This reviewer remembers the initial
excitement and ultimate disappointment upon seeing the original theatrical
showing of “BACKDRAFT”. The scriptwriter was good, Ron Howard-sometimes “great”
director, and a great cast!Unfortunately, the fact that Howard didn’t
cringe upon seeing Donald Sutherland’s character being such a blatant rip-off of
Hanibal Lector, is unforgivable! “BACKDRAFT” is actually one of the worst
scripts “ever” written and it’s shameful that great actors had to work with it!
Donald Sutherland, such a great actor having to say lines like, “The fire, I can
hear it talk to me”, …aargh!!!The action sequences with fire are the
only good thing in the film. Never before have fire scenes been so dramatically
powerful. Howard does his technical research for this film and the viewer is
drawn right into what’s happening during these hair-raising moments.
UNIVERSAL has provided a stellar transfer
for this HD-DVD image. There weren’t CGI effects to speak of when this film was
made, so the actual sets and the way in which fire is designed to work on them,
looks spectacular. Colors are rich in every scene. The blacks and grays are
deep, aiding to the film’s look in the darkest scenes. Detail is flawless
throughout. This is a great looking HD-DVD!
UNIVERSAL has provided a Dolby Digital
Plus 5.1 mix. It’s an aggressive mix, offering non-stop discrete and panning
effects. The bass effects during explosions really shake the room with a
3-Dimensional effect. The dynamic range for this release is among the best so
far on HD-DVD. Again, “BACKDRAFT” on HD-DVD is a spectacular “DEMONSTRATION
QUALITY” HD-DVD.
There are plenty of extras, including
featurettes and numerous deleted scenes.
