Fails the Bechdel test

Backdraft

Name: Backdraft
Released: 1991

1991. Directed by Ron Howard, written by Gregory Widen.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

1 / 3

Fails

Yes 1. At least two women
5 women characters. 3 of them speak.
No 2. Who talk to each other
Our parser found no scene where two women talk to each other.
No 3. About something besides a man
Not reached: the film fails an earlier rule.

Second opinion

Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 1 out of 3.

The film

A rookie firefighter tries to earn the respect of his older brother and other firefighters while taking part in an investigation of a string of arson/murders. This detailed look into the duties and private lives of firemen naturally features widespread pyrotechnics and special effects.

Released: 24 May 1991
Genres: Action, Drama, Mystery
Rated: R
IMDb: 6.7 / 10
Metascore: 39 / 100
Awards: Nominated for 3 Oscars. 1 win & 13 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

Women
Men
Not in the cast list
Bigger name, more lines

Brian 268 lines, man
Stephen 205 lines, man
Shadow 114 lines
Jennifer 73 lines, woman
Axe 41 lines, man
Helen 33 lines, woman
Ronald 33 lines, man
Swayzak 28 lines, man
Grindle 25 lines, man
Tim 21 lines, man

Full cast, 35 people

Kurt Russell as Stephen McCaffrey
William Baldwin as Brian McCaffrey
Robert De Niro as Donald Rimgale
Donald Sutherland as Ronald Bartel
Jennifer Jason Leigh as Jennifer Vaitkus
Scott Glenn as John 'Axe' Adcox
Rebecca De Mornay as Helen McCaffrey
Jason Gedrick as Tim Kirzminski
J.T. Walsh as Alderman Marty Swayzak
Anthony Mockus Sr. as Chief John Fitzgerald
Cedric Young as Grindle
Juan Ramírez as Ray Santos
Kevin Casey as Nightingale
Jack McGee as Schmidt
Mark Wheeler as Pengelly
Richard Lexsee as Washington
Beep Iams as Sean McCaffrey
Ryan Todd as Brian, Age 7
John Duda as Stephen - Age 12
Robert Swan as Willy - Bartender
Clint Howard as Ricco, Pathologist
Ron West as Alan Seagrave
Kevin Crowley as Candidate
Carlos Sanz as Candidate
Jane Jenkins as Woman Psychiatrist
David Crosby as '70s Hippie
W. Earl Brown as Paramedic
James Ritz as Mannequin Fire Reporter
Irma P. Hall as Nurse
Nydia Rodriguez Terracina as Nurse
Dennis Liddiard as Party Brawler
David Luckenbach as Security Officer
Gregory Lundsgaard as High-Rise Fireman
Dan Tullis Jr. as Engine 17 Firefighter
Peter C. Hobert as Probie

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 5 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 14% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 197

Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.

Show the numbers

Scenes	Women's lines	Men's lines
1 to 5	0	22
6 to 10	0	3
11 to 15	0	13
16 to 20	0	22
21 to 25	9	23
26 to 30	9	15
31 to 35	0	31
36 to 40	0	2
41 to 45	0	23
46 to 50	1	36
51 to 55	3	26
56 to 60	0	16
61 to 65	15	65
66 to 70	0	8
71 to 75	4	15
76 to 80	0	17
81 to 85	2	13
86 to 90	2	6
91 to 95	1	24
96 to 100	16	44
101 to 105	4	31
106 to 110	14	18
111 to 115	2	7
116 to 120	2	11
121 to 125	0	8
126 to 130	8	21
131 to 135	6	11
136 to 140	0	13
141 to 145	7	7
146 to 150	10	16
151 to 155	0	0
156 to 160	0	57
161 to 165	0	18
166 to 170	0	21
171 to 175	0	2
176 to 180	0	11
181 to 185	0	16
186 to 190	0	5
191 to 195	3	3
196 to 197	0	1

The evidence

Straight from the script
Counted from the script and the credits

Tap an exhibit to open it.

Exhibit A: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 14 are women's.

118 lines from women, 701 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

5 women and 26 men in the cast. 3 women and 19 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 67 of 953. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 156 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 14% of the words (1,234), men 86% (7,303).

Exhibit D: the test the other way

Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.

Conversations between two named characters

Two women

Two men

Exhibit E: behind the camera

3 of the 13 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 26% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Ron Howard (man)
Written by: Gregory Widen (man)
Produced by: Richard Barton Lewis (man), Pen Densham (man), John Watson (man)
Shot by: Mikael Salomon (man)
Edited by: Mike Hill (man), Daniel P. Hanley (man)
Music by: Hans Zimmer (man)
Production design by: Albert Brenner (man)
Costumes by: Jodie Lynn Tillen (woman)
Cast by: Jane Jenkins (woman), Janet Hirshenson (woman)