Although the 1991 film Backdraft is technically not a cop movie, it is a criminal investigation film, and a good one at that. It’s our recommendation for this installment of Weekend Buff.
I grew up in a family full of hose draggers - the only cop in a family full of FDNY firefighters. Backdraft’s release corresponded with me joining the volunteer fire service and I was pretty excited about it at the time.
Just like cops watching a cop movie, FDNY types critiqued the lack of realism in the fire scenes – zero visibility smoke doesn’t make for good Hollywood action scenes. But it’s a good movie, and at its heart is a film about a homicide investigation.
A little bit of background about the title - A backdraft is a fire phenomenon that occurs occasionally and can have potentially deadly consequences. It happens with a ventilation limited fire, where the fire cannot get enough air to grow and spread. The fire will burn slowly as it waits for an oxygen source. When air is introduced, the fire lights up and explodes in the direction of the air source. The telltale sign is smoke pushing out of a building and then getting drawn back in. Ventilate a fire exhibiting that behavior in the wrong way and you are going to have a bad day.
Backdraft does a nice job displaying and explaining that phenomenon.
The movie is set in Chicago (a film technician union strike in New York contributed to the choice of the Windy City as the setting). It revolves around the two McCaffrey brothers, Stephen and Brian, played by Kurt Russell and Steven Baldwin respectively, who come from a long tradition of firefighting in Chicago.
Someone is rigging fires to target Chicago politicians and ensuring a backdraft occurs to set a deadly trap. Chicago Fire Inspector Donald Rimgale, played by Robert Di Niro, is assigned the case. He not only works to determine the cause and origin, but also the motive and identifying the perps. In reality, most fire departments investigate the cause and origin of the fire, and determine if an arson occurred, and then the police department investigates the homicide. In Backdraft, Hollywood cuts the Chicago PD out of the story.
Fire Inspector Rimgale works his case, as the list of victims continues to pile up. He uncovers a plot that strikes at the heart of the Chicago Fire Department.
Backdraft is directed by Ron Howard, who turns in his usual fine work. With Howard and Russell’s names behind the film, an all-star cast was recruited that included Jennifer Jason Leigh, Donald Southerland, Rebecca De Mornay, and Scott Glenn in supporting roles. Gregory Widen (Highlander, The Prophecy) wrote the story. He was inspired by his three years of fire service in California that included a fatal fire resulting from a backdraft.
The cast spent weeks with Chicago firefighters learning the trade and absorbing the culture of the fire service. They do a nice job, the firehouse scenes are well done and accurately portray what life is like in firehouses around the country – comradery, bravado, and ball-breaking. Despite the unrealistic fire scenes, the movie captures the culture well.
Backdraft runs over two hours, but delves into the life of the McCaffrey family, the fire service, and arson investigation. It’s a multifaceted film that provides plenty of action and great drama. You can catch it on the usual streaming services for $4. There are a few films that cover the fire service, but this is probably the best. Enjoy!
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So it's 1991 and I'm on the job and a citizen waves me down. I'm thinking, "OK, where do you need directions to." Nope. They say there's smoke coming from a house a block or two away. OK. I light up, and in the direction indicated when I get close, yep, I can see and smell smoke. I pull up to a two-story dwelling and there are three cars in the drive (it's about 3pm). And, there's smoke rolling out from the eaves. I call it in and let dispatch know I think the dwelling may be occupied. I go to a side door which is locked. I extend my ASP and bust out a door window but I can't reach the lock from the outside. Oh sure, now's a great time to have burglary-proof locks installed ya fuckin' idiots! So, I figure, what the hell....it works in the movies....and I step back a few feet and, BAM! I boot the door. Sure as shit, it collapses in on itself! Unfortunately, the smoke is so thick, I can't go in. Now I'm hearing sirens from the responding FD so I make my way to what I think is a bedroom window and I bust that out. Smoke immediately comes billowing out. So fast that my eyes immediately start burning from the heat and smoke. Now I am joined by a 3-4 firemen who have their SCBAs on and I am like, cool, let them handle it. Turned out, no one was home and the FD was able to get it knocked down pretty quick. About 90 minutes later, I'm back at the house writing the paper and I get paged overhead that I have a phone call. I pick up the blinking line and it's a BC (Battalion Chief) who had responded to the fire. His first words: "Hey, are you the dumbass who booted the side door open?" I was like, "What the fuck?" I said, "Yeah, I was first on the scene there. Why?" He says, "Go see the movie 'Backdraft,' that's why." I said, "The fuck is 'Backdraft."? He said, "Just go see it. And then next time you're first on scene of house fire, you'll think twice about booting a door. Fuckin' idiot" I had to get the last word so I said, "Well, if you lazy fucks hadn't been sound asleep in your recliners at 3 in the afternoon, maybe you would have gotten there quicker!" And I hung up.
OK, so I MAY have gone to see the movie and I MAY have realized that booting the door and busting out the bedroom window might not have been the best decision.
I refuse to watch any Robert DeNiro movie. Same with Tom Hanks.