Fire fighting brothers (Kurt Russell and William Baldwin) carry their sibling rivalry into their work. But when an arsonist goes on the rampage in Chicago the brothers are forced to work together. Co stars Robert De Niro and Donald Sutherland.

Film Trivia

• Most of the extras in this film were real Chicago fire fighters.
• After reading the film's script, Jennifer Jason Leigh told director Ron Howard that she wished she was the fire because it had the best part in the movie.
• To bring the audience close to the intensity of the fire a cameraman was put in a fire-proof suit and wandered through the flames with a hand-held camera.
• Robert De Niro's character, Donald Rimgale, was a real arson investigator with the Chicago Fire Department. Rimgale has a brief cameo in this film as someone at the party.
• This film's screenwriter, Gregory Widen, was a fire fighter for three years before becoming a writer. This film's premise is based on the death of one of his friends in a backdraft.

If you like Backdraft, try these:

• Die Hard: With A Vengeance