Infierno en la torre

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!

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.

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.

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.

A newly built state of the art high-rise is hosting a big society gathering when a fire starts up on the 81st floor...

Warner Brothers & 20th Century Fox were both keen to cash in on the success of 1972s The Poseidon Adventure, Warner's buying the rights to The Tower, and Fox buying the rights to The Glass Inferno, both novels about burning skyscrapers and seemingly ripe for a big screen adaptation. Enter producer Irwin Allen who smartly suggested that both studios should come together and produce one blockbusting genre defining film. Splitting the cost down the middle, The Towering Inferno was born and went on to make over $100 million across the globe, a very impressive take for its time, and certainly a shot in the arm for disaster genre enthusiasts.

The Towering Inferno is far from flawless, it contains some cheese sodden dialogue, and the film's running time doesn't quite do the film any favours. However, the film's strengths far outweigh the handful of negatives that are often used to beat it up with. The sets are fabulous (Academy Award Nominated) and all to perish in the fire, the cinematography from Fred J Koenekamp (Academy Award Winner) is lush and puts the fire in the eyes, while the score from John Williams (Academy Award Nominated) is suitably poignant and edgy. What about the action sequences? The set pieces? With many of the illustrious cast doing their own stunts! All impacting sharp on the ears thanks to the brilliant sound from Soderberg & Lewis (Academy Award Nominated), with the cast itself a reminder of a wonderful time when only the big names were considered for the big projects, McQueen, Newman, Holden, Astaire (Academy Award Nominated) & Dunaway rolling off the tongue like a who's who of entertainment heavyweights.

Some say that The Towering Inferno finally killed off the ailing disaster genre, no it didn't, it crowned it, and all the others that followed were merely trailing in its wake. The Towering Inferno is a spectacular production that positively booms with high entertainment values, no expense is spared in the pursuit of entertaining the masses, it's thoughtful in texture and it teaches as it plays and it remains to me a wonderful archaic gem. 9/10