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When the firefighters go to the house of the first backdraft "victim" you see that he has gone through the windshield of his car. But when we saw him opening his front door and getting hurled away from the house he didn't land anyway near the car. See more...

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Backdraft (1991) - 9 corrections

Directed by Ron Howard, starring Donald Sutherland, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Kurt Russell, Scott Glenn, William Baldwin (add more)

Genres: Action, Drama, Mystery, Thriller

Comments made in brackets are corrections from other visitors. To submit your own corrections for mistakes, just click "edit" under an entry, then choose "correct entry". You can also submit corrections for corrections, if you think a mistake has been unfairly removed.

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In the very first fire scene, where Brian's father is killed in a fluctuating backdraft, we see power lines extending from the apartment building as the truck pulls in at the scene. In this case, the truck is a ladder, which would have never been called into use under those circumstances unless the power was safely cut or turned off. In the very next scene the power lines are gone. [12 years as a firefighter. Power lines would not stop a ladder truck from being dispatched at all. They could use a ladder with or without powerlines. ]
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The opening of the film is set in 1971 and when we see a young Kurt Russell (flipping off his brother), he looks to be about 6 or 7. The film then fast forwards 20 years later (1991) and Kurt Russell is looking all of his then 40 years. Certainly not someone in his mid to late 20's. [First of all, how someone looks is a matter of personal opinion, not a mistake. To me young Stephen (the older brother) looks to be 12, which is the age the character is credited as being. Older Stephen (Kurt Russell) is depicted as a disgruntled alcoholic, this plus the stress of the job could make him appear more hardened and "older" than his actual 32 years of age.]
Edit Corrected by JC Fernandez
During the final fire at the climax of the movie, there are several scenes from inside the building showing massive explosions and fire breaking into and through the warehouse windows from the outside. However, they also show several shots of the exterior of the building with explosions and fire bursting through the windows from the inside going out. So, which is it? Are the explosions originating outside the structure or inside? It can't be both, yet that is the way it is shown. [This is a long sequence in the movie and it's unclear what specific shots you're referring to. But one possibility is that those aren't exterior windows but windows within the warehouse (storage areas and offices). Another possibility is, considering this is a chemical warehouse, that there are tanks and materials on the outside of the building that exploded due to the fire.]
Edit Corrected by JC Fernandez
In the end scene the dispatcher announces "This will be a hazardous materials response" but Brian and Steve and Axe have no masks. [Yes, but Brian is not fihgting the fire, he is just trying to warn his brother. Steve never uses his mask does he?. After one fire, when they let Tim have a smoke, they say "steve never uses a mask, it coulda flashed, it shoulda flashed." Adcox may of left his in the Rig whilst they go up to the roof, if they were going to enter the building he could go and get it.]
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During the burial scene (after the procession through Chicago), actually at the cemetery, there are at least two scenes where you can see the Washington Monument obelisk in the background, among the tall trees. Must have filmed this scene at Arlington Cemetary. [It was filmed all in Chicago. There is an obelisk present, but they are common monuments in cemeteries, especially older ones.]
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When Bull goes charging into any of the fires in the film, he never buttons his protective coat. Any firefighter that did that would suffer severe burns. Also, he doesn't wear an SCBA, he would have suffered smoke inhalation without one. [Its true that Bull never seems to button his coat. But Eastern Firefighters back then were known for thier bravery without the use of an SCBA. SCBA's are used by the newer firefighters in the Eastern US and some of the older guys still refuse to wear them.]
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Both the engine and truck are first due at a downtown high-rise fire, yet their firehouse is in a quiet neighbourhood. Also, the final scene shows them responding first due to a fire from their firehouse, yet as the helicopter shot widens out, you can see the downtown skyline, nowhere near their firehouse. [If you have been to Chicago you will know that there is an uptown and a downtown. You only saw one part of the city when the sun was setting at the end of the movie and never saw the opposite part of the city which would have high-rises as well, which could be in their first alarm response area.]
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In any scene where they are fighting fire inside of a building, there is no smoke. Any type of fire will produce large amounts of smoke. [Actually, if the structure is properly vented, either mechanically or self vented by the windows breaking, there would only be a light to moderate smoke condition.]
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First thing I learned is that in case of a fire, one is NEVER to use an elevator. Yet, when the fire fighters enter that downtown building (the one where "Tim" is burned badly), they use an elevator. Even if the firemen were not sure whether the alarm was a real fire or just a joke by someone, they should take their task seriously and therefore use the stairs. [The reason we don't use elevators in a fire is that a fire can short out the sensor and cause the elevator to go to the fire floor, no matter what you try to do. Just about any elevator can be put into an override mode (using a special fire key) to ONLY allow controls from inside the box. Firefighters often use elevators in high rises. Would YOU want to carry 50 pounds of gear up 30 or 40 flights? Most departments do, however, have SOPs regarding this (for example, you must stop 3 floors below the fire floor and walk up, etc).]
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