The Towering Inferno

THE TOWERING INFERNO

Director : John Guillermin

Year : 1974

Genre : Disaster

Rating : ****



The 1970's was the heyday of the disaster movie. With films such as 'Earthquake', 'Airport' and 'The Hindenberg', the decade was the highpoint of human survival stories. Fronting most of these epics was legendary producer and director, Irwin Allen, who is now known as the 'master of disaster'. After helming the classic 'The Poseidon Adventure', Allen soon began to form the idea of the ultimate disaster movie. Thus was born 'The Towering Inferno', a stunningly made, tension filled gem. With an all star cast, cutting edge special effects and a fantastic script, 'The Towering Inferno' is the ultimate human survival story and one of the best movies of the 1970's, nominated for best picture at the Oscar's and winner of many, many awards. However, the production of the film was just as fraught and tension filled as the action portrayed on screen.

'The Towering Inferno' takes place on the night of the dedication of the worlds tallest building. Located in the middle of San Francisco, the huge glass tower is a magnet for the wealthiest and most influential in the States. However, due to budget cuts and lazy workmanship, much of the wiring in the building is faulty and as a result, a fire begins to break out in a storage room and it's not too long before the upper floors become a blazing hurricane of flames. While the inferno rages on, a large party is taking place on the highest levels of the skyscraper and what develops is an action filled, adrenaline fuelled race to save over 200 people before they succumb to flames.

After 'The Poseidon Adventure', Irwin Allen began to read Richard Martin Stern's skyscaper fire epic, 'The Tower' and soon began to create storyboards for a possible disaster picture based on the book. However, soon it became apparent that a movie was already being developed by another producer. To deal with this, Allen created 'Irwin Allen productions' and a joint venture between 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. soon began to form. This was the first time that 2 major Hollywood studios had agreed to work together and this would soon to become common practice in the movie world. Screenwriter Stirling Silliphant, best known for writing the script for 1967's Academy Award winning 'In The Heat Of The Night', wrote a screenplay based on both 'The Tower' and 'The Glass Inferno' by Thomas N. Scortia and Frank M. Robinson and this unlikely amalgamation would produce one of the most cleanly written in disaster cinema.

When is came to the casting, Irwin Allen really pushed the boat out and created one of the greatest ensemble casts ever assembled. Superstars Paul Newman, Steve McQueen and William Holden all signed up for the movie but all wanted top billing. Holden was refused due to the superstardom of both Newman and McQueen, so what had to be decided was who would get first billing on the movie posters. To compromise, the names were arranged diagonally -  with McQueen lower left and Newman top right. This meant that both had first billing, depending on which plane the names were read on. During the production of the movie, a rivalry was expected between McQueen and Newman, but throughout the making of 'The Towering Inferno', they were completely amicable and soon became good friends.

 

The supporting cast included such stars as Faye Dunaway, Robert Vaughn, Fred Astaire, Robert Wagner and Jennifer Jones. According to records, Dunaway was notoriously late on set co star William Holden became increasingly irritated with her. After a supposedly angry encounter, Dunaway was never reported late again! As an ensemble, the cast work extremely well together. Paul Newman and Steve McQueen are completely believable as their characters and the supporting cast is equally brilliant in their respective roles - however big or small. Added to this, a fantastic script and top notch special effects, the element of human survival and the equal desire to protect others and yourself in times of need is portrayed perfectly. While some are selfish, others care only care about themselves and every kind of personality is shown in 'The Towering Inferno'. While the special effects are stunning, the main attraction of the film is definetly the interaction between the many characters on screen.

Compared to today's special effects, 'The Towering Inferno' may look somewhat dated. The fire explosions may not look completely realistic and the use of greenscreen and miniature models may now show up quite clearly. However, in it's day, the effects were first rate and to me, they stand up just as well as modern CGI. This may be because I cared about the characters just as much as the inferno itself and when perfect casting, a well written script and flawless special effects are combined, something magical happens. Numerous helicopter explosions, full body burning and blistering visuals all create an air of terror, suspense and action almost unrivalled in movie history.

 

On it's release, the movie was a critical and box office success, becoming the highest grossing movie of 1974. At the 46th Academy Awards, 'The Towering Inferno' earned 8 nominations, winning 3; best cinematography, best film editing and best song for 'We May Never Love Like This Again'. Added to this a brace of BAFTA's and Golden Globes, the film was one of the biggest successes of the decade.

'The Towering Inferno' is a brilliant amalgamation of a legendary producers dream, 2 classic disaster books and some of the greatest actors in Hollywood history. I'm sure it won't be too long before we see a Michael  Bay-esque remake which shatters the memory of this classic and lobotomises any of the terror or genius to make way for overblown special effects and explosions. I just hope that we remember Irwin Allen for the master he was and what true storytelling can create.