Ladder 49 (2004)

Director:

Jay Russell

Writer (WGA):

Lewis Colick (written by)

Release Date:

1 October 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

A bond forged by fire is never broken.

Plot:

Under the watchful eye of his mentor Captain Mike Kennedy, probationary firefighter Jack Morrison matures...

Plot Keywords:

Firefighter | Fire | Irish Catholic | Catholic Church | Warrior

Awards:

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

Also Known As:

Brigada 49 (Argentina) (Chile) (Spain) [es]
Im Feuer (Austria) (Germany) [de]
Échelle 49 (Canada: French title) [fr]
Asema 49 (Finland) [fi]
Brigada 49 (Brazil) [pt]
Brigada 49 (Ladder 49) (Spain) [es]
Einheit 49 (Austria) (promotional title) [de]
Ekip 49 (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Okrsek 49 (Czech Republic) [cs]
Piège de feu (France) [fr]
Posádka 49 (Slovakia) [sk]
Pyrosvestikos stathmos 49 (Greece) [el]
Squadra 49 (Italy) [it]

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

India:UA | Iceland:10 | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Malaysia:U | USA:PG-13 (certificate #40479) | South Korea:12 | Sweden:7 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Canada:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Ireland:12 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Switzerland:12 (canton of Zurich) | UK:12A

Filming Locations:

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Company:

Touchstone Pictures

Trivia:

The scene in which John Travolta talks to Joaquin Phoenix while drinking liquor was improvised by Travolta. The scene originally had Mike Kennedy talking straight to Jack Morrison, but Travolta thought it would be funny to start drinking right in the middle of it.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the bar scene on Jack and Linda's first date, the position of the lime slice and strawberry on Linda's glass changes on both the first and second drink several times throughout the scene.

Quotes:

Lenny Richter: Why does it always have to be the 12th floor? Why cant they be on the 4th?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Ashton Kutcher/Gwen Stefani (#30.15)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

Cannonball

Get Up that Ladder to See this Wonderful Film.

Remember the classic Oscar-winning film, "How Green Was My Valley?" What made that film so great was the deep connections of a Welsh mining family and the people around them.

I felt that same deep connection when I saw Ladder 49. Here we see firemen interacting not only on the job but in their personal lives as well. We share their joys and their heartbreaks.

John Travolta shines in a supporting role as the commander of the firemen. Joaquin Phoenix is very appealing as firemen Jack Morrison, whose story is the picture.

While trapped in a burning building, flashbacks are well used to show his life from the time of his joining the fire department, his meeting with his future wife, his marriage and his heroic deeds.

The stalwart ending of the perseverance of firemen, in the face of tragedy, makes this a heartily recommended film.