The Towering Inferno (1974)

Irwin Allen decided to follow up his "The Poseidon Adventure" success with the 1974 suspense-thriller "The Towering Inferno," a movie which also garnered an impressive 10 Oscar nominations and is released as a 2-disc DVD special edition this week.

Whereas in "The Poseidon Adventure" the leads had to travel up, the only way is down for Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, William Holden, Fred Astaire, Richard Chamberlain, Robert Wagner and Faye Dunaway. Attending the opening night gala the guests are trapped on the 129th floor of the world's tallest building which becomes an inferno thanks to the shoddy wiring system installed by chief builder James Duncan (Holden) and his electrician son Roger Simmons (Chamberlain).

Newman plays Doug Roberts, the proud architect behind the Glass Tower, a skyscraper, which dominates the San Francisco skyline at a height of 138-story's. Returning from a long vacation Roberts immediately recognizes that something is wrong and he is proven correct when a circuit breaker burns out and ignites garbage on a lower floor.

While the script can be a tad melodramatic at times, the effort put into this movie is obvious. Nominated for Best Picture and winning for best cinematography, best special effects and best song, the movie was a smash hit and still holds up well today in this age of blockbuster special effects extravaganza's.

As with "The Poseidon Adventure" the previous DVD release was sorely lacking in special features and has been replaced with three hours of extras. Joining the nine all-new featurettes which includes a retrospective, a look at the special effects and the art design is the AMC Backstory on the making of the movie, 32 deleted or extended scenes and an audio commentary by film historian F.X. Feeney.

Feeney's commentary is fascinating and comprehensive, covering all aspects of the production from the writing and dialogue all the way through to the sets and the sense of anticipation director John Guillerman builds up from the start. Feeney tells us that this movie was a milestone for Hollywood in that it was the first time two studios had co-produced a feature. Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox owned two separate books, "The Tower" by Richard Martin Stern and "The Glass Inferno" by Thomas N. Scortia and Frank M. Robinson, and both planned to make two competing movies on the same subject.

It was Allen who stepped in and proposed the historic deal and the two studios agreed, splitting first the cost and then the profit equally.

Though not for the full length of the feature special effects director Mike Venzina and stunt coordinator Branko Racki both individually comment on individual scenes. Verzina discusses eight scenes and Racki talks about nine separate scenes. Their observations are largely technical in nature and center on their selective specialties.

The longest of the documentaries is once again the AMC Backstory which runs 22:08. It is in this featurette that we learn that the model used for shots of the tower was itself seven stories high, that William Holden became aggravated with Faye Dunaway's tardy-ness to the set and that despite the media attempting to portray conflict between the two stars Steve McQueen and Paul Newman, the two actually got along well together with a mutual respect and friendly competition (as evidenced by a funny blooper).

The other featurettes range from 4:28 in length (on the directing of the movie) to 9:15 on the writer Stirling Silliphant. But they cover a wide range of topics from a retrospective by the cast and crew "Inside the Tower: We Remember" (8:16) in which Richard Chamberlain likens the set to being at a really glamorous Hollywood party day after day with the standard six star dressing rooms being increased to 15 to the architecture of the tower in "Still the World's Tallest Tower" (8:28) which compares The Glass Tower to other real-life skyscrapers and the impact these high-rise buildings have on the surrounding communities.

Other topics touched on include the safety aspects employed on the production in "Putting out fire" (4:58) in which Allen comments "You'd better have all the camera's rolling because fire waits for no man," and also reveals that firemen were on the set each day to "Running on fire" (5:52) which discusses the work of the stuntmen and includes the facts McQueen did not like anyone else doing his stunts and even Newman and Chamberlain did a number of their own stunts.

Also on this special collector's edition are 32 deleted or extended scenes that range from the 40-second "Still Waiting for the Elevator" which featuresshots of crowds of people pushing and shoving each other at the elevator and Holden's character assessing the situation on the telephone to the 2:55 clip "Four Alarm Fire" which covers the spreading of the fire through the building, the call from security requesting a four-alarm fire and shots of fire engines screaming through the streets of San Francisco.

All of the deleted or extended scenes were originally part of a longer television broadcast. Unfortunately their condition has deteriorated and they were deemed of too poor quality for Fox to include them through the popular DVD technique of seamless branching alongside the theatrical cut on the first disc.

Rounding out the special features on this release are three 1975 articles from "American Cinematographer" which run for a combined 83 pages and which, like those on "The Poseidon Adventure" DVD release, include selectable images which take the viewer to image galleries. These articles are all technical in nature and include discussion on how the movie was photographed and the work of the action unit. There are also six storyboard comparisons and five image galleries that range from shot compositions and costumes through to publicity and conceptual sketches.

I remember when I first saw the 1974 disaster epic "The Towering Inferno" as a child. The movie was playing exclusively at one of those old-fashioned, huge theaters, complete with balcony and curtains which drew open as the film began. The screen was gigantic. There was not an empty seat in the house. Moviegoers applauded as the opening chords of John Williams' tremendous score began thundering from the speakers during the opening credit sequence. And fans continued to applaud, most notably when Steven McQueen finally arrives on the scene, fire marshall red car skidding to a halt, helmet in hand. This film, one of the greatest blockbusters in cinema history, was a true event for 1970s audiences.

It has always been easy to dismiss this film, just as most critics dismiss many of the popular disaster films of this era ("Airport," "Earthquake," "The Poseidon Adventure"). When watching "The Towering Inferno" today (this film must be seen in the letterbox format, if only to truly appreciate the fantastic special effects), I feel a sad twinge of nostalgia. Steve McQueen's presence alone is worth the price of admission, and this role would turn out to be one of his last in a major film. He steals just about every scene he's in, simply because of his extraordinary screen presence. A few wrinkles crease his weathered face, he's kind of chubby, but even with middle age slowly approaching, McQueen's spark is undeniable. "The Towering Inerno" is a great example as to why McQueen was one of our greatest movie stars.

Sure, the enormous cast sleepwalks through most of this film in "I'm-just-collecting-a-paycheck" fashion, but has Paul Newman and Faye Dunaway ever been as attractive as they were in this flick? The Maureen McGovern song "We May Never Love Like This Again" (which won an Academy Award) is pure 70s schmaltz, the disco fashions relatively amusing (gotta love Richard Chamberlain's suit) and you even have Fred Astaire doing a bit of soft shoe with Jennifer Jones. I'm not going to mention O.J. Simpson's role, simply because he's way too easy of a target these days.

Through it all, "The Towering Inferno" does have an important message, eventually becoming a tribute to the heroism of our nation's firefighters. That's good. I also love one of Newman's final lines in the film, in which he says they should just leave the tower as is "I think they should just leave it, kind of a monument to all the bull[stuff] in the world." It's also interesting to see two legends such as McQueen and Newman working together on screen. In fact, I can't really recall a single film in history in which two acting legends the status of McQueen/Newman starred in the same film together such as this. In today's Hollywood, they really don't make movie stars like this anymore. And they really don't make films like this anymore.

Going to the movie theater used to be an event. Huge screens, larger-than-life movie stars, movies playing at the same theater for months at a time. "The Towering Inferno" reminds me of that era, before cable TV, before video rental stores, before multiplex movie theaters. It's corny, it's funny, and it's special effects-driven. But it's a glamorous film, as old-fashioned as "Grand Hotel," and a testament to a bygone era in Hollywood.

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After the success of The Poseidon Adventure, disaster flicks became the rage in Hollywood. Stars lined up left in right to appear in them. While most are laughable and only worth watching for the camp value, Towering Inferno rises above the pack. It is a well-crafted and well-acted movie, with excellent performances. Like most disaster movies, the plot revolves around a state of the art high-rise in San Francisco. Due to faulty wiring, the building catches fire trapping people all throughout. You are kept on the edge of your seat with amazing pyrotechnics, daring helicopter rescues and the fire departments last ditch effort to save the last remaining people on the top floor of the building. Paul Newman plays the architect who designed the building and Steve McQueen is the fire chief who risks his life fighting the fire. They are but two of a mega-watt cast that includes Fred Astaire (who received his only Academy Award nomination for the role), Faye Dunaway, Robert Wagner, Richard Chamberlain (who is cast against type as the villain), Jennifer Jones, OJ Simpson and Robert Vaughan (Mike Lookinland, Bobby Brady from The Brady Bunch has a small part). The film was a huge success and received a nomination for Best Picture in 1974.

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I saw this movie when I was just 16 in 1974. It made a big impression on me then that such a big, exciting movie could even be made. Now in 2009 we get the first hi-def home video version of this film on Blu-ray disc. Let me just say Fox did a great job! The detail is all there along with the brilliant 70s colors (check out Fred Astaire's taxi near the beginning for super solid yellow), and, of course, the great John Williams score. All of the extras from the DVD special edition have been ported over as well. Fans of this movie should be ecstatic with this new edition.

Sure, the movie is dated, somewhat overlong, and the acting a bit wooden but as shear spectacle (and 70s kitsch) it kept this viewer interested. Another thing that is very refreshing real models for the special effects work. Some of these models were built 70 feet high in order to ensure realism. If this movie were remade today I'm afraid it would suffer from overuse of CGI effects (such as in the recent _Poseidon_.)

One other note the opening menu on the Blu-ray disc is not to be missed. Someone worked really hard on creating a menu that honors the film. Let the disc spin up naturally without clicking ahead. A very nice touch.

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In her autobiography, Faye Dunaway complains that she (and her other big Hollywood pals like "Bill" Holden...) were just used for their names on the billboard, when the real star of this pic was the fire. Well, I remember seeing this movie in the theater with my parents and sister at age 7 -my first PG rated movie -and I was so dazzled I couldn't sleep that night. All those fabulous stars of the past and present in fabulous 1970s gowns, falling to their deaths ablaze. Susan Blakely on that tether being scared and fabulous, Faye in her faux Halston getting it on with Paul Newman in his office (can you believe that bedroom ?). Mike "Bobby Brady" Lookinland as the child hero. OJ Simpson as the handsome black man (we wont go there) And Fred Astaire gets the Shelly Winters oscar nod. And when Steve McQueen is informed he has to go in to blow the tanks, his profane response is so macho and sexy. And don't you miss when the Glass Tower wiggles at the very beginning (good old matte photography this was 2 years before Star Wars, folks...) I don't know -what is NOT to love in this movie? All I can say is, it changed my life as age 7 and had a profound effect on me, much as Airport 1975, Earthquake and Airport 1977 did -all that cheese, all that hair, all those gals in danger. But this was the best of them. (For the record, Poseidon Adventure was in a class all its own I don't think that was campy.)

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