I am not a fan of disaster movies, especially not the utterly depressing and hammy Poseidon Adventure, but for some reason The Towering Inferno is one of my all-time favourite films. It's partly a celebration of Hollywood's dying days, as well as a magnificent, exhaustive spectacle with excellent attention to detail and a lot of care in all areas.
A terrific score starts things off nicely, and from then on we are treated to star after star turning up to add another jewel to the crown. Fred Astaire dancing with Jennifer Jones, Richard Chamberlain being throughly repulsive, Paul Newman and Steve McQueen being every inch the heroes of the hour: by the end of the film covered in everything from soot to sweat and still glistening with class.
It's also got some tremendously cool wisecracking. "How do I get back down....oh s***!" "It's good for starting fires"..."He's all smiles"..."that Goddamn son-in-law of yours"..."How do you expect her to her a phone call she's deaf!" The only thing that slightly mars the film for me is one or two extremely depressing moments such as Susan Flannery's protracted demise which kind of confuse the spirit of the film. Otherwise, a real classic and even before the fire runs riot its wonderful entertainment. It's also the longest film I've never once been bored during.
A terrific score starts things off nicely, and from then on we are treated to star after star turning up to add another jewel to the crown. Fred Astaire dancing with Jennifer Jones, Richard Chamberlain being throughly repulsive, Paul Newman and Steve McQueen being every inch the heroes of the hour: by the end of the film covered in everything from soot to sweat and still glistening with class.
It's also got some tremendously cool wisecracking. "How do I get back down....oh s***!" "It's good for starting fires"..."He's all smiles"..."that Goddamn son-in-law of yours"..."How do you expect her to her a phone call she's deaf!" The only thing that slightly mars the film for me is one or two extremely depressing moments such as Susan Flannery's protracted demise which kind of confuse the spirit of the film. Otherwise, a real classic and even before the fire runs riot its wonderful entertainment. It's also the longest film I've never once been bored during.