Backdraft (1991)
Drama, Thriller, Action, Crime • 2h 17m
Overview
Two feuding siblings carrying on a heroic family tradition as Chicago firefighters. But when a puzzling series of arson attacks is reported, they are forced to set aside their differences to solve the mystery surrounding these crimes.
Director: Ron Howard
Cast: Kurt Russell, William Baldwin, Robert De Niro, Donald Sutherland, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Scott Glenn, Rebecca De Mornay, Jason Gedrick, J. T. Walsh, Anthony Mockus Sr., Cedric Young, Juan Ramírez, Kevin Casey, Jack McGee, Mark Wheeler, Richard Lexsee, Beep Iams, Ryan Goldstein, John Duda, Robert Swan, Clint Howard, Ron West, Kevin Crowley, Carlos Sanz, Jane Jenkins, David Crosby, W. Earl Brown, James Ritz, Irma P. Hall, Nydia Rodriguez Terracina, Dennis Liddiard, David Luckenbach, Gregory Lundsgaard, Dan Tullis Jr., Peter C. Hobert
Director: Ron Howard
Theatrical: Universal 4K Blu-ray
IMAX Cut: 2005 DVD
Theatrical: Universal 4K Blu-ray
IMAX Cut: 2005 DVD
Theatrical: Cinema DTS
Director: Ron Howard
Theatrical: Universal 4K Blu-ray
IMAX Cut: 2005 DVD
Theatrical: Universal 4K Blu-ray
IMAX Cut: 2005 DVD
Theatrical: Cinema DTS
Director: Ron Howard
2026 Sony 4K Blu-ray Steelbook
2026 Sony 4K Blu-ray Steelbook added Dolby Vision
Director: Ron Howard
2026 Sony 4K Blu-ray Steelbook
2026 Sony 4K Blu-ray Steelbook added Dolby Vision
Director: Ron Howard
Director: Ron Howard
Director: Ron Howard
Universal 4K Blu-ray - caps. Looks stunning against the horribly neutralized old master. Very glad Deakins supervised the new grade and had Universal restore his color filters.
Universal Blu-ray (included in the 4K edition) has the original 5.1 mix not on the 4K disc
The original 5.1 surround mix from the 2011 USA BD was included alongside the new Atmos upmix. The compatibility track is a downmix of the Atmos. The Atmos is overall lightly remixed with noticeably more high frequencies rolled-off relative to the old 5.1. I think the 5.1 sounds better. The 5.1 mix from the USA BD was used as it sounds essentially the same as the EUR BD (with some minor loudness differences) while not featuring the dither noise and low frequency noise that the EUR has. Commentaries between the USA UHD and USA BD are the same, with both featuring Dolby Surround metadata
Audio comparison: 5.1 surround
Director: Ron Howard
Universal 4K Blu-ray - caps. Looks stunning against the horribly neutralized old master. Very glad Deakins supervised the new grade and had Universal restore his color filters.
Universal Blu-ray (included in the 4K edition) has the original 5.1 mix not on the 4K disc
The original 5.1 surround mix from the 2011 USA BD was included alongside the new Atmos upmix. The compatibility track is a downmix of the Atmos. The Atmos is overall lightly remixed with noticeably more high frequencies rolled-off relative to the old 5.1. I think the 5.1 sounds better. The 5.1 mix from the USA BD was used as it sounds essentially the same as the EUR BD (with some minor loudness differences) while not featuring the dither noise and low frequency noise that the EUR has. Commentaries between the USA UHD and USA BD are the same, with both featuring Dolby Surround metadata
Audio comparison: 5.1 surround
Director: Ron Howard
Theatrical Cut: Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray
Extended Cut: The 30th Anniversary Extended Cut on fanedit.org has the additional TV footage and is also uncut.
Theatrical Cut: Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray
Extended Cut: The 30th Anniversary Extended Cut on fanedit.org has the additional TV footage and is also uncut.
The TV version is extended but is censored. The Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray is restored from an interpositive, no release so far is confirmed to be from the Original Camera Negative.
Director: Ron Howard
Theatrical Cut: Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray
Extended Cut: The 30th Anniversary Extended Cut on fanedit.org has the additional TV footage and is also uncut.
Theatrical Cut: Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray
Extended Cut: The 30th Anniversary Extended Cut on fanedit.org has the additional TV footage and is also uncut.
The TV version is extended but is censored. The Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray is restored from an interpositive, no release so far is confirmed to be from the Original Camera Negative.
Director: Ron Howard
Director: Ron Howard
Director: Ron Howard
Director: Ron Howard
Director: Ron Howard
Director: Ron Howard
Director: Ron Howard
Theatrical: Sony 4K Blu-ray
Extended: Old Sony Blu-ray
Theatrical: Sony 4K Blu-ray
Extended: Old Sony Blu-ray
Director: Ron Howard
Theatrical: Sony 4K Blu-ray
Extended: Old Sony Blu-ray
Theatrical: Sony 4K Blu-ray
Extended: Old Sony Blu-ray
Director: Ron Howard
Director: Ron Howard
Director: Frank Tuttle
Director: Frank Tuttle
Director: Michael Mann
Netherlands Remain in Light or UK Universal 4K Blu-ray
Netherlands Remain in Light or UK Universal 4K Blu-ray, See caps: Ferrari (2023) | Slowpoke Pics
Netherlands Remain in Light
All three discs come from the same master and share the same Dolby Vision grade, with identical dynamic metadata and CMv4.0 on all three. The Eagle Pictures disc is the only Profile 7 FEL, the Remain in Light and Universal UK discs are both MEL. On paper that gives the Italian finer coding precision, but it doesn't buy anything on this film, the grain is heavy enough to hide base layer quantisation on its own and none of the three discs bands. It also costs something, the Eagle Pictures encode noticeably smooths grain in flatter, low contrast areas, so a fair bit of fine texture that both other discs keep is simply gone. Edges and overall definition are fine, but the Dutch and UK discs clearly hold the film's texture better and are the ones to get. Between those two it's very close, with the Dutch keeping slightly more grain across most of the scenes checked. Worth noting as well, the Dutch and UK discs have their title cards in English while the Italian keeps them in Italian.
Caps comp: Ferrari (2023) | Slowpoke Pics
Director: Michael Mann
Netherlands Remain in Light or UK Universal 4K Blu-ray
Netherlands Remain in Light or UK Universal 4K Blu-ray, See caps: Ferrari (2023) | Slowpoke Pics
Netherlands Remain in Light
All three discs come from the same master and share the same Dolby Vision grade, with identical dynamic metadata and CMv4.0 on all three. The Eagle Pictures disc is the only Profile 7 FEL, the Remain in Light and Universal UK discs are both MEL. On paper that gives the Italian finer coding precision, but it doesn't buy anything on this film, the grain is heavy enough to hide base layer quantisation on its own and none of the three discs bands. It also costs something, the Eagle Pictures encode noticeably smooths grain in flatter, low contrast areas, so a fair bit of fine texture that both other discs keep is simply gone. Edges and overall definition are fine, but the Dutch and UK discs clearly hold the film's texture better and are the ones to get. Between those two it's very close, with the Dutch keeping slightly more grain across most of the scenes checked. Worth noting as well, the Dutch and UK discs have their title cards in English while the Italian keeps them in Italian.
Caps comp: Ferrari (2023) | Slowpoke Pics
Director: Joe Alves
2D version: 2016 Universal Blu-ray
3D version: Universal 3D Blu-ray (caveat: 3D Blu-ray has misaligned eyes)
Nick_M's 3D version is better than Universal 3D Blu-ray
2D version: 2016 Universal Blu-ray
3D version: Universal 3D Blu-ray (caveat: 3D Blu-ray has misaligned eyes)
Nick_M's 3D version is better than Universal 3D Blu-ray
Director: Joe Alves
2D version: 2016 Universal Blu-ray
3D version: Universal 3D Blu-ray (caveat: 3D Blu-ray has misaligned eyes)
Nick_M's 3D version is better than Universal 3D Blu-ray
2D version: 2016 Universal Blu-ray
3D version: Universal 3D Blu-ray (caveat: 3D Blu-ray has misaligned eyes)
Nick_M's 3D version is better than Universal 3D Blu-ray
Director: Pierre Perifel
2D version: Universal 4K Blu-ray
3D version: Australia Universal/Sony 3D Blu-ray
2D version: Universal 4K Blu-ray
3D version: Australia Universal/Sony 3D Blu-ray
Director: Pierre Perifel
2D version: Universal 4K Blu-ray
3D version: Australia Universal/Sony 3D Blu-ray
2D version: Universal 4K Blu-ray
3D version: Australia Universal/Sony 3D Blu-ray
Director: Ronny Yu
Director's Cut: Hong Kong Edko Films Blu-ray
International Theatrical Cut/US Theatrical Cut: Universal Blu-ray
Director's Cut: Hong Kong Edko Films Blu-ray
International Theatrical Cut (aka. Unrated Cut): Universal Blu-ray
US Theatrical Cut: Universal Blu-ray, Starz Streaming for open matte
Hong Kong Theatrical Cut: Disney+ Streaming in Singapore, Singapore Disney DVD for open matte
Thai Theatrical Cut: Disney+ Streaming in Thailand, Thailand Disney DVD for open matte
Director: Ronny Yu
Director's Cut: Hong Kong Edko Films Blu-ray
International Theatrical Cut/US Theatrical Cut: Universal Blu-ray
Director's Cut: Hong Kong Edko Films Blu-ray
International Theatrical Cut (aka. Unrated Cut): Universal Blu-ray
US Theatrical Cut: Universal Blu-ray, Starz Streaming for open matte
Hong Kong Theatrical Cut: Disney+ Streaming in Singapore, Singapore Disney DVD for open matte
Thai Theatrical Cut: Disney+ Streaming in Thailand, Thailand Disney DVD for open matte
Director: Tom Hooper
Director: Tom Hooper
Director: Michael Gordon
Universal 4K Blu-ray
2012 BD is of similar fidelity but adds extra foley sounds. 2003 PAL DVD is a stereoized remix.
Director: Michael Gordon
Universal 4K Blu-ray
2012 BD is of similar fidelity but adds extra foley sounds. 2003 PAL DVD is a stereoized remix.
Director: Doug Liman
Director: Doug Liman
Director: Joss Whedon
Director: Joss Whedon
Director: George Lucas
Director: George Lucas
More Drama on Blu-ray
UK 88 Films 4K Blu-ray in October
Australia Imprint Blu-ray?
Germany Filmjuwelen 4K Blu-ray is disappointing with AI upscaling
UK 88 Films 4K Blu-ray in October
Australia Imprint Blu-ray?
Germany Filmjuwelen 4K Blu-ray is disappointing with AI upscaling
Director: Kenji Iwaisawa
Japan Pony Canyon Blu-ray for original 7.1 mix
Director: Kenji Iwaisawa
Japan Pony Canyon Blu-ray for original 7.1 mix
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Atmos on the Sony 4K Blu-ray maybe better?
Regarding the "original theatrical audio" 5.1 mixes:
The Sony UHD and the BD DTS-HD 5.1 mixes are the same but the UHD has been pushed slightly harder and has a lot of clipping. The UHD is 16 bit vs the BD's 24 bits.
The Second Sight UHD DTS-HD 5.1 is a downmix of its respective Atmos track. Definitely different from the Sony UHD/BD mix plus a little less dynamic. Whether or not that's representative of the theatrical Dolby Digital mix is anyone's guess.
So, if you want the best version of the original 5.1, the 2012 BD is the winner.
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Atmos on the Sony 4K Blu-ray maybe better?
Regarding the "original theatrical audio" 5.1 mixes:
The Sony UHD and the BD DTS-HD 5.1 mixes are the same but the UHD has been pushed slightly harder and has a lot of clipping. The UHD is 16 bit vs the BD's 24 bits.
The Second Sight UHD DTS-HD 5.1 is a downmix of its respective Atmos track. Definitely different from the Sony UHD/BD mix plus a little less dynamic. Whether or not that's representative of the theatrical Dolby Digital mix is anyone's guess.
So, if you want the best version of the original 5.1, the 2012 BD is the winner.
Director: James Foley
Director: James Foley
Director: Iain Softley
Director: Iain Softley
Director: Steven Shainberg
Director: Steven Shainberg
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Director: Rob Reiner
Director: Rob Reiner
Director: Rob Reiner
Director: Rob Reiner
Director: Rob Reiner
Vertical Blu-ray
Director: Rob Reiner
Vertical Blu-ray
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