User reviews

Current science may have just dated this film in that the comet similar to the one depicted A Fire In The Sky would cause a lot more damage than the destruction of a major American city. It is believed that one like this spread enough dust and debris to wipe out the dinosaurs.

But if you buy older theories than this film rates as one of the 70s better disaster films, better than a few that were on the big screen. Richard Crenna and Elizabeth Ashley head the cast. Crenna is the astronomer who discovers that bit of space debris heading on collision course with earth and he plots Phoenix as ground zero, Ashley is the media mogul who insists on the public's right to know. The public sadly reacts accordingly.

There are some standout performances in the supporting cast. Nicholas Coster is the poll driven governor whose first priority is how will he come out of this politically. Lloyd Bochner is a bean counting insurance executive and his usual hateful self with Marj Dusay as his wife. Andrew Duggan is the president of the USA. David Dukes is Ashley's husband and works at cross purposes with her.

My favorites are Merlin Olsen who takes his boys along with others on a survival hike without any communication. Olsen is a good and resourceful man. And Diana Douglas who is grandmother of would be rodeo cowboy Michael Biehn who hunkers down with Biehn and his girlfriend Cindy Eilbacher in their cellar to wait out the event. She's one tough old girl. By the way Eilbacher is Bochner and Dusay's daughter and Bochner is at his most hateful at a restaurant scene meeting Biehn.

Unless you don't like the science A Fire In The Sky holds up well even for today.

Before such films as METEOR, NIGHT OF THE COMET, Armageddon, or DEEP IMPACT (though after films like DELUGE or WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE), there was the 1978 made-for-TV sci-fi/disaster movie A FIRE IN THE SKY, which depicted a collision between our planet and an interstellar visitor, specifically a meteor, an asteroid, or a comet.

In the case of A FIRE IN THE SKY, it's a comet that is not only pinpointed at Earth, but at one specific target: Phoenix, Arizona. And there's only one sharp-eyed astronomer (Richard Crenna) who believes and realizes that fact, while everyone else refuses to believe, or wants to cover it up. Of course, this latter plot line is a common one among most disaster films, whether for the big screen or the small screen: a sort of post-Watergate "Enemy Of The People" situation, one far different from the situations seen in METEOR or DEEP IMPACT, where joint operations to stop these potentially cataclysmic deep-space visitors are put into effect.

At the same time, however, A FIRE IN THE SKY, for all the flaws it shares with a lot of other disaster films made for the small screen, including some ripe overacting and dialogue that is a little bit too unintentionally humorous at times (even though the screenplay is based on a story by Paul Gallico, whose 1969 novel "The Poseidon Adventure" provided the basis for the classic 1972 disaster film of the same name), is boosted by some really effective matte work and special visual effects that one would not have ordinarily found in a made-for-TV film of the late 1970s. And it may as well be said that the director, Jerry Jameson, was known for being a specialist in this genre, with films like 1974's HURRICANE and TERROR ON THE 40TH FLOOR, as well as (for the big screen) 1977's AIRPORT '77.

Crenna, always a very underrated actor (he may be most remembered for being Sylvester Stallone's commanding officer in the "Rambo" films, though he also starred with Steve McQueen in Robert Wise's 1966 classic THE SAND PEBBLES), gives a fairly good performance even with the sometimes dodgy dialogue; and the cast includes Elizabeth Ashley, Merlin Olsen, Lloyd Bochner, Kip Niven, and John Larch (who played the mayor of San Francisco in the original DIRTY HARRY back in 1971). The scenes of destruction and the cometary impact on Phoenix, while they may not match what was seen in DEEP IMPACT, are sufficiently spectacular to overcome the bumps and grinds of the screenplay, which merits my giving A FIRE IN THE SKY a solid rating of seven out of 10.

Classic schlock TV movie about a meteor heading for Phoenix. If you enjoy campy '70's disaster movies you will like this one. When it hits, the city is pretty much destroyed. There are some great scenes of people running and screaming as buildings fall on them, just what you'd want from a disaster film. Watch for a very young Michael Biehn.

This is a very silly attempt at a disaster film. It is successful, however as a disaster of a film. Richard Crenna is a peyote-smoking scientist who is willing to sacrifice himself for mankind. Other forgotten actors and actresses have roles such as the cheating husband, the reporter who will sleep with anything to get a story, and a survivalist and his family who actually believe that they can survive an impact of comet if they dig a hole and cover their butts with a blanket. There are several other idiots in this really bad imitation of a disaster film made from a puppet set, but they are not worth mentioning. Where is Miss Brooks when you really need her? The alternate title of the film was "A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall", but they decided to save that title for another film.

Boring, boring, boring.

Talking, Talking, Talking.

The worst comet/space special effects since "Plan 9 from Outer Space."

Literally looks like 4th graders put the space sequences together.

On a positive note, the special effects of the destruction of Phoenix, the buildings, roads, etc. Is actually pretty good.

The actors are cardboard at best. The direction they received from the Director wasn't much help, I suspect.

Camera work is very weak.

The dialog is a disaster flick all on it's own.

Example: "The one good thing about owning a hole in the ground is you don't have to worry about anybody stealing it" And that is the highpoint.

It gets a one star rating because it doesn't allow a 1/2 star rating.

What are the odds of a comet traveling millions of miles through space making a direct hit on Phoenix Arizona? Merlin Olson saves the day by hiding out in a sleeping bag!

I first watched this movie when I was about 8 or 9 years old. I learned to never leave home without a sleeping bag.

Campy and a bit sleepy. Classic 70's doomsday appeal.

Overall good acting and a healthy number of Hollywood stars.

Special effects were decent for a made for TV movie and to some extent holds up today.

I highly recommend this movie, good 70's film.

Fire in the Sky (1978) is a made-for-television disaster film I recently watched on Tubi. The story follows the discovery that Phoenix, Arizona, is about to be struck by an asteroid. The government is skeptical and fails to take action to evacuate the city, leaving a few determined individuals to sound the alarm and urge people to flee before the impact changes life forever.

Directed by Jerry Jameson (Airport '77), the film stars Richard Crenna (Rambo), Elizabeth Ashley (Stagecoach), David Dukes (Rawhead Rex), Joanna Miles (Judge Dredd), and Merlin Olsen (Little House on the Prairie).

As expected from a made-for-TV production, the movie feels confined by its format. The cast is impressive and enjoyable, featuring familiar faces from popular shows of the era. However, the writing focuses too heavily on subplots, slowing the pace and detracting from the central storyline-the comet. Instead of building suspense around the impending disaster, the film dwells on personal drama and relationships.

The science fiction elements, while dated, are a charming throwback to the 1970s, with their use of models and close-up destruction shots reminiscent of Godzilla films from the same era. Unfortunately, the ending is predictable, wrapping everything up too neatly.

Overall, A Fire in the Sky is a below-average entry in the science fiction genre, hindered by its era, writing, and format. I'd rate it a 4/10 and recommend skipping it.

As a kid, I saw two movies in the late 70's about celestial bodies heading towards earth, A Fire In the Sky and Meteor. This movie was quite different from Meteor in premise alone. This was not about a collective effort to avert a disaster; it was about how to collectively get the hell out of town. Richard Crenna played Jason Voight, an astronomer who somehow knew that this desert metropolis was doomed the split second after the words were uttered from the Presidents mouth, as he explained to a group of scientist that the comet was probably heading for earth. Although this movie to me was extremely cheesy, over acted and sometime under acted, and you got to see down town Phoenix high-rises crumble one by one, I liked it. I would have to say that it is one of my GUILTY PLEASURES

Well this is interesting. Not a horrible movie, kind if fun really. And definitely a great cast.

Mostly I am curious about the story. It is very similar to the early bits of a favorite read from many years back - _Lucifer's Hammer_ by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. But I see no links in the film info.

Wondering if any slueths out there have any info or background - or if any others are familiar with the book Lucifer's Hammer_.

Back to the film. Like I said it is fun and you can't complain about the cast. But it's a bit clunky. Typical made for TeeVee feel, which detracts a bit.

And, full disclosure, I'm from Tempe so I may be more forgiving than some.

Enjoy!

Considering that this movie was aired in 1978, I feel it far exceeds any expectations of a movie today for its genre. Richard Crenna (always an actor highly underrated) gave a superb performance. Story line was based upon facts we had never considered in that time period. Crenna's character was not only significant as a scientist for this movie, but also put that special "personal touch" feel as he sacrificed his own life in the end for a small group of Indians in the desert. I think this movie should be on DVD and available to all of us who remember it fondly and also for those who have never had the opportunity to see it before. It far surpassed any expectations in 1978 for a made for TV movie. I have been searching for this movie for years and highly recommend it........P.S.--Just found my copy this month (July 2005) on EBAY. Woo-hoo!!!

Most people probably won't believe this, but I was actually in this movie. I was an extra, from the 997th Aviation Company, AZ National Guard. I was the driver of a jeep for Col. Standers. I almost didn't get in the movie. I blew two takes, before the director accepted it..... :) I'm looking for a copy of the movie to share with family and friends that have never seen it. Columbia Pictures sent me a check for $25 and change after taxes. They called me for a speaking part that paid $600, but I wasn't able to make the commitment; a couple guys I knew did... and one was shot by a looter in the movie. There was another movie titled Fire In The Sky, about alien abduction in Arizona that my friends think of when I tell them about my part in the other one. I would like to do another flick someday with a small speaking part, but that probably won't happen............ :(

This is perhaps my all-time favorite trash-TV movie. I have a theory that all of us secretly cherish at least one utterly indefensible object of art or entertainment - something we know is simply awful, but which we love nonetheless. Maybe it's pro wrestling, maybe it's "The Dukes of Hazzard." For me, it's this TV movie.

I'm something of an amateur astronomy buff, so that may explain part of my attraction to this movie. However, virtually every moment, every plot device, every line of dialogue, every scene and every revelation of character in "A Fire in the Sky" is so stultifyingly formulaic that you wonder if the people who wrote it even graduated from grade school. It's no exaggeration to say that, twenty minutes into the movie, you can accurately predict the final outcomes of each of the several subplots. The characters are not the least bit real; they are complete and absolutely transparent stereotypes. And adding an element of incongruity to the movie is the fact that the actors attack their roles with surprising vigor. Richard Crenna and Elizabeth Ashley, in particular, seem to think they're in "King Lear," not this hokey, connect-the-dots, pre-fab drama.

The result is a production that is not in on its own joke. It doesn't seem to know how bad it really is. It's a professional product that seems to have been offered seriously. And yet it's awful. The result is that it achieves a kind of exquisite stupidity. We're not laughing with it; we're laughing at it. And as such, for me, at least, it transcends its own badness and becomes highly entertaining.

What can I say? There's no good reason anyone should like something this dumb. And yet I do.

Spawned from the disaster move craze of the 70's, with all the production and artistic values one would expect from a network dramatic production. So horrible I can never take my eyes off the screen.

Having grown up in Phoenix, the destruction scenes -- including a hilarious shot of the Hyatt rotating restaurant spinning off like a Frisbee -- are my particular favorite.

Hilarious attempt at a small-screen version of a big-screen disaster film, complete with ersatz astronomy, the impassioned pleas of the ignored and scoffed-at scientist, and mandatory death and scale-model destruction scenes. The hysterical nurse who rushes from the subterranean shelter only to be ripped from life by the wake of the comet impact scene is a definite must.

Look for the definitive sequence of astronomical photographic plates that feature a parade 'o planets with the coment growing ominously bigger and closer in each shot.

Crenna's ending smokin'-peyote-with-the-Pima-Indians as we watch the comet streak toward its mark is also "to die for."

Scale modelers, arise against abuse by bad made-for-TV movies! Let's give it three meteors out of ten.