Ron Howard’s breakout mega-film of the early 90’s. A huge hit in the theatres, you would think a movie about big fires would translate well into HD … and it does. Like all our reviews, we skip the plot reviews because we want to know whether you should buy this movie in HD DVD or just use an upconverted SD DVD. I don’t want to dote on character development (which is heavy in this movie) becasue it matters not to the HD quality. So, in short, this Universal release is a very cool movie about Chicago firemen as told through the voice of two firefighting brothers. Firefighters are unique civil servants in that they lack authority some other civil servants possess. This makes a firefighter a true hero. Obviously, then, Backdraft asserts itself as a tribute to these unique heroes.

Having watched many recently produced movies on HD DVD and many movies produced more than 20 years ago movies on HD DVD I am beginning to see a major difference in the pre-effects days in Hollywood. Backdraft is probably one of the last great action/drama movies that does not rely on effects to make things look perfect. The transfer to HD is grand but what remains is that late 80’s/early 90’s movie quality. We still have to deal with the 2 minute musical interlude to show activity: building a house, falling in love, or learning how to be a firefighter. Backdraft probably looked awesome in a theatre (I have to admit I never saw it in the theatre). The explosions and fires still hold up, and that’s what this movie is about, but having been indoctrinated into HD with movies like Transformers where the action occurs all around you, and not just in front of you on the screen, even on a 56″ TV the anamorphic 70mm looks kinda dinky. You have to respect the fact, however, that the fire in this movies is real and not digitally added. While this retains the uniqueness of the movie, it limits the director’s ability to make a truly immersive picture. I am confident, however, that when shooting the film, cinematographer Mikael Salomon probably never said, “Gee, I wonder how this will look in HD from a couch”. All old skool movie making aside, the HD picture was great - with no discernable flaws (as were exhibited in Dune, our next review).

Like most of the movies I like in HD, what makes this movie special in HD is the audio mix. Its a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix (No true HD for you Dr. Jones!) Where the cinematographer was limited the engineer really made this HD transfer shine. The fires engulfed us not with its images, but with its roar and grumbles. Additionally, the subtle environmental effects added that special favor to this movie.

The extras are forgettable. Universal, regreattable, spent no time on the menu system either which is the typical polished silver Universal HD DVD menu.

Did I like this movie? Yes. Did I like the HD transfer? sure. Would I recommend it? Yes, but there are about 50 other HD DVD movies I would get before this one - unless, of course, this is one of your all-time favorties.

ILHDDVD Rating: 3/5 (I felt too much removed from the action
Video/Image: 3/5 (good)
Audio: 4/5 (awesome)
recommended

Did you see this HD DVD? Rankit: (4 votes, average: 3.5 out of 5)

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