The Towering Inferno (1974)
Genre: Action / Thriller
Duration: 165 minuten
Alternative title: Wolkenkrabber in Vlammen
Country:
United States
Directed by: Irwin Allen and John Guillermin
Stars: Paul Newman, Steve McQueen and William Holden
IMDb score:
7,0 (50.257)
Releasedate: 14 December 1974
The Towering Inferno plot
"The world’s tallest building is on fire. You are there on the 135th floor . . . no way down . . . no way out."
The tallest skyscraper in the world was built in San Francisco: a 138-storey glass tower. Everything was thought of when designing the building: office spaces, residential flats, a restaurant, a nightclub and a heliport on the roof. On the day of the official opening on the 135th floor, architect Doug Roberts is clearly less enthusiastic about the construction than contractor James Duncan. Fire chief Michael O'Hallorhan also looks at the glass tower with suspicion. After all, he knows that it is impossible for his men to reach the upper floors in the event of a fire. However, he will have to prove otherwise. During the ceremony, a fire breaks out on the 81st floor. the fire is spreading fast...
Actors and actresses
Chief O'Hallorhan
Doug Roberts
Jim Duncan
Susan
Harlee Claiborne
Patty
Simmons
Lisolette
Jernigan
Senator Parker
Reviews & comments
Roger Thornhill
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- 5827 messages
- 2333 votes
“Jim, I think you suffer from an edifice complex.” The best disaster movie of the seventies as far as I can remember, with superb FX, an almost always realistic "look" of the building, beautiful camera work, excellent acting by practically everyone involved, Paul Newman and Steve McQueen very energetic and happy nowhere [ i]tongue in cheek[/i], Richard Chamberlain quite unpleasant, Fred Astaire moving, an acceptable number of deaths under the stars, personal stories that (although often clichéd) are quite interesting and well told, at 2 hours and 40 minutes very long but always worth it – everything is fine with this film that still stands like a, er, house after 42 years.
Dievegge
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- 3094 messages
- 8010 votes
It must have been a large-scale enterprise at the time. Dozens of sets and scale models were built, there were many extras. Some stunts were dangerous, especially because they used real fire. In the opening images, the colossus towers above the other skyscrapers of San Francisco. To emphasize how high it is, the tower is shown in a frog's eye view. Later, the abyss is shown in bird's eye view, to emphasize the depth.
It is not an anonymous crowd threatened by the fire, but a collection of individuals. The various storylines, usually with a small love plot, mainly serve to arouse sympathy for the characters. The orchestral music of John Williams contributes to this by incorporating jazzy romanticism in addition to heroic and threatening moments. Some small scenes from the beginning could have been from an episode of The Love Boat.
Paul Newman and Steve McQueen play the two heroes who fight the flames, with death contempt and daring stunts. William Holden plays the principal who minimizes the danger, but later realizes his mistake and repents. Two secondary roles stand out above the rest: those of Fred Astaire and Jennifer Jones. As relics of the Golden Age, they radiate the nostalgia that fits their character. When Jennifer Jones falls out of that elevator, it's the only time a truly likable character dies. Finally, there is OJ Simpson as a security guard. Unfortunately, he won't be remembered for this role in the first place.
It is a modern version of the Tower of Babel. You can see in it a warning against human pride and against saving on security measures. Despite some credibility issues - how can the phones continue to work? - this remains a literal and figurative pinnacle of the disaster genre.
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