Poll Position: Backdraft (1991)

Last week's poll had a red hot theme of fire and flames and the winner of the poll was the 1991 firefighter film Backdraft. To be honest I was kinda hoping this one would win. Backdraft was a big movie when it first came out, but I never saw it, probably because I was a tad too young or something. After that it became yet another movie that slipped into the cracks of time. But today I make up for all those years of forgetting about it thanks to all those who voted. Hit the jump for my thoughts.


Set in Chicago, the story revolves around two brothers who have never gotten along since the death of their firefighter father. Stephen (played by Kurt Russell) and Brian (William Baldwin) have always been at odds. Brian had been on a ride along with their father the day he died and it kept him away from the "family business" for years as he bounced around from career to career. Meanwhile Stephen became a veteran firefighter. When Brian finally faces his fears by becoming a firefighter himself, Stephen makes sure he is assigned to his house so he can keep an eye on his little brother. You see recent cut backs have shuttered several fire houses and back-up can be thin these days and several men have died on the job because of it. At the same time, a series of mysterious fires have been killing people around the city. Can Stephen keep his brother close enough to keep him safe, or will his ways drive away his only family?

The team of Fire House 17

I knew Kurt Russell was in this movie, but what I didn't expect to find was the likes of Robert De Niro as the fire inspector who is the key character responsible for solving the mystery of the deadly fires. This is one of the great things about this film. The investigation keeps your mind working, while the actual firefighting keeps your pulse racing as they try to manage the blazes they encounter. Robert De Niro is great, but there is one other person who stole the movie for me, and that is Donald Sutherland. Sutherland plays a serial arsonist who is already in jail and we don't see him much, but the few scenes he's in are some of my favorites in the whole movie. He's just so damn creepy and freaky that I loved it! Totally stole every scene he was in.

The fire action scenes are like nothing I've ever seen before!

Most of the movie is fairly standard, although it does have a good balance between the fires and the investigation. The best part of the whole movie though is the fire itself. During the action sequences when they're fighting the fire, it moves and lashes out and roars and groans like some kind of demon. The fire is often referred to as a beast or an animal or how it's alive. The sound effects and sound design for this movie definitely enhance that feeling by making the fire sound like a howling monster. Also the way it moves and retreats during the titular backdrafts is creepy and really cool all at the same time.

I really have to thank the people who voted for Backdraft because it was really quite entertaining. There were a few slower parts, but there was also so much in it that I found really interesting that it makes up for it. The fire action scenes were easily the highlight of the film, and it's no wonder that it was popular and made such noise back in 1991 that I remember it after all these years. If you haven't seen it I don't think you'd be taking much of a risk with this. Check it out. You'll have a blast!