Backdraft was the first film credited with using photorealistic computer-generated fire. Released in 1991 and directed by Ron Howard, the film follows Chicago firefighters and fire investigators confronting a series of deliberately set blazes.
Industrial Light & Magic created the pioneering digital fire effects. The computer-generated flames were integrated with extensive practical fire footage, allowing filmmakers to enhance dangerous or difficult shots while preserving the visual movement and glow of real flames.
The achievement was important because fire is unusually difficult to simulate convincingly. It changes shape constantly, emits light, produces smoke and interacts with surrounding objects. Earlier films had used optical tricks, animation or compositing, but Backdraft helped establish realistic CGI fire in live-action cinema.
A common misconception is that all of the film’s fires were computer-generated. Most of its celebrated fire sequences relied heavily on practical effects, with digital imagery used selectively. Later films, including Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Jurassic Park, expanded the possibilities of computer-generated effects in other areas.