Details

Release year: 2004

Storyline

A firefighter, injured and trapped in a burning building, has flashbacks of his life as he drifts in and out of consciousness. Meanwhile, fellow firefighters led by the Chief attempt to rescue him.

Top credits

Directors

Jay Russell

Writers

Lewis Colick

Cast

Joaquin Phoenix — Jack Morrison
John Travolta — Captain Mike Kennedy
Jacinda Barrett — Linda Morrison
Robert Patrick — Lenny Richter

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Did you know

• As part of a preparation for the movie, Joaquin Phoenix trained for a month at a fire academy and spent another month with the men of Baltimore's Truck 10. He became an "honorary member" and had the same tattoo as the men of the company, a bumble bee wearing a fire helmet with an axe.

• More than 2,000 real-life firefighters showed up at casting in Baltimore, some from as far away as North Carolina. For the filming of the two funeral scenes, more than 800 real-life firefighters and fire trucks from up and down the East Coast, from as far as Massachusetts, made the trek to participate. The website www.firehouse.com coordinated the participation of the firefighters and fire vehicles for those scenes.

• The firefighters Joaquin Phoenix trained with nicknamed him "Hollywood". Only after Phoenix earned their respect, they started calling him by his actual name.

Box Office

Gross (Domestic): $74,541,707

Opening Weekend (Domestic): $22,088,204 (2004-10-03)

User reviews

⭐ 7/10

Better than average drama that shows firefighters as real people

👍 123 · 10/11/2004

⭐ 7/10

The life of a fireman - the sheer bravery is in the simple straightforward delivery of the movie, almost a documentary without talking heads - a family movie alright

👍 68 · 10/10/2004

⭐ 5/10

Words from a dutch firefighter....

👍 98 · 12/20/2004