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Overview
User Rating:
Directors:
Writers:
Richard Martin Stern (novel)
Thomas N. Scortia (novel) ...
more
Release Date:
14 December 1974 (USA) more
Tagline:
One Tiny Spark Becomes A Night Of Blazing Suspense. more
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. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
Won 3 Oscars. Another 8 wins & 12 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(44 articles)
Disaster movies: Why we love them (especially in hard times)
(From EW.com - The Movie Critics. 16 November 2009, 4:33 PM, PST)
The nervous, noncommittal noughties can't end soon enough | John Harris
(From The Guardian - Film News. 16 November 2009, 1:00 PM, PST)
User Comments:
Classic star-studded disaster film.... more (151 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | Steve McQueen | ... | Fire Chief Michael O'Hallorhan |
 | Paul Newman | ... | Doug Roberts |
 | William Holden | ... | Jim Duncan |
 | Faye Dunaway | ... | Susan |
 | Fred Astaire | ... | Harlee Claiborne |
 | Susan Blakely | ... | Patty Duncan Simmons |
 | Richard Chamberlain | ... | Roger Simmons |
 | Jennifer Jones | ... | Lisolette Muller |
| O.J. Simpson | ... | Harry Jernigan |
 | Robert Vaughn | ... | Senator Gary Parker |
 | Robert Wagner | ... | Dan Bigelow |
| Susan Flannery | ... | Lorrie |
| Sheila Allen | ... | Paula Ramsay (as Sheila Mathews) |
| Norman Burton | ... | Will Giddings (as Normann Burton) |
| Jack Collins | ... | Mayor Robert Ramsay |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
165 min
Country:
Language:
Colour:
Aspect Ratio:
2.20 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
4-Track Stereo (35 mm magnetic prints) | Mono (35 mm optical prints) | 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) (Westrex Recording System)
Certification:
France:U | Hungary:16 | 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
Filming Locations:
20th Century Fox Ranch, Malibu Creek State Park - 1925 Las Virgenes Road, Calabasas, California, USA more
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
At first Irwin Allen did not want to use music at the first 5 minutes of the Helicopter Sequence. John Williams told Allen that he could come up with 5 minutes of music for the beginning. When Allen heard it, he agreed with Williams. more
Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: When Lorrie is propelled/jumps through the window you see her holding a mask over her face to protect herself from injury. more
Quotes:
Dan Bigelow: What happened, somebody hang the wallpaper upside down? more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Inside 'The Swarm' (1978) (TV) more
Soundtrack:
We May Never Love Like This Again more
FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (151 total)
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With the likes of INDEPENDENCE DAY and DIE HARD, which were both influenced by THE TOWERING INFERNO, a new awareness of the potential of the disaster film emerged, culminating in the likes of DEEP IMPACT, ARMAGEDDON and the more recent THE CORE.
The definition of 'all-star cast' and 'star-studded' has changed substantially in the last few years and in fact, the true star of THE TOWERING INFERNO wasn't any actor or star, but the late Irwin Allen, whose career in this type of film ended with the poorly-received WHEN TIME RAN OUT.
The film, which was adapted from two source novels, THE GLASS INFERNO and THE TOWER (both of which were bought by rival studios Fox and Warner to compete at the box-office - and then decided at the last minute to pool their resources into creating a single script) is impressive in scope and design.
For the uninitiated, one of the books deals with a disgrunted ex-employee who decides to cause an accident which starts a fire and in some ways that would have made a more intriguing storyline, but the plot of the actual film which involves cost-cutting to electrical circuits which causes the fire int the first place works as it is.
At a running time of 158 minutes some may think the film too long. In this day and age there would have possibly been test screenings and some cutting of the film, but since the success of TITANIC at the box-office longer films have become the norm. Indeed, the more recent HARRY POTTER and LORD OF THE RINGS movies are in this bracket (although the upcoming KILL BILL story that the three-hour film will be split in two may pave the way for shorter lengths!!) Mind you, THE GREAT ESCAPE is of similar length and that film moves at a cracking pace.
Steve McQueen is on screen less than some of the other stars in the film, but his performance is the best and complements others on show.