Boasting a truly all-star cast, a remake of the film is said to be in the works.
Our TV movie pick for tonight (Thursday, 1 August) is Backdraft, the 1991 action thriller about a team of firefighters in Chicago.
Directed by Ron Howard (Apollo 13, Rush), the film in particular focuses on two firefighting brothers, Stephen (Kurt Russell) and Brian (William Baldwin), who have been rivals since childhood.
“Brian, struggling to prove himself, transfers to the arson unit. There he aids Don (Robert De Niro) in his investigation into a spate of fires involving oxygen-induced infernos called backdrafts,” the plot synopsis reads.
“But when a conspiracy implicating a crooked politician and an arsonist leads Brian back to Stephen, he is forced to overcome his brotherly competitiveness in order to crack the case.”
Also featuring amongst its cast the late and great Donald Sutherland, as well as Jennifer Jason Leigh, Rebecca De Mornay and Scott Glenn, Backdraft was praised upon release for its authentic special effects and harrowing firefighting sequences.
It even got a direct-to-DVD sequel in 2019 featuring a returning Baldwin and Sutherland and there was recently reports that Glen Powell could star in a remake of the picture.
Backdraft is airing on TV tonight on the channel Legend at 9pm. It is also available to rent on Apple TV, Google Play and the Sky Store.
Here are the other movies on TV tonight:
The Shining – BBC Four – 9pm
Director Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of Stephen King’s novel of the same name remains one of the best horrors of all time.
Conan the Barbarian – Film4 – 9pm
The action fantasy remake with Jason Momoa.
Jane Fonda in Five Acts – Sky Arts – 9pm
An acclaimed 2018 documentary about the acting icon.
Soldier Blue – Legend Xtra – 9pm
The notoriously violent 1970 revisionist Western.
Rocky V – ITV4 – 10.10pm
Widely considered the worst entry in the boxing franchise.
Terminator: Salvation – Film4 – 11.15pm
Christian Bale and Sam Worthington star in this fourth Terminator movie depicting the war between humans and machines.
The Theory of Everything – BBC Two – 11.35pm
Eddie Redmayne won a Best Actor Oscar for playing Stephen Hawking in this biopic.
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