Ladder 49 (2004)

Under the watchful eye of his mentor Captain Mike Kennedy, probationary firefighter Jack Morrison matures into a seasoned veteran at a Baltimore fire station. Jack has reached a crossroads,... See full summary »

Director:

Jay Russell

Writer:

Lewis Colick

Stars:

Joaquin Phoenix, John Travolta, Jacinda Barrett

1 win & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joaquin Phoenix	...	Jack Morrison
John Travolta	...	Captain Mike Kennedy
Jacinda Barrett	...	Linda Morrison
Robert Patrick	...	Lenny Richter
Morris Chestnut	...	Tommy Drake
Billy Burke	...	Dennis Gauquin
Balthazar Getty	...	Ray Gauquin
Tim Guinee	...	Tony Corrigan
Kevin Chapman	...	Frank Mckinny
Jay Hernandez	...	Keith Perez
Kevin Daniels	...	Don Miller
Steve Maye	...	Pete Lamb
Robert Lewis	...	Ed Reilly (as Robert Logan Lewis)
Brooke Hamlin	...	Katie Morrison
Spencer Berglund	...	Nicky Morrison

Storyline

Under the watchful eye of his mentor Captain Mike Kennedy, probationary firefighter Jack Morrison matures into a seasoned veteran at a Baltimore fire station. Jack has reached a crossroads, however, as the sacrifices he's made have put him in harm's way innumerable times and significantly impacted his relationship with his wife and kids. Responding to the worst blaze in his career, he becomes trapped inside a 20-story building. And as he reflects on his life, now Assistant Chief Kennedy frantically coordinates the effort to save him.

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Plot Keywords:

trapped | firefighter | fire | friendship | crib | 

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Taglines:

Everything they know. All that they love. Is what they risk every day.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for intense fire and rescue situations, and for language

Details

Official Sites:

TFM [fr]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 October 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Brigada 49

Filming Locations:

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$55,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$119,211 (South Africa) (11 February 2005)

Gross:

$74,540,762 (USA) (18 February 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures, Beacon Pictures, Casey Silver Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

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.

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Goofs

When Chief Kennedy is talking to trapped Jack Morrison on the radio from outside the building, when showing Jack trapped in the burning building, the type of radio Chief Kennedy is using changes multiple times. Sometime Kennedy is talking on a portable radio with no mic attached to it, and sometimes he is talking on a portable radio with a speaker mic attached to it, and is holding the mic in his hand. However it is common for the BCFD to run on both a TAC channel and the communications channel therefore causing a chief to have 2 radios.

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Quotes

Chief Kennedy: People are always asking me how is it that firefighters run into a burning building when everyone else is running out. Courage is the answer.

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Connections

References Lethal Weapon (1987)

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Soundtracks

"Shine Your Light"
Written by Robbie Robertson
Mixed by Chris Lord-Alge
Produced by John Shanks and Robbie Robertson
Performed by Robbie Robertson

User Reviews

Fire & rescue scenes are spectacular

Ladder 49 introduces us to the life of Jack Morrison (Joaquin Phoenix), a firefighter for the Baltimore City fire department. Jack is assigned to Fire Station 33 as a pipe-man for Ladder 49. (Note: The pipe-man holds the water hose nozzle and sprays water onto the fire.) As a new probationary firefighter, Jack is assigned all the little jobs at the firehouse. Station 33 Captain Mike Kennedy (John Travolta), and the other veteran firefighters love to play jokes on the new rookies, including Jack. Captain Kennedy takes Jack under his wing to make him the best firefighter in the city. Time passes, and Jack is now a seasoned veteran on the rescue team. Ladder 49 has been called on a four-alarm fire to a burning 20-story building. Chief Mike Kennedy, his former Captain, is in command of the fire. Jack and the rescue team brave the fire to rescue anyone trapped inside. They save several people, and Jack continues to search for others. Jack finds a man and lowers him to safety, just before the floor collapses around him. Jack falls through the building into the middle of the inferno, and is rendered unconscious. When he awakens, Jack is able to radio to his men that he is alive. Now Jack is the one who needs to be rescued. Chief Kennedy coordinates the effort to save Jack. Awaiting rescue, Jack begins to relive his life with his wife and kids, and his career through flashbacks. If you like firefighter movies, you will like this one, because some of the rescue scenes are spectacular. The fire scenes capture the real dangers and unpredictability of a fire. One line in the movie states it all, 'Everyone is running out of a burning building and only the firefighters are running into the fire.' The movie shows how brave our firefighters are and why we should honor them. (Touchstone Pictures, Run time 1:55, Rated PG-13)(8/10)