One tiny spark becomes a night of blazing suspense.
At the opening party of a colossal—but poorly constructed—skyscraper, a massive fire breaks out, threatening to destroy the tower and everyone in it.
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Character
Classical in form, earnest, grave and resolved.
- classical in formformally daring
- earnestironic
- gravecomic
- resolvedopen-ended
- character-ledplot-driven
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“Is Steve McQueen the best thing in The Towering Inferno?”
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“Is it too big for its own story?”
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“Would a little humor have helped?”
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Reviews on TMDB
Written by TMDB members; each links to the original. Not part of Tastebuds's numbers.
- John Chardon TMDB · Jun 20199/10
The crowning glory of a much maligned genre. 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 Awa
Read the whole review on TMDB - Wuchakon TMDB · Aug 20186/10
Successful 70’s disaster flick isn’t anywhere near as entertaining as “The Poseidon Adventure” RELEASED IN 1974 and directed by John Guillermin, "The Towering Inferno" details events in San Francisco when the world's tallest building, The Glass Tower (138 stories), catches aflame due to an electrical short and threatens hundreds of lives during the grand dedication ceremony. Paul Newman plays the architect, Steve McQueen the fire chief, William Holden the wealthy contractor and Richard Chamberlain his arrogant cost-cutting son-in-law. This overblown disaster flick has a great all-star cast and was a huge success at the box office, but it pales in comparison to “The Poseidon Adventure,” released two years earlier. It lacks the compelling story, the great human interest and iconic score (even though John Williams composed both), plus it’s 48 minutes longer than “Poseidon,” which gives it a tedious vibe; that is, until the engrossing last half hour. On the female front there’s the striking Faye Dunaway, the architect’s babe; Susan Blakely, who looks great in tight slacks; and Susan Flannery, who’s smokin’ in a shirt & panties. Unfortunately, whereas “Poseidon” knocked it out of the ba
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Cast
- Steve McQueenChief O'Hallorhan
- Paul NewmanDoug Roberts
- William HoldenJim Duncan
- Faye DunawaySusan
- Fred AstaireHarlee Claiborne
- Susan BlakelyPatty
- Richard ChamberlainSimmons
- Jennifer JonesLisolette
- O. J. SimpsonJernigan
- Robert VaughnSenator Parker
Crew
- John GuillerminDirector
- Stirling SilliphantScreenplay
- Richard Martin SternNovel
- Thomas N. ScortiaNovel
- Frank M. RobinsonNovel
- Fred J. KoenekampDirector of Photography
- John WilliamsOriginal Music Composer
- Carl KressEditor
- Harold F. KressEditor
- Irwin AllenProducer
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