Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Backdraft (Blu-ray)

David Vaughn  |  Jan 8, 2011

Two siblings carry on a family tradition as Chicago firefighters and must overcome their rivalry in order to find an arsonist who's torching the city. A twist of fate lands Brian (William Baldwin) in the investigators department working under veteran Donald Rimgale (Robert DeNiro) and is taught what it means to be a firefighter.

I've seen this at least 5 times over the past 19 years and have always enjoyed the characters and the awesome pyrotechnic displays. The plot is loaded with clichés with the sibling rivalry, crooked politicians, and a story line that only has maybe one degree of separation between each of the characters, but hey, it's Hollywood!

Video Highlights

  • VC-1/1080p encode on a BD-50 disc
  • Adequate detail
  • Occasional softness, especially on longer shots
  • Minor edge enhancement and banding
  • Excellent color saturation

Audio Highlights

  • DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack
  • Crisp dynamics
  • Solid bass response
  • Enveloping surround environment
  • Intelligible dialog

The video quality matches my notes from the HD DVD release from 2006 with occasional edge enhancement and some minor banding. The DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack is very good, especially during the fires that engulf the room.

Bonus Materials

  • Introduction from Ron Howard
  • Deleted Scenes
  • Four featurettes
  • Theatrical trailer
  • Pocket Blu
  • U-Control and D-Box Motion Code enabled

While this certainly isn't director Ron Howard's greatest film, it has a high entertainment value with an all star cast, excellent special effects, and reference-quality audio track. Recommended for fans.

Release Date: January 4, 2011
Studio: Universal

Movie: 7/10
Picture: 8/10
Sound: 9/10

Review System

Source
Oppo BDP-93 Blu-ray player

Display
JVC DLA-RS1 projector
Stewart FireHawk screen (76.5" wide, 16:9)

Electronics
Integra DTC-80.2 pre/pro
Anthem PVA-7 power amplifier
Belkin PVA-PF60 power conditioner

Speakers
M&K S-150s (L, C, R)
M&K SS-150s (LS, RS, SBL, SBR)
SVS PC-Ultra subwoofer

Cables
Monoprice HDMI cables (source to pre/pro)
Best Deal analog-audio cables
PureLink HDC Fiber Optic HDMI Cable System (15 meters) from pre/pro to projector

Acoustical treatments from GIK Acoustics

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