The Towering Inferno (1974)

Directors:

John Guillermin
Irwin Allen

Drehbuchautoren:

Richard Martin Stern (novel)
Thomas N. Scortia (novel) ...

Premierendatum:

14. Dezember 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Thriller | Drama

Werbezeile:

One Tiny Spark Becomes A Night Of Blazing Suspense.

Plot:

At the opening party of a collosal, but poorly constructed, office building, a massive fire breaks out that threatens to destroy the tower and everyone in it.

Plot Keywords:

Heat | Catastrophe | Explosive | Water Tank | Smoke

Filmpreise:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 8 wins & 12 nominations

Nutzerkommentare:

The Best Of The Disaster Flicks?

Besetzung

Steve McQueen	...	Chief O'Hallorhan
Paul Newman	...	Doug Roberts
William Holden	...	Jim Duncan
Faye Dunaway	...	Susan
Fred Astaire	...	Harlee Claiborne
Susan Blakely	...	Patty
Richard Chamberlain	...	Simmons
Jennifer Jones	...	Lisolette
O.J. Simpson	...	Jernigan
Robert Vaughn	...	Senator Parker
Robert Wagner	...	Bigelow
Susan Flannery	...	Lorrie
Sheila Allen	...	Paula Ramsay (as Sheila Mathews)
Norman Burton	...	Giddings (as Normann Burton)
Jack Collins	...	Mayor Ramsay

Alternativ:

Flammendes Inferno (Österreich) (Bundesrepublik Deutschland) [de]

Länge:

165 Min

Produktionsland:

USA

Sprache:

Englisch

Farbe:

Farbe

Seitenverhältnis:

2.20 : 1

Tonverfahren:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) (Westrex Recording System) | 4-Track Stereo (35 mm magnetic prints) | Mono (35 mm optical prints)

Altersfreigabe:

France:U | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (1975) | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG | West Germany:16 (w) | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:PG | UK:A

Drehorte:

20th Century Fox Ranch, Malibu Creek State Park - 1925 Las Virgenes Road, Calabasas, California, USA

Firma:

Irwin Allen Productions

Dies und das:

This film marked the first ever joint production by two big-name movie companies; Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox.

Pannen:

Abfolgefehler: When Lorrie goes through the window, she is seen on fire, then not on fire, and goes through the window twice.

Dialogzitate:

Chief O'Hallorhan: For what it's worth, architect, this is one building I figured would never burn.

Bezüge zu anderen Titeln:

Verweis/Anspielung/Erwähnung in Be Kind Rewind (2008)

Soundtrack:

We May Never Love Like This Again

The Best Of The Disaster Flicks?

"Disaster Movies" were a big hit in this era, with airplane crashes, earthquakes, fires, etc. This one made huge fires and firemen fashionable for awhile. It certainly had people talking, and it may have been the best of those "disaster" flicks.

The movie certainly had an all-star cast: Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Fred Astaire, Susan Blakely, Richard Chamberlain, Robert Vaughn, Robert Wagner and (gulp) O.J. Simpson. Even Jennifer Jones came out of a long retirement to return to films. It was really nice to see her again.

What really surprised me about this film when I watched it earlier this year was that the special effects were still good, and the film is almost 40 years old. It was also good to see Steve McQueen being the good guy again. He was the best character in the film. The worst was William Holden, who turned out to play a lot profane-spewing nasty people as soon as the Hays' code was totally abolished in 1967. Same thing for Paul Newman. McQueen, meanwhile, kept his class as did Jones, of course, and Astaire.

The film is almost three hours long but, a few soap opera scenes aside, it's a solid adventure story that holds up well and it served a good purpose, making hotel owners more aware of potential fire hazards.