Backdraft
Two Chicago firefighter brothers who don’t get along have to work together while a dangerous arsonist is on the loose.
- Director: Ron Howard
- Genre:Action / Drama / Mystery / Thriller
- Runtime:137 minutes
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
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 brother, is obsessed with the beating of the fires that he fights. He is always at the heart of the fire — the most dangerous part of the fire.
Brian McCaffrey (William Baldwin), Stephen’s younger brother, has labored under his brother’s shadow all his life, having quit the firefighting academy several years prior to the movie’s beginning. He returns to firefighting after a number of other career attempts falter, though Stephen has doubts that Brian is able to see things through, as well as possibly not having the correct temperament required of a firefighter, dismissing his return to firefighting as another temporary fancy. As a child, Brian was bullied by Stephen and Brian also witnessed the death of their father firsthand when a gas pipe ruptured and burned him alive; this is shown in flashback and we see that a Life photographer captured the moment when young Brian looks up at the fire that killed his father, and crying while holding his father’s helmet in his hands. The popularity of the photograph follows Brian, the rest of his life, hindering his attempts to pursue a serious firefighting career.
Donald “Shadow” Rimgale (Robert De Niro) is an arson investigator who is highly 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 (he calls it “The Animal”), one that takes over not only buildings but also people’s lives. His latest application for parole is turned down. Brian later consults Ronald for advice when Brian cannot determine the missing link in the recent arsons.
The longest serving of all the firefighters, John “Axe” Adcox (Scott Glenn), served under the McCaffreys’ 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 blatantly 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. Stephen urges to move in quickly to take out the fire. Brian’s friend and fellow probie Tim Krizminski (Jason Gedrick), under Stephen’s wing, accidentally opens a door, only to be met by a backdraft. His face is badly burned beyond recognition, but he survives. Stephen, 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. Read more
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