Backdraft (HD DVD)

Universal has obvious reasons to release Backdraft on HD DVD considering the amazing visuals and audio effects with this movie, but the story of Backdraft is hardly feature film worthy and really doesn't play to the strengths of a film centered on fire-fighting. This particular HD DVD is the equivalent to the recently released 25th anniversary DVD as it carries all the special features the DVD has, on top of the high-definition video and audio.

Instead of directly focusing on the lifestyles of firefighters and the perils they face Backdraft centers on a family of firefighters represented by brothers Stephen 'Bull' McCaffrey (Kurt Russell) and Brian McCaffrey (Billy Baldwin), and this is the film's first mistake. Here we find the cliché movie moments with the over-achieving brother in Stephen and the one brother that just can't seem to do anything right in Brian. Through a series of missteps and guilt trips Brian ends up leaving the firehouse to take a job with Donald Rimgale (Robert De Niro) investigating fires, taking names and placing blame as the recent rash of fires hitting the Chicago area seem to be more than they appear to be. A serial arsonist has a flair for using backdraft fires and through a series of investigations, shady characters and deaths McCaffrey and Rimgale attempt to get to the bottom of things only hoping enough principal cast members will be alive and unscathed to tell the story once things are said and done.

For anyone that has seen the popular FX television series "Rescue Me" you will immediately find Backdraft to be a watered down movie looking for cheap thrills and emotional tie-ins. Silly drinking problems and sexual exploits seem so out of place in this movie it isn't even funny.

As for the special features there is an introduction to the film by director Ron Howard, a series of unwanted deleted scenes that runs for 43-minutes, a featurette on how the film came to be, a casting feature, a stunts feature, a visual effects feature and finally, a featurette profiling real life firefighters.

Of the bunch the final feature on the real-life firemen is really the only one worth watching as the other seems to be far too much self-congratulatory propaganda. While I am sure there are firefighters that can relate to the subject matter of Backdraft it seems like the film went too far in the direction of making the story a mystery rather than the emotional drama it should have been. This HD DVD is an excellent choice if you care nothing for story and are only searching for ways to be impressed with excellent audio and visual elements, but on a story level this is one for the dollar bin.