Backdraft
Short description
Backdraft follows two brothers in Chicago who carry on a family tradition of firefighting despite a long-standing rift between them. Stephen McCaffrey is a decorated veteran of the force, while his younger brother Brian watched their father die in the line of duty and initially stayed away from the job. Brian eventually joins the same firehouse, where he struggles with the dangers of the work and finds himself drawn into the investigation of a series of deadly arson attacks. Teaming with an experienced fire investigator, he tries to identify whoever is behind the blazes.
Ron Howard directed the film, the seventh of the thirty-two features he has directed in chronological order, following Parenthood and preceding Far and Away. Gregory Widen wrote the screenplay, and the cast includes Kurt Russell, William Baldwin, Robert De Niro, Donald Sutherland, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Scott Glenn.
Made for a budget of 75 million US dollars, Backdraft took in about 152 million worldwide. On IMDb it holds a rating of 6.7 from roughly 93,000 votes, and on TMDB it also stands at 6.7, from around 1,630 votes, showing a similar reception from those two audiences. A critics' rating of 6.4 out of 10, based on sixty-five reviews, places professional assessments somewhat lower than the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- Kurt Russell, Kevin Casey, Scott Glenn, and William Baldwin performed many of the stunts themselves within the scope of their roles, which impressed stunt coordinator Walter Scott so much that their names were listed among the stunt performers in the credits.
- Many Chicago firefighters played minor roles in the film. Numerous firefighters from the Chicago suburbs were involved in the funeral procession.
- Screenwriter Gregory Widen worked as a firefighter for three years. The script was based on the story of his friend, also a firefighter, who died in the line of duty, caught in the backdraft.
- To ensure greater authenticity during filming, the film's cinematographer Mikael Salomon wore a fire-resistant suit and filmed with a handheld camera directly in the flames.
- William Baldwin and Kurt Russell underwent a so-called “young firefighter course” and even lived in a Chicago fire station for a month.
- During the filming of one scene, Scott Glenn was actually engulfed in flames. He was wearing a fire-resistant suit, and a special protective gel was applied to some parts of his body. As soon as the scene was finished, the flames were immediately extinguished with water and chemicals.
- Over 5,000 firefighters volunteered to participate in the scene where firefighters march down Michigan Avenue. Firefighters from the suburbs also wanted to participate, but they had different uniforms and were therefore refused. More than 200 firefighters from the suburbs still came to the filming.
- The film was shot several years before it became possible to create realistic flames using computer animation. At one point, the assistant director, Aldrich La'Auli Porter, rushed into the burning room in search of an actor he believed was lost in the fire. Acting by touch due to the thick smoke, he found no one there, because Kurt Russell, it turned out, had already escaped the burning room through a back exit.
- A device (cinematographers called it the “Peple-O-Matic”) was created for the film, which operated on the principle of a vacuum cleaner, but in reverse – it cut pieces of cardboard, ignited them, and blew them into the air.
- Allen Hall was responsible for the special effects in the film. Three months before the start of filming, he equipped a special laboratory for himself, where he worked with explosive substances and various types of flammable materials, studying fire and combustion processes in general.
- Director Ron Howard donated a portion of the film's proceeds to the local fire department.
- A significant portion of the sets were burned before filming even began, and then placed inside the building.
- The filmmakers repaired and restored six pieces of firefighting equipment and, upon completion of filming, donated five of them to the Chicago Fire Department. The sixth was a fire truck that did not survive the shooting.
- Over 200 children auditioned for the role of the child saved and carried out of the fire by Kurt Russell's character.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
