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48 out of 55 people found the following comment useful :-
Did someone leave a cigarette burning?, 2 February 2004

Author: Joseph Riesenbeck (eazyguy62) from United States

Having struck box office gold two years earlier with The Poseidon Adventure, Irwin Allen aided by the combined financing of Fox and Warner Bros., decided to do himself one better with The Towering Inferno. No expense was spared, as evidenced by Allen securing the services of two of the top box office draws available in Paul Newman and Steve McQueen. Next, he hedged his bet with a supporting cast that ran the gamut from William Holden, Fred Astaire and Faye Dunaway to soap actress Susan Flannery and football star O.J. Simpson. Add a lot of fire, a lot of smoke, a lot of flaming and charred humans and you have the makings of a box office bonanza. It's amazing that the budget was held down to a mere $14 million dollars even in 1974 dollars. Did it work? The film grossed $116 million dollars which was quite a princely sum in those days so the answer to that as far as Allen, Fox, and Warner Bros. is concerned would be yes.

Newman plays architect Doug Roberts who has been away in the jungle somewhere but is returning home just in time for the grand opening of the tallest building ever to grace California that he just happened to have designed. Doug is also returning home to his mistress played by Faye Dunaway to persuade her to join him on his next project. The head of the company building the tower is James Duncan(William Holden) whom has left a lot of the details of the construction of the tower to his no good son-in-law, Roger Simmons(Richard Chamberlain). That turns out to be bad news for everyone unfortunate to find themselves in The Tower. After some of the wiring in the building begins to have a major meltdown, Doug investigates to find that Roger has cut so many corners it could lead to a major catastrophe. Was there any doubt?

Despite the abundance of headlining actors in Towering Inferno, the true star of the film is the disaster itself, just as it is in any of these concoctions. Allen directed the action sequences with John Guillerman handling the rest of the chores. Allen does himself proud. Although we know of course that The Tower is not truly as tall as the filmmakers would have us believe, it's not obvious enough to detract from the film. It doesn't matter though, as most of the action takes place inside the building or near the suite at the top where most of our stars end up trapped. Of course this being a disaster film, we do get the privilege of watching flaming bodies fall over a hundred stories, be it it outside or down an elevator shaft.

Allen also does well at piling on the suspense and keeps you on edge for long moments, with such things as a long climb up a flaming stare well and a long decent down a scenic elevator that will have you wringing your hands. The fire sequences are all well staged as you can almost feel the flames leaping through the screen and smell the smoke circling around the room.

The problem with most disaster films is that with the good, there is generally some bad and Inferno is no exception. Some of the dialog in this film is truly horrendous.

Example:

Duncan: How bad is it? Halloran: It's a fire. All fires are bad

James Duncan: Give me the architect that designed you, and who needs Doug Roberts? Susan: I do.

In one truly silly moment, after Dan Bigelow(Robert Wagner) and his secretary Lorrie (Susan Flannery)have just finished love making, the fire has engulfed the room next to theirs. Lorrie, being the ever observant secretary and mistress sniffs and delivers this line: "Did someone leave a cigarette burning?"

The best of the actors is easily Steve McQueen. As Chief Michael O'Hallorhan who is called to put the fire out, he seems to relish has role as a fire department head. Paul Newman on the other hand is a mixed bag. When he's playing his scenes with McQueen, Holden, Dunaway, or Chamberlain, he's OK. In other scenes, especially when the fire initially breaks out, he appears stiff and uncomfortable. Fred Astaire is on hand as the whimsical con artist Harlee Claiborne out to bilk Lisolette Mueller (Jennifer Jones)with some phony stocks. Jones is one of the best things going in this movie, turning out to be quite the heroine. Dunaway as Robert's girlfriend Susan is dry enough that we wish they could have brought Joanne Woodward in to give the relationship some real spark (no pun intended). Wagner as Dan Bigelow is a charmer but we just can't buy into his relationship with Lorrie (Susan Flannery). Susan Blakely as Patty Simmons, Holden's spoiled daughter and the wife of Roger (Richard Chamberlain)has nothing much to do except chastise her husband for causing Daddy a big headache. Chamberlain, on the other hand, seems to like playing the role of the villain and he does it well. You'll have no trouble believing just how big of a jerk Roger is. Last , is O.J. Simpson as the security guard who seems to be smarter than everybody else. The role requires little and in his big screen debut, Simpson gives it just that.

No matter. The Towering Inferno will still entertain you. At 165 minutes, you'll only be looking at your watch in the first half hour or so as you wait for that one tiny spark to ignite a night of suspense. Irwin Allen put quite a spectacle on the screen, but unfortunately never again duplicated it and with each subsequent film his product went from bad to being truly mediocre. Considering how much I really liked this film, it's a shame. Now, please put out that cigarette.

My Grade: B

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29 out of 36 people found the following comment useful :-
The Towering Inferno, 15 June 2005

Author: amandalouden96 from United Kingdom

What a movie! it has an all star cast including Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, William Holden and many more.

The basis for this movie is the opening of the worlds tallest building, but things aren't as perfect as they seem as architect Paul Newman discovers inadequate electrical wiring in the building which could result in dangerous concequences. He then reports this to the buildings owner James Duncan but he doesn't think that it is a problem and still decides to go on with the opening ceremony which puts 300 peoples lives in the balance while trapped on the top of the 138 storey skyscraper when the building goes on fire due to the poor wiring, this results in unpredictable explosions and fires breaking out everywhere in the building. It is now up to fireman Steve McQueen his crew and the aide of the Navy to rescue the 300 people on top of the building and put out the fire.

By far the best disaster movie ever made with a terrific all star cast. Not to be missed!

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28 out of 37 people found the following comment useful :-
The Best Of The Disaster Flicks?, 3 April 2006

Author: ccthemovieman-1 from Lockport, NY, United States

"Disaster Movies" were a big hit in this era, with airplane crashes, earthquakes, fires, etc. This one made huge fires and firemen fashionable for awhile. It certainly had people talking, and it may have been the best of those "disaster" flicks.

The movie certainly had an all-star cast: Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Fred Astaire, Susan Blakely, Richard Chamberlain, Robert Vaughn, Robert Wagner and (gulp) O.J. Simpson. Even Jennifer Jones came out of a long retirement to return to films. It was really nice to see her again.

What really surprised me about this film when I watched it earlier this year was that the special effects were still good, and the film is almost 40 years old. It was also good to see Steve McQueen being the good guy again. He was the best character in the film. The worst was William Holden, who turned out to play a lot profane-spewing nasty people as soon as the Hays' code was totally abolished in 1967. Same thing for Paul Newman. McQueen, meanwhile, kept his class as did Jones, of course, and Astaire.

The film is almost three hours long but, a few soap opera scenes aside, it's a solid adventure story that holds up well and it served a good purpose, making hotel owners more aware of potential fire hazards.

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22 out of 28 people found the following comment useful :-
Still impressive, 27 December 2003

Author: david.clarke from london

When I was an impressionable teenager in 1975 I saw Towering Inferno 4 times at the cinema, Still a record for me, and despite the years and jaded view of middle age, this is still a thrilling film, mainly because the effects are so realistic, no CGI then, and the characters are so presented well (if a bit archly at times). I still cannot decide if the ending would actually put the fire out, but who cares, that countdown still gets to me. I forgot how good Paul Newman was in his role, and I can never forget Fred Astaire, such a smooth performance. Great cinema, daft in parts, but the best films always are.

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22 out of 29 people found the following comment useful :-
McQueen and Newman create sparks, 13 December 2003
Author: Brian W. Fairbanks (brianwfairbanks@yahoo.com) from Cleveland, Ohio

Your typical dumb disaster flick, produced by the king of the genre, Irwin Allen, made notable by the presence of Steve McQueen and Paul Newman who finally agreed to share the screen as equals, something they almost did in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." The ever competitive McQueen made his film debut with a bit part in "Somebody Up There Likes Me" in which Newman starred, and one of his ambitions was to finally get top billing over his number one rival. Even with the so-called "diagonal billing" employed in the film and its advertising (with Newman's name elevated slightly above McQueen's), those of us who read from left to right can see that McQueen got his wish. He also got the best role. He's the firefighter, a tight jawed man of action, while Newman is saddled with the less sympathetic role of the architect. But the real star is the burning building. It burns, and impressively at that, but there's something very claustrophobic about this situation which results in less action than Allen's previous smash, "The Posiedon Adventure."

But the acting is better. In addition to McQueen and Newman, the cast includes Richard Chamberlain (particularly good), William Holden, Faye Dunaway, and Fred Astaire. That's an improvement over Carol Lynley and Eric Shea, both of whom Gene Hackman had the misfortune of emoting with two years earlier. Whatever one thinks of this particular genre, "The Towering Inferno" is probably the best of the bunch.

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21 out of 29 people found the following comment useful :-
One of my all-time favorites, 9 July 2005

Author: littlepolitico from Wooster,OH

I've seen a lot of great films during my life, Citizen Kane, Casablanca, Rope and Batman Begins are a few examples. However, somehow, The Towering Inferno holds its place near the top of my list of great films, and is at the top of my list of favorite films.

While Irwin Allen's films often have many flaws, they're always entertaining. You won't feel cheated by an Irwin Allen film. This holds true especially for The Towering Inferno. There is something for almost everyone in this film, drama, romance, disaster, and good vs. evil are all present in this epic film.

The plot of the film is pretty well known to anyone who has at least heard of the film. During opening night ceremonies at the Glass Tower, the 138 story skyscraper located in the heart of San Francisco catches fire. What starts as a small electrical fire soon turns into "a night of blazing suspense", with fires breaking out all over the building.

The hard work put into this film is obvious. While the script is rather melodramatic at times, this does not take away from the feeling of peril in the film. The cast may be the best cast ever assembled in Hollywood history. The special effects, for the most part, stand the test of time.

Don't ask me why this film has gotten such a bad rep over the years. The film was nominated for best picture, and won Oscars for best cinematography, best special effects, and best song. The film grossed over 116 million dollars, and with adjusted totals, that is still more than films such as The Passion of the Christ, and Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.

I recommend that this film be seen. It is well worth renting, or if you can find it, buying.

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12 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :-
The Titanic Of The Skyscrapers, 21 January 2007

Author: bkoganbing from Buffalo, New York

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Although some like to compare The Towering Inferno to The Poseidon Adventure because Irwin Allen that master of disaster brought us both, in point of fact The Towering Inferno is more like a landlocked Titanic than anything else.

It has to be remembered that the Titanic was on its maiden voyage and was ballyhooed as an unsinkable ship when the tragedy occurred. The building that William Holden built, that Paul Newman designed was also on its maiden voyage so to speak. The 135 story building in San Francisco was being dedicated and there was going to be a big blowout on the top floor with all kinds of VIPS in attendance. Little does Holden suspect that his son-in-law Richard Chamberlain cut quite a few safety corners in the electrical wiring. When the whole tower gets lighted up, a fire breaks out in one of the circuit junction boxes and the party gets cut short.

Paul Newman and Steve McQueen as the fire battalion chief head an impressive cast list of name players put in harm's way by Chamberlain's avarice. Fred Astaire got an Academy Award nomination for playing an elderly conman who tricks his way into the VIP gathering to fleece wealthy widow Jennifer Jones. This was Jones's farewell performance on screen, she retired right after that to become just the kind of wealthy society matron she plays here.

The film got an award for Best Cinematography deservedly so, the shots are quite vivid and also the best song of 1974. During the party scene, Maureen McGovern who had introduced the popular There's Got To Be A Morning After in Irwin Allen's The Poseidon Adventure sings We May Never Get To Love Like This Again. It won for best song, but certainly didn't have the lasting popularity of the other.

The most vivid moment of the film for me besides the climax is the illfated rendezvous of Robert Wagner and Susan Flannery. They agree for a boss secretary rendezvous in his apartment there and Wagner turns off the phone so word cannot reach them of the fire. The death scenes of both will tear you up.

According to the Films of Steve McQueen the reason for the joint production by Warner Brothers and 20th Century Fox is that when two studios put out two Harlow films, both cut each other up at the box office and no one made out. Warner Brothers purchased The Tower and Fox bought the Glass Inferno screen rights. Rather than have competing disaster films, they made an historic interstudio agreement to have a joint production.

I think it worked out well all around.

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16 out of 22 people found the following comment useful :-
Fire cracker, 19 April 2004

Author: Merwyn Grote (majikstl@aol.com) from St. Louis, Missouri

The all-star blockbuster THE TOWERING INFERNO proves that you can make a bad film that still manages to be a great movie. Contrary to conventional wisdom, special effects and elaborate stunt work can actually be the star of a movie and provide ample compensation for poor writing, clumsy direction and really amateurish acting.

THE TOWERING INFERNO is, of course, a disaster movie, the methodical destruction of a high-rise skyscraper, along with many of its tenants. It came on the heels of THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE and quite honestly is no match for that film's delicious mix of sappy sentimentality and hammy heroics. But, while its dramatic quality is only marginally superior to hack films like AIRPORT '75 and the atrocious EARTHQUAKE, INFERNO provides a masterful blend of audience manipulation and technical craftsmanship. As Paul Newman pointed out to the press, neither he nor his perpetual professional rival Steve McQueen are the star of the film: the fire is the star. And as appropriate to any star, the fire, in all of its glorious mayhem, is lovingly filmed and given a wide berth to overact with style.

The rest of the cast should be so lucky. The remarkable, once-in-a-lifetime cast (Newman, McQueen, Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Fred Astaire, etc.) behave like troopers, even though they are primarily reduced to being little more than high priced props. Most of the scenes involving actual human interaction seem rushed and the inept line readings of the inane dialogue suggest that no one bothered with retakes, let alone rehearsals. But such moments are little more than filler, marking time between some of the most remarkable actions sequences ever filmed. The helicopter rescue of the derailed scenic elevator is heartstoppingly thrilling, even as you realize that it is absolutely physically impossible. And it is overshadowed by the explosive final showdown with the villainous fire. Hollywood has cinematically destroyed greater amounts of real estate, but seldom with such style.

As art, THE TOWERING INFERNO is a fizzle, but as a cheap carnival thrill show it's pretty hot stuff.

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13 out of 19 people found the following comment useful :-
Hot Potato., 25 August 2003
Author: tfrizzell from United States

"Grand Hotel"-styled disaster epic that, along with the original "Airport" and "The Poseidon Adventure", became a monstrous money-maker which dominated not only economically, but also critically. "The Towering Inferno" is an intense affair as a high-rise skyscraper in San Francisco seems to be a state-of-the-art marvel, but sometimes things are not as perfect as they seem. There are still flaws in the building and naturally a small spark in a utility room will lead to an overwhelming night of terror and heroism. A who's who cast in Hollywood at the time makes up the mind-blowing list of performers. Paul Newman, Robert Vaughn, William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Steve McQueen, Susan Blakely, Richard Chamberlain, Robert Wagner and Jennifer Jones all make lasting impressions. However it is Fred Astaire (in an Oscar-nominated role of a lifetime) and then-Buffalo Bill superstar O.J. Simpson (showing the style, grace and power that he showed on the playing field here in his debut screen performance) that stand out and create a higher dimension to an honestly corn-filled story. A terribly difficult production to pull off due to the very large scope involved. The technical effects compete well with the all-world performers to make a stunningly impressive movie. Near the top of the usually ho-hum genre of the period. 4 stars out of 5.

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6 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Classic star-studded disaster film...., 20 July 2003
Author: templer_doom (templer_doom@yahoo.co.uk)

With the likes of INDEPENDENCE DAY and DIE HARD, which were both influenced by THE TOWERING INFERNO, a new awareness of the potential of the disaster film emerged, culminating in the likes of DEEP IMPACT, ARMAGEDDON and the more recent THE CORE.

The definition of 'all-star cast' and 'star-studded' has changed substantially in the last few years and in fact, the true star of THE TOWERING INFERNO wasn't any actor or star, but the late Irwin Allen, whose career in this type of film ended with the poorly-received WHEN TIME RAN OUT.

The film, which was adapted from two source novels, THE GLASS INFERNO and THE TOWER (both of which were bought by rival studios Fox and Warner to compete at the box-office - and then decided at the last minute to pool their resources into creating a single script) is impressive in scope and design.

For the uninitiated, one of the books deals with a disgrunted ex-employee who decides to cause an accident which starts a fire and in some ways that would have made a more intriguing storyline, but the plot of the actual film which involves cost-cutting to electrical circuits which causes the fire int the first place works as it is.

At a running time of 158 minutes some may think the film too long. In this day and age there would have possibly been test screenings and some cutting of the film, but since the success of TITANIC at the box-office longer films have become the norm. Indeed, the more recent HARRY POTTER and LORD OF THE RINGS movies are in this bracket (although the upcoming KILL BILL story that the three-hour film will be split in two may pave the way for shorter lengths!!) Mind you, THE GREAT ESCAPE is of similar length and that film moves at a cracking pace.

Steve McQueen is on screen less than some of the other stars in the film, but his performance is the best and complements others on show.

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