The Towering Inferno

When the duo got to 1974, and a split screen revealed the five Best Picture nominees for that year, Ebert expressed some amusement at "The Towering Inferno's" nomination, when compared with the others ("Chinatown," "The Conversation," "Lenny" and the winner, "The Godfather Part II."). But while it was not the best film in a truly great year for the medium, "Inferno" did deserve to be considered one of the best.

This is polished, professional filmmaking. It was not intended to be a scathing expose of construction politics, or an actor's showcase. "The Towering Inferno" never tries to be anything more than an action spectacular, pure and simple, and on that level, it has few equals.

The film has been criticized for being almost gleeful in its depiction of various deaths, but I'm not sure what those critics would have had directors John Guillermin and Irwin Allen do. The story is about a giant skyscraper on fire, which means that the primary dangers involved are burning, falling, smoke inhalation and being buried under tons of debris. All of these are horrific, and "Inferno" conveys that horror.

The movie takes on a different hue than the Irwin Allen film it's inevitably compared to, "The Poseidon Adventure," the minute Steve McQueen arrives at the scene as the San Francisco Fire Dept.'s battalion chief, O'Hallorhan. Unlike "Poseidon," in which a small band of ship passengers follows a layman toward safety, the "Inferno" disaster is going to be taken on by a competent, experienced professional, leading other professionals. McQueen conveys an authority that anchors the film.

None of the acting struck me as truly bad, even in action-oriented scenes that called for broad playing. Aside from McQueen, my favorite performances were those of Susan Flannery and Jennifer Jones. Flannery makes the most of a small but memorable part as Robert Wagner's love interest, while Jones, looking very good for a woman of 55, plays the kind, heroic love of Fred Astaire's con man character.

Fred Koenekamp's cinematography received a well-deserved Academy Award, as did L.B. Abbott's special effects. The song "We May Never Love Like This Again," sung by Maureen McGovern, also won an Oscar, though I found it to be forgettable. "The Poseidon Adventure's" similar "The Morning After" is much better (which will certainly be faint praise to some).

John Williams' Oscar-nominated score would have been a perfectly reasonable choice as the winner, though Jerry Goldsmith's evocation of film noir classics for "Chinatown" was probably the year's best. Carmine Coppola and Nino Rota wound up winning for "The Godfather Part II."

Williams is in majestic form here. The main title is appropriately busy and exciting, the love themes for the Paul Newman/Faye Dunaway and Astaire/Jones duos are poignant, and the finale is one of the masterpieces of the art. This is a justifiably a favorite score among film music buffs, and Williams' greatest triumph, in my opinion, until "Star Wars" in 1977.

"The Towering Inferno" is a must for action film fans, and the finest representation of the "disaster film" genre.


The Glass Tower - tallest building in the world... on fire.   April 17, 2004
Kim Anehall (Chicago, IL USA)
After a long vacation, away from the hectic city life, Doug Roberts (Paul Newman) returns to San Francisco in order to participate in the opening of his newest architectural wonder, The Glass Tower - tallest building in the world. The seemingly perfect skyscraper has one big flaw as James Duncan's (William Holden) son-in-law has received kick backs to ignore Doug's requests on the top-of-the-line electrical circuitry. The installed electrical circuits cannot handle the electrical use of the Glass Tower and on the opening night a fire begins on the 81st floor, which Fire Chief Michael O'Hallorhan's (Steve McQueen) men try to get under control while the opening party is taking place on the 135th floor. Towering Inferno has an immensely talented cast (e.g., Faye Dunaway, Fred Astaire, Richard Chamberlain and many more), however, the cast cannot enhance the cinematic experience. Overall the film is hurt by the many scenes that go on ceaselessly as the director attempts to create suspense through tedious climbing and rescue scenes. This occurs through occasional lapses in realism in the film, such as the ending, prevent the audience from receiving a top notch suspenseful drama. Instead the audience is left with an epic rescue mission that seems endless, and leaves the audience with a barely acceptable cinematic experience.


THE GREATEST TOWERING DISASTER OF ALLTIMES!!!!   March 5, 2004
MUSICPOET (SOUTH WINDSOR, CT.)
THE POWERHOUSE OF IRWIN ALLEN'S DISASTER CREATIONS!!!! EXPLOSIVE TOWERING NIGHT OF TERROR, DEATH AND HELL LIKE NO OTHER DISASTER FILM COULD GENERATE, EXCEPT THE UNFORGETTABLE
EXPLOSIVE SPECTACULAR "DANTE'S PEAK!!!!"
LEAD BY AN UNFORGETTABLE ALLSTAR CAST OF GREATS PAUL NEWMAN,
STEVE MCQUEEN, WILLIAM HOLDEN, FAYE DUNAWAY, SUSAN BLAKELY,
RICHARD CHAMBERLAIN, JENNIFER JONES, FRED ASTAIRE, ROBERT WAGNER, SUSAN FLANNERY, A YOUNG MIKE LOOKINLAND (YOUNG BOBBY FROM THE TV SERIES "THE BRADY BUNCH"), YES- EVEN A YOUNGER O.J. SIMPSON. AND A SURPRIZE CAMEO GUEST STAR:
IN A SCENE WITH SUSAN FLANNERY (AS ROBERT WAGNER'S SECRETARY LAURIE) ANOTHER YOUNG SECRETARY NAMED JANET IS FEATURED. THAT YOUNG LADY IS NO OTHER THAN BELIEVE IT OR NOT, MERYL STREEP IN HER FIRST FEATURE FILM APPEARANCE. WATCH FOR HER CLOSELY IN THAT SCENE AFTER THE TOWER DEDICATION!!!!
WHAT STARTS OUT AS SUDDEN SMALL POWER FUSE BURNOUT IN A TRANSFORMER IGNITES INTO AN OUT-OF-CONTROL MAN-MADE INFERNO!!!! FROM THE PREPARATIONS TO THE DEDICATION TO THE CELEBRATION ON THE 135 FLOOR THE WORLD'S TALLEST BUILDING KNOWN AS THE "GLASS TOWER", THE TENSION GROWS AS THE TOWER BECOMES WORLD'S TALLEST STRUCTURAL INFERNO IN HISTORY!!!! TRAPPING NOT ONLY THE OVER 300 GUESTS PARTYING ON THE TOP FLOOR, BUT THE LIVES OF THE OTHER PEOPLE TRAPPED INSIDE THE BURING STRUCTURE!!!! ITS A RACE AGAINST THE ODDS, WITH TIME RUNNING OUT AS ARCHITECT NEWMAN, AND FIRE CHIEF MCQUEEN BATTLE THE ELEMENTS AND OTHER UNEXPECTED DANGERS IN A ALMOST FUTAL ATTEMPT TO SAVE ALL FROM DEATH AND DISASTER!!!!
FEATURING THE MOST POWERFUL, DRAMATIC, EMOTIONAL, AND MEMORABLE SOUNDTRACK FROM THE TRUELY FAMOUS FILM COMPOSER OF ALLTIMES, JOHN WILLIAMS (FILM: JAWS, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS, RAIDERS, E.T., HARRY POTTER; TV: GILLIGAN'S ISLAND, LOST IN SPACE)!!!!
POWERFUL!!!! DYNAMIC!!!! EXPLOSIVE!!!! SUSPENSEFUL!!!! TWISTS AND TURNS AROUND EVERY CORNER!!!! LEAVES YOU WAITING FOR MORE UNEXPECTED SURPRIZES!!!! LEAVES YOU LITERALLY ON THE EDGE-OF-YOUR-SEAT!!!! THE GREATEST DISASTER FILM OF THE 1970S, AND TRUELY AN OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM HISTORY!!!!
I LOVE THIS MOTION PICTURE!!!! EVERYTIME I SEEN IT I'M ON FIRE!!!! WITH HIGH EMOTION!!!! AND EXCITEMENT!!!!
THIS VERSION I REFER TO IS THE 20TH CENTURY FOX HOME ENTERTAINMENT VHS WIDESCREEN THX SERIES!!!!