The Towering Inferno

A goofy-ass movie that re-defines the word bloated. Ancillary characters are constantly introduced only to be killed off with the minimum requirement for emotional investment. It's a nearly three hour movie where nothing happens beyond the inciting incident, yet there's potential for a lot more. It has some fun camp elements - I burst out laughing at Robert Wagner's death scene - but these are more a product of poor aging than directorial intent. Proof that cinema was "dead" before Star Wars.

Should have burned the movie too. Strictly for pyromaniacs and O.J. Simpson fans.

One of the definitive 70s ensemble cast disaster films and probably the one to watch if you're only going to see one of them.

Classic hollywood where extra-marital affairs, hubris, old women who instead of accepting their place as lonely gals flirt with con-men are punished with vengeance. Isn't that nice? I guess this was something big in its time, but it shows its age in every conceivable way and believe me, this didn't age like a wine. Only for Newman and McQueen, or Dunaway if there can be any, fans.

Fantastic popcorn entertainment.

Shortly after Irwin Allen built the world's biggest ship and sunk it to the bottom of the sea in The Poseidon Adventure, he swapped elements and built the world's tallest building, only to burn it to the ground. The movie takes its time to build its characters so that we really feel the heat once the fire begins (45mins in). The cast here is outstanding, one of the best ever assembled, but the real star is the stunning fire scenes, all of which were shot practically, with real fire.

This technically impressive disaster film delivers the goods, but has absolutely no depth at all. It ain't art, but it's a topline commercial product.

Some of it is pretty good (Newman and McQueen, the Chamberlain/Holden plotline). Much of it is bad filler. Mostly, its power derives from a projection of what-if-it-happened-to-me fears which save the film in spite of relatively uninspired direction.

This movie definitely has its slow spots but overall I enjoyed it. It is nice to see Steve McQueen and Paul Newman working together in this all star cast. There are some thrilling actions sequences in this movie. If you like disaster movies then check this one out.

Great disaster film from the 70s.

The original disaster movie, and a classic from the 70s. The characters curiously seem to be immune to burns, too.

Good solid leads, good supporting cast, entertaining story. Runs a bit long though.

It may be formulaic, but that's no different from every other disaster movie ever, and that is made up for by the fact that it is obvious that almost the entire cast had fun, and it's infectious - despite the melodramatic disaster depicted, you'll find yourself smiling.

No doubt the best of the 70's disaster craze films, it's helped by the scale and star power on hand. It's still a bloated mess with an incredibly unintentionally funny death (Robert Wagner does the real life version of the "this is fine" meme).

Perhaps the best disaster film I've seen, even though it plays out so simply, but its presentation of victims and heroes is perfect without ever being overbearing. Some of the deaths are shockingly brutal, despite being bloodlessly PG, and it carefully demonstrates why swift and yet thoughtful procedures in the face of a disaster will often save lives, all the while upholding some unbearable nail-biting power.

If this weren't two and a half hour long and full of mediocre acting it wouldn't be so bad. For a disaster flick the set up is actually rather reasonable and the main side story about cutting corners in the building could be used well, but it wasn't really developed and there was too much other shit thrown in just to get famous faces some screen time.

"Det tårnhøje helvede" katastrofefilmen over dem alle - desværre overgået af virkeligheden. Opbygget efter det typiske mønster med mange små historier der samlers omkring trusler senere - elendig og klichefyldt.

What a great spectacle, this is probably the best disaster film I've ever seen. Solid performances by the whole cast including the child actors, great effects work, and a fast pace. Speaking of pacing, this thing is almost 3 hours long but feels more like 2 hours. The movie hits the ground running and never stops. I felt bad for Fred Astaire's character as he got the short end of the stick. This makes a great double feature with South Korea's own 2012 disaster film The Tower.

A classic ! Paul Newman and Steve McQueen - no need to elaborate

Too long to keep the attention considering what they have crammed in here. Fine idea for a disaster flick, but I don't get why that moron didn't evacuate the first time he was told there was a fire. Thought they'd be fine because it was X stories down. Guy walks up to a lumberjack "Hey don't you think you should use a different ax?", "Why?", "Well that one doesn't have a head." "Yeah, but the handle is REALLY long."--makes that much sense.

Another iconic and enjoyable 70s disaster-action-thriller. The Towering Inferno might be patchy in places and sometimes just an excuse to bring some once famous actors and actresses together, but it works surprisingly well. It's not deep, but then it doesn't really have to be with the gaps being mostly filled in by some good acting from the leads. It's a classic and is a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon viewing and although it migt be somewhat of a crowd pleaser, is sure managed to please me.

Probably the most enduring disaster movies of the 70's. Excellent effects for its time and some really sound performances from Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway. Although it isn't likely to keep you on the edge of your seat compared to current thrillers it does have some excellent moments. Strong storyline and more believeable than most films of its genre.

TÁ PEGANDO FOGO, BICHO!!!!

Follows the same old formula of disaster movies with all cliches included, but does it masterfully. Convincing special effects even to this day and more thrills than any other movie I've seen in the genre, with a little more brutality too.

Gets off to a rousing start, with the blaze beginning right away. But then it bogs down in the middle, and there are far too many gratuitous explosions (maybe that's the fire hitting all those champagne bottles). At times it looked too like the fire was actually getting smaller on the long shot! Anyway, the wrapup was pretty cool, and certainly put a different tone on the proceedings. Newman and McQueen are fun in their scenes together. And boy, did Chamberlain play a royal bastard! (lol)

How can a movie about a fire in a skyscraper starring Paul Newman and Steve McQueen be so dull. Firstly because it's extremely bloated with way too many characters in its very long running time. Secondly cause I didn't care about the survival of (almost) any of the characters. Thirdly and most importantly, because the action scenes are, surprisingly even more boring than the dramatic ones, cause in most of them the suspense isn't set up well.

With a better director(s) this could easily be incredible. The script is mostly there and of course the cast is there. A more memorable score would go a long way in a film like this. The Towering Inferno teeters on the edge of greatness.

Whilst looking pretty dated now (not from a "special effects" point of view, but a costume and set design ) this still ranks the best by a country mile of the "70's" Disaster Movie genre because it remembers that we care about "characters". Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway and Paul Newman are simply fantastic and bring real heart to a stunning, if slightly long epic. The special effects are incredible and add considerable realism of the film. There are not many more stellar cast ensembles than this !

A classic Dino DiLaurentis disaster flick

VERY patchy with a huge stack of once a list now z list actors. But then that is part of it's appeal

Part of the 70's disaster movie glut, it was pretty hot.

A decent action film.

Aside from being approximately one hour too long, which is a pretty unacceptable length to overshoot, this is spectacular. It's really too bad. The ensamble cast and overall production is fantastic. But the same inferno just isn't as interesting the third hour, no matter how towering it is.

Quality disaster flick. The tension between Steve McQueen and Paul Newman just about overshadows the inferno itself. "Hey architect!"

72.125

good movie

For something that plays out as a PSA for fire safety, it seems to be completely oblivious to the actual nature of fire. People casually walk through fire & smoke-filled rooms as if they're peachy keen as long as they don't actually touch flame. I don't think there's a single cough in the whole movie. The special effects, particularly the model tower itself, are generally hilarious. To its credit, the movie does create a good feeling of tension & concern for those trapped on the upper floors.

One of The Best disaster movies.

This is a pretty standard 70's disaster film that has some decent practical effects and an absolutely loaded cast but there is a lot of filler and it never really gets above just okay, even at the best of times.

a classic, must see.

Takes on a different feel after the Grenfell disaster. It's genuinely eerie how it unfolds. The cast is truly stacked, beyond the two stars and it's more than a disaster yarn.

Not only a classic, but a truly ground-breaking film for its special effects. Of course, they pale by comparison to today's standards, but for their time the effects were dazzling. The ensemble cast also makes this one of my all-time favorites.

Amazingly it took four people to write this. Here's the synopsis: building catches fire, OJ saves a cat, Steve McQueen likes to swear. The end.

The disaster drama here is excellent, adeptly building from a spark of discomfort and brief but torturous dramatic irony to an epic and arduous fight for survival featuring plenty of exciting plot turns and equal amounts small triumphs and terrifying tragedies (Bigelow's futile run through the fire is a searing memory). Throw in great turns from Newman and co., hints of intriguing building specification scandal, and solid visuals and you have yourself a great action-thriller.