El coloso en llamas

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.

"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.

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.

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!

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.