Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great film!!, March 22, 2001
By A Customer
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.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazon update your details!, September 8, 2006
This is actually a 2-disc "Anniversary" special edition.
Digitally Remastered Picture & Sound
2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
English DD5.1 Surround
English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles
Ron Howard Introduction
Extras:
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Over 40 Minutes of Deleted Scenes
"Igniting the Story" -Director Ron Howard, Academy Award®-winning producer Brian Grazer and others discuss the evolution of the film from script to screen
"Bringing Together The Team" -From the casting room to firefighter clinics see how director Ron Howard brought together a talented team of actors and real-life firefighters
"The Explosive Stunts" -Filmmakers reveal the state-of-the-art technology and heroic stunts that created the explosive action of the film
"Creating the Villain: The Fire" -See how an overwhelmingly talented team of special effects creators and stunt coordinators worked together to bring the fire to life
"Real-Life Fireman, Real-Life Stories" -Get an insider's perspective on what it takes to be a firefighter in this round-table discussion with the crew of Station 73, Santa Clarit
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good film. Poor DVD., August 31, 1999
By A Customer
I've always regarded this film as highly watchable: it was never intended to be too much more. However Universal has a bit to answer for with this DVD edition.Firstly, the picture quality is very grainy and colourless, you really have to pump up the colour settings on your TV before the people start looking like they have skin tone. Secondly, the original aspect ratio of this film is (as advertised) 2.35:1, but after comparison to three other films in the same aspect ratio (Face/Off, Cliffhanger, Boogie Nights) one can clearly see that this DVD is actually in 2.30:1, meaning that parts of the sides of the film are cropped off. Thirdly, there are scenes missing from this edition, especially one noted scene with Kurt Russel - before he gets drunk and goes and to see his wife - about his report concerning Tim having his face burnt off. Fourthly, there are only 16 chapters here for a film spanning two and a quarter hours. To put that in perspective for you, a film like Zero Effect, which is less than two hours, has 31 chapters. This means that you cannot cut to prime action sequences and skip the parts in between when you do not have time to watch them. The only good thing about this edition is the sound. Remixed in Dolby Digital 5.1, it can really pump out the low rumble of a wave of fire and the crackle of incinerating material if your sound system is up to it. If you have to have this film, fair enough. But otherwise, wait until Universal gets smart and releases a proper edition that has all the scenes, more chapter divisions, better quality picture in the right aspect ratio, and hopefully a few bonuses like the theatrical trailer or enhancement for widescreen televisions.
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