The Towering Inferno

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.

A fabulous new building has been erected, partly offices, partly for accomodation, but on the night that people celebrate its grand opening, a huge fire breaks out, a fire that the developers claimed was impossible.

I am informed that this film was big news when it was first released, a time where disaster movies were very much the order of the day.

I only recently watched The Poseidon Adventure, and this put me in mind of that, it has a very similar feel, that sense of being trapped and isolated, it definitely has a real sense of claustrophobia.

I'm not sure as to some of its accuracy, and don't even get me started on the health and safety faux pas, but it's an enjoyable epic, it's fast paced, dramatic, and remains very watchable.

The special effects remain impressive, the scale of it, I shudder to think how much this cost to make, so impressive. Special effects and explosions galore, they hold up well.

The true cost of putting up a building on the cheap will eventually cause problems, here in The UK we currently have problems with schools, built in the 80's and 90's with RAAC, used because it was cheap.

Check out the incredible cast, you have Fred Astaire, Steve McQueen and Paul Newman, all of whom were used to playing the leading man, the acting is rather good.

7/10.

Incredibly, 'The Towering Inferno' holds so well by today's standards that it is still one of the best disaster movies of its kind ever made. I can only imagine what it must have been like seeing this in a theatre almost four decades ago.

The attention to detail is fantastic, and I enjoyed everything from the character set-up to the way the disaster unfolded. The very scale of this ambitious film is mindboggling. Paul Newman and Steve McQueen are excellent in their respective roles, both making credible and likable heroes.

'The Towering Inferno' is a very detailed account of a skyscraper fire disaster. This is realistic and believable and the visual effects are incredible considering it was made way back in 1974. No CGI. Just practical effects, and real danger! This was a fascinating thrill ride! I love it!

A San Francisco sky scraper catches fire and the emergency services battle to save the civilians trapped inside.

The Towering Inferno is a spectacle that holds up well against the technology of modern day movies. When you consider what it achieves without the use of computer generated imagery I think it should be considered one of the best of its genre.

Some of the set-pieces truly are amazing, particularly when you see actors and stunt performers doing such ridiculous things for the sake of the perfect shot.

I imagine must have seemed quite fantastical at the time of its release, but considering it within the context of events that have occurred during this century such as the 9-11, Grenfell and Beirut, it is pretty frightening in it's plausibility.

The film shows total respect to the emergency services who deal with these type of situations, particularly the fire brigade who's courage and calmness under pressure are epitomised by Steve McQueen's character. I love the scene where he walks into the party, takes charge of the situation by quietly telling the owner of the building what to do.

The plot and characters (aside from McQueen and Paul Newman) are the aspects of the movie that could have been better. I did feel it's run-time of 165 minutes. It's quite slow to get going and at times loses focus on the most compelling parts of the film. Some of the characters and moments feel like they have been lifted from The Poseidon Adventure.

Overall though it is a must see disaster movie and one that will definitely help appreciate the importance of fire safety in the design and construction of buildings.

I watched it recently with my four and a half year old daughter who was gripped by the action when it finished she told me she wants to be a fire-fighter when she grows up.

The Towering Inferno is the best execution of the disaster formula of the 70s. Get an all-star cast and put them into a B-movie disaster scenario. In this case it's a massive fire in a recently constructed skyscraper. The developer (William Holden) cut corners which allowed the fire to start. His son in law (Richard Chamberlain) was an electrical subcontractor for the building. Paul Newman is the architect that designed the building, Steve McQueen is the fire chief who arrives at the scene, yada yada. The back story isn't really that interesting. The main attraction is the disaster, and although it's a bit of a slow burn in the beginning, things soon heat up (ok no more fire puns). The set pieces and action sequences, all made with very good practical effects, still hold up today. Nothing feels cheap about it. And the cast is good enough to keep the movie going along unlike The Poseidon Adventure where stars Gene Hackman and Ernest Borgnine play guys who just yell all the time. Paul Newman and Steve McQueen are, in a word, cool. They aren't just A-list actors, they're stars. None of the disaster movies had the star power this movie has. The supporting cast of William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Fred Astaire, etc. is also impressive. Richard Chamberlain in particular is great, it's impossible to like him at all. And that's where The Towering Inferno succeeds. It's the most engaging, least hammy of all the disaster films in the 70s, and it is worth the watch.