Backdraft

"Silently behind a door, it waits. One breath of oxygen and it explodes in a deadly rage. In that instant it can create a hero...or cover a secret."

1991 2h 17m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

★6.7TMDB · 1,641

DramaThrillerActionCrime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Two feuding siblings carrying on a heroic family tradition as Chicago firefighters. But when a puzzling series of arson attacks is reported, they are forced to set aside their differences to solve the mystery surrounding these crimes.

“Silently behind a door, it waits. One breath of oxygen and it explodes in a deadly rage. In that instant it can create a hero...or cover a secret.”

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Cast

Kurt Russell
Stephen McCaffrey
William Baldwin
Brian McCaffrey
Robert De Niro
Donald Rimgale
Donald Sutherland
Ronald Bartel
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Jennifer Vaitkus
Scott Glenn
John 'Axe' Adcox
Rebecca De Mornay
Helen McCaffrey
Jason Gedrick
Tim Kirzminski

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Ron Howard
Writers: Gregory Widen, Mark Moore
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $75M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

35 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Backdraft Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Ron Howard, shot by Mikael Salomon. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Hans Zimmer. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Daniel P. Hanley shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Kurt Russell and William Baldwin and Robert De Niro carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Silently behind a door, it waits. One breath of oxygen and it explodes in a deadly rage. In that instant it can create a hero...or cover a secret.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Ron Howard directs. Mikael Salomon behind the camera. Hans Zimmer scores. Daniel P. Hanley cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $75M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
235 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Part of the "Backdraft Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Ron Howard, shot by Mikael Salomon. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Hans Zimmer. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Daniel P. Hanley shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Kurt Russell and William Baldwin and Robert De Niro carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Silently behind a door, it waits. One breath of oxygen and it explodes in a deadly rage. In that instant it can create a hero...or cover a secret.".
9IMDB entry: tt0101393 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 17 themes, including "chicago, illinois", "rescue", "fire", "corruption".

The technical file

Cinematography: Mikael Salomon
Original score: Hans Zimmer
Editing: Daniel P. Hanley
Production design: Albert Brenner
Costume design: Jodie Lynn Tillen
Makeup / hair: Ilona Herman
VFX supervisor: Scott Farrar
Sound: Gary Rydstrom
Stunt coordinator: Walter Scott
Runtime: 137 min · 2h 17m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $75,000,000
Box office: $152,368,585
Return: 203% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Backdraft (1991)

Part of

Backdraft Collection

Backdraft is a 1991 American drama thriller film directed by Ron Howard and written by Gregory Widen. In March 2018, it was announced that Universal has tapped Spanish director Gonzalo López-Gallego to direct the sequel with William Baldwin and Donald Sutherland set to reprise their roles.