses, and ends with them arguing on the roof.
S:
-Love how Celtic the retirement is, music, dance, everything. Need to do 23 and me.
-During the montage, they start cutting a door…but not at a hinge point, at the handle.
They arrive at a fire, upon hearing there are children inside, Stephen and Brian go charging in, against the wishes of other firefighters. The fire is showing uncharacteristic behavior, but they push forward. They bust a door, and Stephen haphazardly charges in, Brian believes he died, when he emerges carrying a child. They talk after and Stephen tells/asks Brian if it’s time to leave, which he does. Brian calls Jennifer to accept the job offer from Swayzak. Brian arrives to Rimgales office, Brian sees burns on Rimgales back, they both give their sides on how they see things, and leave for Ronald Bartels parole hearing. Bartel tells Brian about his complicated background with Rimgale. After a brilliant move with a burned doll, he is denied parole. A man in a theatre is shown unlocking a door, then an explosion. Cuts to firefighters explaining how the explosion put the fire out before they got there, Brian and Rimgale start investigating, with ashamed glances from Stephen and the other firemen. A trip to the medical examiners helps Rimgale find a chemical found at both explosion scenes.
S:
-Donald Sutherland is CREEPY, almost childlike
-His own company is starting to question Stephens choices
-Clint Howard!
Stephen and Helen argue on their roof. Rimgale has figured out how the killer is making the explosions. Brian is on a political rally, chatting with Jennifer, they then visit his new station. As they… rekindle their relationship on the top of a firetruck, Stephen and the others are called to a building fire, but they have trouble finding it. Axe and Stephen argue about how to search for it and waiting for backup. Tim hits a door without checking it, it blows up and he is severely burned. At the hospital, Stephen and Brian fight again about responsibility. Brian tells Rimgale he wants to catch the fire starter, Rimgale gives him his fire philosophy, about fire being a living thing, that you have to love a little. Stephen and Hellen seem to rekindle their relationship, which Hellen ends the next morning. Jennifer gets connecting info to Brian about the murders and Swayzak. They go and talk to him, only to catch the killer in the act, but they get away and save Swayzak. Brian visits Ronald, who sets him on his path of Brian suspecting Stephen. While searching his brothers locker, he sees Axe, and the burn on his back that occurred when Brian was attacked at Swayzaks house. Stephen arrives to the firehouse, and he tells Brian he knows it’s Axe, and that he’ll talk to him.
S:
-the fire is the best character, followed by Donald Sutherland, and De Niro.
-Kinda starts to drag, movie could be 20-45 minutes shorter, still be as good.
A call comes in, and the engines take off, Brian grabs a kit and rides with them. On the way, Brians firetruck flips and he has to run to the blaze. Brian comes to find Stephen and Axe arguing, Axe trying to explain why he set the fires, killed the men, that Swayzak was closing down firehouses for money. Axe set the fire that injured Tim, too. The roof begins to collapse, and they scatter. As Brian escapes, an explosion forces him into a flooded elevator shaft, where Stephen finds and saves him. They find Axe and the standoff ends when an explosion collapses the bridge they’re on, with Stephen holding himself and Axe; Axe pleads to let him go, Stephen responds with, “where you go, we go” and he lets go. They fall, Axe lands on barrels on fine, and presumably dies, Stephen lands on another ramp, and is injured. Brian finally steps up, sees the beast, and saves Stephen, who is finally proud of him. Stephen asks Brian not to tell it was Axe, he dies in the ambulance as Brian admits he needs him. A huge funeral procession is held as both men are honored. Brian and Rimgale are seen delivering evidence to indict Swayzak. It ends with Brian at 17, a call comes in and he rides out with the crew, helping the new probie fix his jacket, just like Stephen did for him.
There are over 1,200,700 active firefighters in the US today (1991)
-NFPA (national fire protection association) in 2018, 1,115,000 active firefighters, 85,700 less
S:
-When he jumps in the elevator shaft, why is it flooded with water? Is that normal?
-Fire and practical effects are incredible. William Baldwin and Kurt Russell also got stunt credit in the film, they did most of their own stunts.
-The liability on this film must’ve been sky high
-McCaffrey is an Irish name, and they have bagpipes for the funeral procession
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