Backdraft (2002, VHS)

Backdraft is a film that was made by Ron Howard back in 1991, in his attempt to show what it was like to be a Chicago fire-fighter of the time. The movie is a very moving jaunt into the lives of several firefighters, and the contacts that they have to the outside world. This was a groundbreaking film when it came to depicting fires, and how they were fought, and Howard does a great job of both showing how difficult it is to be a fireman, and at the same time paying homage to these people who risk their lives for us on a daily basis. The special effects are what help make the film spectacular..

Seen as a straightforward 'boy's own' coming of age film, Ron Howard's effect-laden fireman caper works pretty well. It is only when you start to peer more closely that the cracks appear. William Baldwin is Brian McCaffrey, the younger of two brothers orphaned when their firefighter father (played briefly by Kurt Russell) dies on the job. Brian actually sees the death, and when we rejoin the film in the present, has just graduated from firefighting academy, set to follow in his father's footsteps. He is dogged at every step however, by his brother Steve (Kurt Russell again), a station captain.

Think real hard to yourself about when the last time a movie about the drama and danger firefighters came out? I can't think of any personally, but back in 1991 a movie by the name of Backdraft came out directed by Ron Howard. By making this movie, about two brothers, both firefighters, battling wits while looking out for each other during a mysterious ring of deaths all caused by someone who's an arsonist. With this film, Ron Howard proves to everyone that there is no more "Opie" or "Richie Cunningham" those two are long gone. We now know Ron Howard, the serious director and storyteller. I...

First, the casting in this movie was great. Many people won't get the opportunity to find that out because the box informs you that the two stars are a Baldwin and Kurt Russell. This is tremendously unfortunate because they actually are convincing. The real performances though are from the supporting cast, namely Robert Deniro and Donald Sutherland. The movie is about two brothers, both deeply influenced by the death of their fire fighter father. The younger brother Brian, William Baldwin, is just out of the fire fighter academy and eager to prove that he can be a firefighter just like his...