Howard initially experimented with using CGI to simulate the fire effects, but ultimately decided that the results looked fake. As a result, the footage during these scenes is remarkably visceral, captured by cameramen donning fire-proof suits and walking through the burning sets with handheld cameras. Cinematographer Mikael Salomon created a unique lighting scheme that high- and low-lighted the images of the fire so that color variations and depth details could be seen versus flat visuals. The resulting effects were so potent that it's little wonder actress Jennifer Jason Leigh revealed in an interview that the most desirable role in the film was the fire itself!
Adding to the realism, Russell, Baldwin, and Glenn performed many of their own stunts in the film. All three tagged along with a Chicago fire squad in preparation for their roles and Glenn was almost seriously injured during one of his stunts. Asked in an interview about performing his own stunts in several of his films, Russell responded, "Well, up until Backdraft there wasn't a lot of this. I know that because Ron Howard and I talked about it a lot and we had to go and find actors that were willing to set themselves on fire using a gel that had only just been invented. After that movie, more and more directors started wanting to put actors into scenes. But there's something else that's very real that goes along with that. If one of those actors goes down for any reason, that's a lot of money. So you have to be very, very, very careful. And the stunt people then become extremely important in terms of how they set up something with the actors and the director so that you can do this and get away with it." Even years later, Russell remarked that the film was his most physically grueling effort, commenting, "Nobody will ever do a movie harder than Backdraft."
Backdraft snagged three Osca® nominations for visual effects, sound effects editing, and sound. Hans Zimmer composed the hauntingly compelling score, which was oddly enough later adopted as the theme music for the Japanese cooking show Iron Chef! Backdraft's popularity inspired Universal Studios Theme Parks to build an attraction based on the film. Ron Howard aficionados will immediately spot his trademark casting of his brother Clint in the film as Ricco the Pathologist. Look a little closer and you will also spot musician David Crosby (of Crosby, Stills and Nash) in a fitting turn as a 70's hippie!
Producer: Raffaella De Laurentiis, Pen Densham, Larry DeWaay, Brian Grazer, Todd Hallowell, Richard B. Lewis, John Watson
Director: Ron Howard
Screenplay: Gregory Widen
Cinematography: Mikael Salomon
Film Editing: Daniel P. Hanley, Michael Hill
Art Direction: Carol Winstead Wood
Music: Hans Zimmer
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 Adcox).
C-132m. Letterboxed.
by Eleanor Quin
