The Towering Inferno (Special Edition)

When I was middle school student, I saw a Poster of "The Towering Inferno" st theater. When that time, the panic movies were trendy and interesting. I watched this movie at theater and after on TV. It was defferent on TV and theater opening scean. But at this time, this movie is best of panic movies.

Before Roland Emmerich there was Irwin Allen. THE TOWERING INFERNO is the height of the 1970's disaster films. Boasting the star power of Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Fred Astaire, Jennifer Jones, Robert Vaughn, Richard Chamberlain and more. The world's tallest building catches fire amid the fiestivaties celebrating its opening. Long, but heavy on action. Extras include featurettes on the production.

A few years back I saw a HD broadcast of " The Towering Inferno " on my then less than perfect projection TV and it looked great. So when I heard this was coming out I was really pumped. While it looks very good , it still did not stand up to the broadcast HD version I saw. I tell everyone who has Blu-Ray, REVIEW YOUR MOVIE BEFORE YOU BUY!! Just cause it's on blu-ray does not mean it's been remastered and will look amazing. Take heed, cause this is one time I did not review this it was a bit disappointing to say the least.

Produced before the fall of the twin towers, this film depicted the concerns of everyone who has ever gone into a skyscraper. What would happen if it ever caught fire and I was up here. Extremely well done for its time, it still must be the measure for every disaster movie since. With three film stalwarts including Steve McQueen, Paul Newman and William Holden turning in fine performances and very good pre digitized special effects, this movie is still top notch entertainment, especially in the Blu Ray format.

Summary
An architect (Paul Newman), a firefighter (Steve McQueen), a wealthy businessman (William Holden), a con artist (Fred Estaire), a security guard (O.J. Sympson before the scandal), and other guests are trapped at the top of a burning sky-scraper, the tallest in the world. Will they survive?
Violence
As one would expect in a movie about fire, people get burned... many times. We see people on fire screaming, blackened and sizzling heads are normal occurrences here, as are explosions, falls, and even drowning. There is no sadism here, but it's still intense.
Sexual Content
Newman and Dunaway are engaged to be married, but it is made obvious that they have not been exactly... chaste. We see them start kissing and undressing. Later we see them lying on top of a bed together. Newman is shirtless and Dunaway is showing off most of her legs, but other than that, they are fully clothed. Later, Wagner conducts a similar affair with his secretary (we see her in a long shirt with underwear for one fairly brief scene). Otherwise, party dresses are not always modest and oftentimes reveal fair amounts of cleavage.

Language
Strong for a PG film. S-words and uses of Jesus' name are commonplace. D-words and h-words are also frequently used. Approximately sixty profanities.

The Towering Inferno (1974) was Irwin Allen's dream project. After the major success of The Poseidon Adventure in 1972, Allen had studio exec's hunting him down for movie projects. He hunted down major stars Steve McQueen (The Great Escape), Paul Newman (The Sting), William Holden (Network) and Faye Dunaway (Bonnie and Clyde). Fred Estaire was nominated for an Oscar and Jennifer Jones returned to film for the first time in years.
The film was a huge success with three academy award wins and easily earned back the 14 million dollars that Twentieth Century Fox and Warner Bros. put into it. Viewed now in days, after the disaster genre fizzled in the late seventies, one wonders whether the film is just nostalgic, not as good as people make it seem.
The answer is yes. The plot is reminiscent of soap operas and the acting is wooden and uninspiring. Still, the special effects are amazing, and there is always the knowledge that they do not make movies like this anymore, and perhaps for good reason.

I SAW THIS MOVIE AS A TEENAGER WHEN IT FIRST CAME OUT ON THE BIG SCREEN. I BOUGHT IT FOR MY SON, AND HE ENJOYED IT. THIS MOVIE STILL HOLDS UP,AND THE PRICE WAS RIGHT.

When i bought my blu-ray player and high def t.v. there were a number of titles
in my dvd collection that were prime candidates for getting the blu-ray treatment.
THE TOWERING INFERNO was at the top of the list and i'm happy to report they did
a stellar job.

For instance little bits of dialogue never understood before are now clearly
audible. In addition the intricate design/pattern of many of the costumes are
now eye poppingly clear.

If i had to choose one scene that shows off the blue ray transfer best its the
scene where Paul Newman, Jennifer Jones and the two kids take turns climbing
down the busted staircase railing. a total audio/visual experience. For instance
water from a pipe busted in the explosion is raining down on them and the nearby
exposed brick wall. The sound of the water is sooooooooooo realistically clear
and sharp you'll check to see if its raining in your living room.

If you like classic action flicks on blu-ray this an absolute must for your
collection.

Producer Irwin Allen's follow up to his blockbuster The Poseidon Adventure (1972), reaps the benefits of his previous success, as backed by two major studios (Warner Brothers and 20th Century Fox), with a bigger budget, and a fantastic cast loaded with big name stars, The Towering Inferno (1974), showcases destruction on a grander scale and a broader canvas, as a fire breaks out in the world's tallest building. Directed by John Guillerman, with Irwin Allen handling the action scenes, the epic was filmed and delivered to theaters in an amazing seven months, and would win several academy awards, including one for best cinematography. The screenplay is by Sterling Silliphant, who also worked on Poseidon, and won an Oscar winner for his screenplay for In the Heat of the Night.

The film follows the events on the day of the dedication of San Francisco's Glass Tower, and the progression of the fire that destroys it. With a multitude of characters, and dangerous situations continually springing up, the action rarely lets up, as the city's Fire Department attempts to save those trapped in the 138 floor structure. With Steve McQueen as the fire chief, and Paul Newman as the project architect, Inferno teams two of the biggest stars of the day, who despite the overpowering presence of the raging fire, still manage to carry the film together.

With a background in science fiction and fantasy, Allen was not one to let reality get in the way of generating onscreen excitement. In The Poseidon Adventure, bending reality was not a big issue, as the whole situation of an overturned ship was quite mind-boggling, but here dealing with just a super tall building, reality is a more relevant consideration. It may look cool when all the building lights come on in sequence, but that is not how buildings are wired. Using the breeches buoy to evacuate the survivors between buildings is a pure fantasy construct to feature people dangling hundreds of feet in the air. The fire is out of control, yet somehow the lights and electrical power remain in service. Helicopters can't land on the roof because of the wind, but a chopper is used to save the passengers in the elevator. The film is entertaining if you go along for the ride, but looking with even a slightly critical eye, there's a lot that happens, big and small, that isn't plausible.

Although flawed, The Towering Inferno is one of Irwin Allen's triumphs as a filmmaker. He was certainly proud of the movie, and finding a way to work a deluge into the story, and featuring an array of bodies falling from great heights, must have added to Allen's satisfaction. Credit is due for what was accomplished at the time, in the areas of special effects, action sequences, and working with real fire.

The two disc special edition is loaded with extras. With many of the principals involved in the film now deceased, a commentary track by film historian F.X. Feeney is provided. He helps provide some historical context, as well as behind the scenes information. Disc Two has numerous extras and assorted featurettes, which include comments from cast members and the production crew. Contrary to expectations, Newman and McQueen apparently got on very well together. Other extras include AMC's Backstory for The Towering Inferno, deleted scenes, miniature replicas of lobby cards, and a booklet with extensive notes and cast photos. It is the extras elevate the package to the four star level.

Though I thoroughly enjoyed this, I will always prefer the Poseidon Adventure. Why? Because that didn't tread water for nearly three hours! They could've trimmed out a lot of the exterior shots of the building on fire when nothing is really going on or no one is dieing. Anyway, the actors are top notch. The only real complaint here is O.J. He disappears halfway through the movie after he rescues (now there's a surprise) Jennifer Jones' cat. Then miraculously reappears to give Astaire the animal. The deaths in this one aren't as compelling as Allen's previous all-star escapade. Whereas three of the four main deaths of that were emotional, the two deaths in this where I actually feel any emotion at all is when Jones shockingly falls out of the elevator. Then when we cut to a wider shot, we see her continue to fall until she hits the side of the building and is sent spiraling to oblivion. The other I'm referring to is Norman Burton's near the beginning. He just sacrificed his life to save some idiot security guard. Robert Vaughn, though he's featured in plenty of scenes, doesn't really have a lot of screen time to actually care about his death. And Chamberlain I wish was killed in the explosion when he's trying to go down the stairs but I had to endure him until he falls to his death. The way the fire's put out does seem rather convenient, seeing as how those tanks have been there THE ENTIRE TIME! But then again, they probably didn't want to kill all the people (yet), and I don't think the fire department would have that kind of authority to make that kind of decision anyway (then again I wouldn't know). The effects are first rate, though, like stated before, they really didn't need so many shots of the model building on fire unless there's actually some action going on.

The early 1970's was a time in Hollywood in which many studios developed disaster films and had many screen stars play roles in which their characters were in situations of peril. "Earthquake", "Airport '75", and "The Poseidon Adventure" all filled the public's appetite for these kinds of epics, and many of them are now regarded as true cinema classics. "The Towering Inferno" is probably the best of the lot as far as disaster flicks are concerned: we have a star-studded cast, great special effects, and the disaster in this case is that a huge sky rise is ablaze with people trapped. The film features Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, Faye Dunaway, Robert Wagner, and many more, but it was a current soap opera star that stole the entire movie from these Hollywood icons: Susan Flannery, who was at that time starring on "Days of Our Lives" as Laura, plays a secretary who is having an affair with the Robert Wagner character. Her demise in "The Towering Inferno" is one of those virtuoso performances rarely seen on screen. Flannery would win a Golden Globe for "Inferno" as Best Newcomer.
The DVD is filled with bonuses, the best being exclusive interviews with the cast and crew on how the movie came to be. The film is cleaned from its original print and looks impeccable. Too bad more films would have the same DVD bonus treatment like "The Towering Inferno"! This DVD is a two disc set that features 9 new featurettes, audio commentary, over 30 extended and deleted scenes, and much more. As a bonus too there a lobby cards included.
Daily Variety says that "The Towering Inferno" is "one of the greatest disaster pictures made".

This film was the first in a trilogy of films that I recently acquired for nostalgia purposes when they were released in the 1970's.

The other two were Earthquake and Poseidon Adventure and I always felt that the Towering Inferno was unique in its talent and direction.

I loved this movie when it came out and am very happy that I now have the DVD and can watch it any time I want.

If you like disaster movies this is one that is worth the purchase.

I saw this movie when it first came out and expected it to be kind of hokey to watch now, but it was still a very good movie!

I think it was Siskel and Ebert who coined the phrase "guilty pleasure" for a film that you know has no real depth, but that you can't help but love anyway. For me, Towering Inferno is that film. No subtlety here, just a hugely enjoyable film. It helps immensely, of course, that it stars Steve McQueen and Paul Newman at the height of their fame. (It occurred to me when Paul Newman recently passed away that his career had an odd trajectory: I think he peaked during the period between Butch Cassidy (1969) and Towering Inferno (1974). He was already 44 in 1969; a little unusual I think for a romantic lead/action star to peak in his late forties.)

The two-disc special edition has a good group of extras. There is a raft of deleted scenes, mostly from the extended version originally shown on television. Apparently the quality of these mostly brief snippets was not sufficiently high for them to be used to create and extended version of the film. Most are from the early part of the film, before Steve McQueen enters, and cutting them helps the pacing of the film. The one exception is a couple of scenes with Robert Wagner - one longish complete scene and part of another scene - whose omission hurts the film by making it unclear who exactly Robert Wagner is and why we should care when he is put in deadly jeopardy midway through the film. A good part of Susan Blakely's appearances also ended on the cutting room floor. Among other bonus features, there are several interesting - but short - "making of" featurettes, both from the time of the film's original release and from 2006 when this DVD was being prepared. With different accounts of the making of the film, some of the information provided can be a bit contradictory. For instance, we are told at one point that Paul Newman was cast first as the architect and Steve McQueen was then cast as the fire captain, and at another point that Steve McQueen was given his choice of which role to play and when he chose the fire caption, Paul Newman was offered the other role. All in all, if you are a fan of this movie, the special edition version will be a great treat.

Irwin Allen's follow-up to "The Poseidon Adventure" was a star studded spectacle with wonderful special effects and lots of suspense. Starring Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway and William Holden. Music by John Williams. Look for Maureen McGovern singing "We May Never Love Like This Again".

Arguably the king of the 70's disasters flicks, The Towering Inferno takes a couple of crazy ideas like build a tower 135 floors in San Francisco and let's do it on the cheap. What's the worse that can happen? Blessed with an all star cast and armed with some state of the art (at the time) pyrotechnics, The Towering Inferno, despite the cheese, doesn't fail to thrill you. It's fun to guess who's going to live and who's going to die. Never mind why it takes so long for the fire department to arrive and why didn't everyone just go to the roof and have an arm of helicopters pick them up. Or better yet-blow the tanks earlier. Still, it's good entertainment.

Somehow this movie features both camp fun and a genuine story, thrills and chills.The opening sequence is incredible. And for the most part, the movie gets better as it goes along. Sure the story bogs down a little here and there, but whats amazing is that a movie that is so FX heavy has a story at all, let alone a fairly engaging one. The sub-plots are well done, effects are fantastic, AND you get to see Newman and McQueen work together.Among the best of the disaster films , Towering Inferno has something for everyone. And what a great title!

This product arrived quickly and in great condition. It was just what I had wanted and expected. Great Job!!

One of the BEST disaster movies ever made.
Music is fantastic and the Star Studded affair for 1974 is awesome !
See it ! It's an enjoyable ride thru movie magic 1974 style.

Following up his 1972 disaster blockbuster "The Poseidon Adventure", Irwin Allen sat in the director's chair and traded in a sinking ship for a burning skyscraper. Why should someone still find interest in this film, some might ask?

First, this film has an all-star cast that is one of the heaviest of its time. It is sometimes argued as to who is the "star" of this film, but the fact is, the film is full of stars who all have an important role in the drama that plays out before the viewer. However, standing tall in this crowd is Steve McQueen as a humble yet no-nonsense fireman (Chief O'Hallorhan) along with Paul Newman, who plays the role of an Architect (Doug Roberts). The film starts out by introducing various characters that are both part of the new buildings ownership and design, as well as its various guests and employees who are all present for a grand opening for the tower being deemed the world's tallest building. If those two aren't enough to keep enough attention, there is the beautiful grace of Faye Dunaway, Susan Blakely and Jennifer Jones. Stalwart Hollywood mainstays such as William Holden, the great Fred Astaire, Richard Chamberlain, Robert Vaughn and Robert Wagner are also keys to the overall success of this film.

The production of this film, for its time, is truly something to behold. Recreating a massive fire within a high-rise building such as this is no easy task, and the stunts and effects of bottomless shafts and burning carnage are still realistic enough to add continuous moods of hopelessness to the situations the various people face during the disaster. Make no mistake, this film is not just two hours of firefighters cutting through doors and damsels in distress being rescued from precarious situations, for the relationships and drama that abound in first half of the film are just as interesting and important as the chaos that ensues.

McQueen is fabulous as the fire chief, applying at times, a sarcastic wit to the idiocy of the situation and why it came about in the first place. Newman is also perfect as an intelligent Architect who realizes nearly too late that a budget cut has undermined his fine craft and allowed for a possible disaster to unfold. The Towering Inferno is nothing to pass off, with main characters meeting their doom while others still cling to life, albeit one smoke filled floor at a time. The film retains and good deal of suspense, drama and heroics after all these years, and the teamwork as well as tension that mingles within all the characters involved makes for a well paced drama.

Looking at the film now, there are some lessons that might be learned. When the film was released, some people associated with the construction of such tall structures bashed it for falsely portraying a situation they said would never happen. Less than six months after people viewed the film, a fire broke out on one of the floors of the World Trade Towers. The film actually did raise questions on the street and push for tougher safety standards within the then stagnant building codes. Filming wrapped up on September 11th, and with then football star O.J. Simpson playing the part of a security guard, it seems to add a somewhat ominous tone to it all. Fans of this film will find the 2nd disc of this Collector's addition worthwhile, with multiple interviews with cast members in recent years as well as a stockpile of interesting footage on the vast production efforts that include the many sets and design concepts that went into creating such a film before the Computer Enhancements of years later made it easy.

Another great movie finally gets what it deserve
s on DVD and this one is a winner. Apart from the great film ifself, this second DVD has loads to watch if you're a real fan of movies like myself.

A pity it took so long, but you wont regret it!!

Originally released in 1974, "The Towering Inferno" stands as one of the best of the 70's disaster films. This film like many of Allen's others including "The Poseiden Adventure" is jam-packed with special effects and stars including: Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Fred Astare, Susan Blakley, Jennifer Jones, Robert Vaughn, Robert Wagner and ever O.J. Simpson.

Paul Newman as the architect designs the world's tallest and safest skyscraper. The developer, William Holden, shaves cost by cheating on the electrical system barely staying within the electrical codes.

The Grand Opening party for the new building with guests such as the Mayor, a Senator and many other important locals becomes a disaster. Electrical overloads and short circuits cause a fire half way up the building. Of course the party is on the top floor, approximately 50 stories above the fire. As the fire spreads, Steve McQueen as the Fire Chief comes to the rescue. If you want to know how it ends, you'll have to watch it!

I recommend this film to anyone who loves action and suspense. A 2-disc offering many extras, it is a sure bet for your video collection.

Ahhhh the 70's! This was a time of the great disaster films! For those of you not familiar with these star studded gems I will give a quick explaination. Back in the 70's Hollywood produced a bunch of disaster films and they covered just about all of them with Water(Poseidon Adventure)Fire(Towering Inferno)Earth(Earthquake)(in Sensurround!LOL!)Air(Airport)They did more, but these are the ones that were really something to see in the theaters. Each one would have more stars than 10 other first rate films combined! Kind of like the "Love Boat" but these stars were still stars! The Towering Inferno was even better than I remembered. The new special edition has a very good transfer and interesting extras. This is right up there with The Poseidon Adventure.

This movie is full of technical errors. Now I have checked this out for myself. In California, the fire protection is done by a fire protection engineer. Same thing goes for electrical. When the architect Paul Newman was fiddling with the electrical system, which may or may not have been under warranty, he was tampering with things that he was not statutorily allowed to do. As far as him reviewing the change orders to the electrical, if I was James Duncan or Roger Simmons, I would go to Superior Court and get an injunction that he can't get involved in any engineering because he is not licenced in California. They should have used Judge Mathis or Judge Joe Brown on this because I have a funny feeling this whole thing is going to end up in the Peoples Court with Judge Milian.

you can't add much more flame to the fire. this dvd has seen the light. with all the extras to sweat through you will feel like you were at a hollywood bonfire. the movie speaks for itself. we all know the horror of being in a fire in a skyscraper. now more than ever. and the film doesnt play camp like other disaster films.the acting is as good as you get at the time. but it is a stuntman movie for the most part. it is amazing how well it has held up today. and the film score is one of the best for this kind of film. this a 1970's classic and it is good to have this dvd for the future generations who havent seen it.if you are a film fan you will want the story and the extras this set provides. though not the first in the genre it was the best. and an academy award winning picture to boot.

In this age we live in, one of ultra-serious tragedy abounding in daily news, the genre/medium of the American Disaster-Thriller Flick is a wonderful diversion from reality and sometimes a downright *HOOT* ... Disaster movie-as-vehicle for questionable performances by aging famous stars can, in a way, be a touching reminder of their theatrical days gone by... but let's just laugh, shed a tear, sweat it out, and have fun with this film, the Airport-movies series, Poseidon Adventure, and more~!
My only regret is that Fred Astaire doesn't dance enough in this one, like in the olde days with Ginger Rogers :P

I loved this movie! Every member of the cast is in the right place here and it makes this film one of the big classics.

So "The Towering Inferno" is not a great movie. It's barely a good movie, although at the time of its release, it was considered one of the best of the disaster flicks. The script is formulaic (to say the least): Paul Newman designs a 135-story skyscraper in San Francisco. William Holden is the builder, but his penny pinching son (Richard Chamberlain) cuts one too many corners, and the next thing you know, poof! Some wires get crossed and there is a fire in the equipment room. Sweeping in to manage the scene is Steve McQueen, the fire chief. As is the case with this genre, the film is a veritable cavalcade of celebrities: Faye Dunaway, Fred Astaire, Jennifer Jones, Robert Wagner and Susan Blakely, to name a few.

But it all comes down to Paul and Steve. You can't help but wonder what those boys would have done with a decent script and film. Still, "The Towering Inferno" is enjoyable cheese. And sometimes, that's just the sort of movie you need.

I have loved "Towering Inferno" since the first time that I saw it. I can relate to a lot of the fire safety issues presented in the movie as my Dad is a retired firefighter.

Probably one of Steve McQueens greatest movies. Only this one can happen!

This Picture hit the theaters back in 1975 when a series of disaster films were made. Steve McQueen plays the role of Fire Chief Michael O'Hallorhan, Paul Newman plays the role of Doug Roberts and William Holden plays the role of James Duncan. Roberts is the architect that built the 138 story skyscraper in the heart of the Golden Gate City San Francisco. So James Duncan the owner of the building decides to throw a party inviting over 300 guest to celebrate it's opening. Things start to go wrong when a **** starts in a hall closet. Roberts gets more concern when he fines out that Duncan son in law Roger Simmons has cut cost by putting cheaper wire. Now it becomes Fire Chief Michael O'Hallorham to get the 300 guest out quickly without anyone getting hurt.

One of the best disaster classic's of its time. This movie has it all; from Paul Newman to Jennifer Jones and some of the best stunts and special effects of its time.

Special Edition comes fully loaded with all new interviews and deleteded scenes.

Irwin Allen's second big-screen disaster film, 1974's "The Towering Inferno," has no where near the heart of his first effort, "The Poseidon Adventure." In the beginning, TTI makes an attempt at character development, but unlike "The Poseidon Adventure," it fails miserably. We are still left with a cast of characters we don't care about, even the stars of the film, whom we're supposed to care about. Except Chief O'Hallorhan (Steve McQueen), and Lisolette (Jennifer Jones).

What bothers me about this movie is the way it treats some of its more likeable characters. Lisolette, who was a very nice lady who saved the lives of two children and an adult, ends up falling out of the outside scenic elevator through the glass, to her death. But they couldn't just have her fall, they had to first show her hitting a ledge of the building on the way down. Kind of like adding insult to injury to a likeable character. And Senator Parker (Robert Vaughn), who was portrayed as smart and turned out to be very helpful in the crisis, is suddenly turned into a dummy in the end by jumping onto the breaches buoy while it was being pulled out of the building into mid-air, with several pannicky people grabbing onto it as well, weighing it down, causing all of them to fall to their deaths. So really, no character was sacred. So again, no heart to this movie, no study in the human spirit (like "Poseidon Adventure" was), it's just a means to show people dying in a frightful situation.

But the visual effects and pyrotechnics in this movie have aged much better than I thought they would've. This is probably explained by the fact that the effects for this movie were done by Douglas Trumbull ("2001" "Close Encounters"), although he was uncredited for his work here. Trumbull's effects never look dated. L.B. Abbott oversaw the whole process, and was the only one listed in the credits. But the closing credits of movies made back then were much shorter, and didn't mention everybody involved, like they do in movies today.

And did Chief O'Hallorhan ever instruct any of his firemen to aim at the base of the fire? Throughout the whole movie, there would be a huge blaze in front of the firemen with the hoses, and they were constantly aiming the hose in the air--like they weren't hitting anything. Anybody trained in the use of a wall fire extinguisher knows to aim at the base of the fire first, to try to eliminate the root of the fire initially. I'm not a fireman, my background was in ambulance/EMS, but this always bothered me about this movie, as well.

I'd only rent, not buy.

Running across this movie on one of the classic movie channels the other night sure brought back memories. I vividly remember when this Irwin Allen blockbuster exploded across giant movie screens nationwide; THE TOWERING INFERNO was a must-see, with all its mega-star power. I was in the theater to take in this grand event, this video spectacle of epic proportions.

Funny thing is, all those years ago I left the theater feeling kind of cheated (How can the greatest movie ever made cause a letdown?); and I still feel the same way about this overcrowded disaster yarn. Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, William Holden, Richard Chamberlain, Faye Dunaway, Robert Wagner, Robert Vaughn, Fred Astaire, O.J. Simpson (who saves a cat, for crying out loud), Robert Wagner, and dozens of others (even Bobby Brady gets into this flick) all fight for lines and face time as a colossal, 140-story tower offically opens to the public. . .and promptly catches on fire. The stage is set for heroics, for shenanigans, for despair, for heartburn, as the cast of thousands figures out how to save themselves amidst the blazing inferno below, above, around, and over there, by the planter.

Incidentally, I got a kick out of the orange and green colors, the wood paneling, the gaudy fixtures, all so prevalent in the Seventies. What were we thinking? But alas, the movie ends, with some characters surviving, some characters smoldering, and something of a message that we silly humans should stop building our Towers of Babel. But there's not much else to say, other than THE TOWERING INFERNO was tired melodrama with state-of-the-art special effects then, and it's tired melodrama with laughable effects now. And that plethora of a cast; was that Dustin Hoffman running out of the 81st floor? Maybe it was David Cassidy. Heck, everyone else was in it.
--D. Mikels, Author, THE RECKONING

Hey, I won't pretend to write anything better than "Chris Kent" did below in March of 2003. Just read his excellent review that not only captures the film's qualities, but also the era in which the film was released.

Irwin Allen's grand-scale, star-studded 1974 disaster movie "The Towering Inferno" has been given first-class home-video treatment with the May 9, 2006, release of 20th Century Fox's feature-packed 2-Disc DVD Special Edition of the film.

I can't imagine any fan of this movie being disappointed with anything associated with this classy-looking double-disc SE of "Inferno" -- except perhaps the lack of a 5.1 Surround track, which is not included here, although the inner keepcase box does say that a 5.1 track is employed for the movie. But this is a packaging error; the outer slipcase has the correct audio specs....i.e., an English Dolby Digital 4.0 Surround soundtrack, plus a 2.0 Dolby Surround track in English. And both of those tracks sound very good, IMO. The memorable music score by John Williams fills up every speaker quite nicely whenever it's called upon to do so.

The absence of a 5.1 soundtrack on this Special Edition does seem a bit odd since the earlier non-SE Fox DVD edition of the film (which came out in March 1999) does have a 5.1 track on it. ~shrugs~

In addition to the good sound reproduction that can be heard on this DVD, the video quality is outstanding as well. This disc provides a beautiful, virtually blemish-free Anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1) version of "The Towering Inferno". Colors look bright and natural. I've never seen this movie look any better than it does here.

Of all the many movies that fit inside the "Disaster Movie" genre, "The Towering Inferno" is one of my favorites -- along with two others from that "Decade Of Disaster Films" (the 1970s): "The Poseidon Adventure" and the original "Airport".

Irwin Allen, of course, was the producer and creative force behind both 1972's "The Poseidon Adventure" and the equally-as-tasking project known as "The Towering Inferno" two years later. But both of those massive movie efforts paid off immensely for Mr. Allen and for thrill-seeking movie-house patrons, as each film did extremely well at the box office. "Inferno" took in more than $100-million at U.S. movie theaters alone following its debut in December of 1974.

"Inferno" also did pretty well when it came time to hand out the Oscar statues. The film received one of the highest honors in the movie industry when it was nominated for an Academy Award as one of the five top films of 1974 ("The Godfather Part 2" won the Oscar for Best Picture that year). The other three nominees were "Chinatown", "Lenny", and "The Conversation".

Another major Oscar nomination for "Inferno" went to Fred Astaire, who was among the five "Best Supporting Actor" candidates in '74. (Robert DeNiro won the award.)

"The Towering Inferno" ended up winning three Oscar trophies (for Best Cinematography, Best Song, and Best Film Editing), and was nominated for several others.

So, while the film might tend to be scoffed at today by some film critics and movie fans, "TTI" was certainly a blockbuster at the turnstiles and a success with the Motion Picture Academy as well, providing ample reward and satisfaction (no doubt) for its creator and hard-working producer and unit director, Mr. Irwin Allen.

As with most other films in the "disaster"/"doomsday" genre, "Inferno" has its fair share of plot contrivances and conveniently-arranged deaths. But this film, which clocks in at a lengthy 2 hours and 44 minutes, has a certain re-watchable quality that has never waned since I first saw it many years ago.

I think part of the reason that "TTI" holds up better than other peril-filled movies is the realistic nature of its script in terms of actually fighting the fire that is blazing through the high-rise skyscraper; plus the very good group of actors in the cast. Steve McQueen's "Chief O'Hallorhan", for example, isn't portrayed as some kind of super-human fire-fighting machine who will be able to take on this blaze all by himself and single-handedly rescue everyone who needs to be rescued.

O'Hallorhan, instead, comes across on screen as a realistic and down-to-earth Fire Chief who's just doing his job at the scene of a big fire in a big building. He's in complete control of his firemen, yes. But, in the end, he can only be "in control" up to a certain point. Because, as Producer Irwin Allen points out in one of the bonus featurettes within this DVD set, "fire waits for no man". Not even for Chief McQueen/O'Hallorhan.

I also think that Paul Newman's TTI character (architect "Doug Roberts") could be described in similar terms. Roberts, like O'Hallorhan, is rooted more in realism, instead of sensationalism. Doug even finds himself taking orders from a very forceful O.J. Simpson at one point in the film. ("Come on man, call an ambulance!")

"The Towering Inferno" is set in San Francisco, California, where that city's brand-new 138-story skyscraper -- "The Glass Tower" -- is just about to be formally dedicated. On the night of the dedication, a small electrical fire on the 81st floor goes undetected for a considerable time (the smoke detectors on Floor #81 aren't in working order). This small fire then begins to engulf more of the building....and before you know it, we have a "towering inferno" in our midst.

The initial helicopter shot we get of the "Glass Tower" is an impressive image, as the film's creators have matted the lofty structure into the real San Francisco skyline. It looks pretty authentic too, especially considering the pre-CGI era in which this matting was done.

If modern computer-generated imagery had been available at the time, I suppose TTI's opening skyline shot would have looked a little more seamless and picture-perfect, but for 1974 technology, I think the filmmakers did a great job with that shot, and with all of the other pieces of camerawork that would be done today by using computer imagery and other higher-tech special effects. When thinking about this film in that "prior-to-CGI" manner, it makes "The Towering Inferno" an even more impressive motion picture on an "effects" level.

Bringing "The Towering Inferno" to the screen was an enormous year-long undertaking, with four separate film crews being utilized simultaneously and a massive number of expensive sets being constructed (and then completely destroyed per the film's flame-filled script). There were 57 individual sets built for the film, and only eight of them remained standing by the end of shooting.

One of the things I've always liked about this film is the richness in detail with respect to the plush-looking sets used in the movie. The large, wide-open office areas exude a high-class and kind of futuristic feel to them. It's a shame they had to be burned to the ground. But the script demanded this destruction, of course.

TTI's cast roster certainly doesn't suffer from a lack of major movie stars. The four actors who get "above-the-title" billing in "Inferno" are: 44-year-old Steve McQueen, Paul Newman (age 49), William Holden (who was 56 during filming), and a lovely 33-year-old Faye Dunaway.

Toss into the above impressive group the likes of Richard Chamberlain, Fred Astaire, Robert Vaughn, Robert Wagner, Susan Blakely, Susan Flannery, O.J. Simpson, and Jennifer Jones -- and it makes for a decent-sized payroll for the two movie studios who were at the helm of this major production (20th Century Fox and Warner Brothers, who made film history when they got together and agreed to split the cost of producing "The Towering Inferno" -- a final cost which amounted to approximately 14-million dollars).

In smaller roles, keep an eye peeled for some other familiar TV and movie faces -- like Ross Elliott, Dabney Coleman, Mike Lookinland, Olan Soule, Gregory Sierra, and John Crawford.

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LOTS OF EXTRAS:

A large amount of behind-the-scenes and technical information can be found within the vast number of documentaries and featurettes that occupy space on Disc #2 of this two-DVD edition of "The Towering Inferno". A lot of informative stuff can be located amongst the bonus material that Fox has seen fit to place on board this superb DVD set. (I doubt if Fox could have fit the proverbial "kitchen sink" into this set even if they had wanted to wedge it in. ~wink~)

There are a total of 12 featurettes and documentary programs included on Disc Two, including a 22-minute "AMC Backstory" all about TTI.

Nine newly-created mini-featurettes (with running times that range from 4 to 9 minutes in length) can be individually accessed from a separate Sub-Menu on the second disc. These 9 short programs have titles ranging from "Directing The Inferno", to "Irwin Allen: The Great Producer", to "Running On Fire", to "Still The World's Tallest Building". All of these pieces are displayed in Anamorphic Widescreen format (with an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1).

My two favorite bonus items are the pair of original 1974 "Making Of" featurettes that have been included, which offer up a circa '74 look behind Irwin Allen's production. These two '74 bonuses are each titled "The Building Of A Blockbuster". The first one runs for 8 minutes; the second one lasts 7 minutes.

Both of those vintage Making-Of films include plenty of behind-the-camera footage, plus some brief on-the-set interview snippets with some of the actors and crew members. Some really good and fun-to-watch stuff here to be sure.

A funny quip in one of the featurettes is supplied by Steve McQueen, as he's being tied down in preparation for the movie's climactic "water tank" scene (which was filmed on Monday, August 12, 1974), when Steve looks over at the camera and says: "If anything happens to me, Ali {MacGraw} gets my pick-up truck".


Other DVD Special Features:

>> Multiple Audio Commentary Tracks for the feature film on Disc #1.

>> 44 minutes of Extended & Deleted Scenes (over 30 total).

>> A "NATO Presentation Reel" (11 minutes).

>> A 1977 interview with Irwin Allen (12 minutes).

>> Storyboard-To-Film Comparisons.

>> Three Interactive (Text) Articles.

>> Multiple Photo Galleries.

>> Theatrical Trailers for "The Towering Inferno" and "The Poseidon Adventure".

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COOL INSERTS & PACKAGING:

20th Century Fox has also included some nicely-done paper inserts and other goodies inside this DVD package. In fact, there are so many items in here, they can barely all be squeezed into the box. An unusual "paper" dilemma indeed, especially considering the fact that most DVDs issued nowadays (even most "Special Editions") don't come with even so much as a one-page chapter-list leaflet.

This TTI DVD contains the following physical enclosures:

1.) A six-page fold-out pamphlet, which has photos, production notes, and a chapter list for the movie's 32 Scene Selections.

2.) A collection of eight "Towering Inferno" Lobby Cards.

3.) A 36-page booklet, which is packed with pictures and general information about the movie. This handsome booklet appears to be a re-print of an original TTI movie program that was issued back in 1974.

A quote from the booklet: "Meet the creators...and the stars in a dramatic treasury of photographic highlights...and an excitingly informative behind-the-scenes look at The Towering Inferno".

The shiny and glossy-looking outer cardboard packaging that has been designed for this two-DVD set is also worth a few words of praise. Fox has placed the DVDs themselves in a standard type of hard plastic keepcase. That case then slides into an outer slipcase (sleeve), which features raised lettering for the title and some eye-popping vintage TTI artwork. First-class collectible-style packaging for sure.

The same type of deluxe packaging also comes with TTI's 2-Disc SE sister set, "The Poseidon Adventure". That companion set also comes highly recommended. It's a dandy DVD, with tons of bonus features, too.

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A FINAL "TTI" WORD:

"The Towering Inferno" towers over many other "disaster cycle" motion pictures, probably because of the vision and convictions of its creator/producer/co-director, Irwin Allen. But whatever the reasons may be, this film works (in my opinion anyway).

And there can't possibly be any better way to experience all of that fire, water, and on-screen destruction than by watching this sparkling 2-Disc Special Edition DVD. This is a disaster (film) DVD product that 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment can truly be proud of.

The newly released double disc edition of "The Towering Inferno", with its enhanced picture and sound, not to mention the additional poignancy of its parallels to 9/11, cements its place in Hollywood history as perhaps the greatest fictional disaster film ever.

after wacthing the posiedon adventure i wanted to wacth this after i got it from netflix my dad wanted to wacth it with me since steve mcqueen was he's all time favorite actor we wacthed it 2 weeks ago and man! whwat a great movie almost as good as the posiedon adventure great cast, diasater, story, spiecial effects, i bought the spiecial edition today and it's great.steve mcqueen rocks!

If you like movies as I do, this DVD set should satisfy any film fanatic with over 21 (that's right) extra features--clearly a prototype of what we film fans want in our DVD sets.

To see producer Irwin Allen in his Rolls Royce and a pink polyester leisure suit (complete with white shoes) discussing the finer points of 'The Poseidon Adventure" and "Towering Inferno" as he takes us on a tour through 20th Century Fox is as informative as it is funny.

Commentaries by film historian F.X. Feeney and SFX director, Mike Vezina, add another dimension to understanding this interesting film.

Much has already been written about this film itself by the other Amazon critics here, suffice to say the acting in this motion picture (save for the two little brats in Jennifer Jones' charge) is quite good with Newman as the architect and and McQueen as the fire captain, both excellently cast. Then again, when have these actors ever disappointed audiences in their respective roles?

Veterans Faye Dunaway and Bill Holden rarely disappoint, Richard Chamberlain is downright creepy, and even Fred Astaire (at 80 years of age when this was made) manages to inject some needed satire here and there as he tries to woo Jennifer Jones. For those from the SF Bay Area, the setting for this movie was San Francisco and the distinctive lobby of the Hyatt Regency at Embarcadero was used for many of the scenes in the first half of the movie.

Ok, this is not going to be a long review, and the film does not really impart any substantial revelations about life and death. I could get very deep and argue that the film is a metaphor to man's vanity and ego dedicated to the capitalistic excesses of power, wealth and greed, but let's get real--it's just one damn exciting movie with excellent special effects (Academy Awards for Cinematography and Editing), reasonably good acting all around, and edge-of-your-seat entertainment.

I just hope they don't make another remake a la "The Poseidon Adventure" for this film--Irwin Allen's rendition will do just fine.

For fans of 1970's disaster movies, this is the DVD to buy. 1974's "The Towering Inferno" is just good action/thrills entertainment, with the usual all-star cast. The stand-out acting performances are Steve McQueen as the fire chief, and Richard Chamberlain as the shady construction contractor whose corner-cutting may have started the fire in the first place.

What's amazing about this film is how well the visual effects and pyrotechnics have aged. To this day, you still can't make out any imperfections in the visual effects shots. The shots of the Glass Tower look so real. I don't see how they could be done any better today, with CGI. In fact, it might look worse if it were redone with CGI.

Again, good DVD to buy. Cool helicopter ride/opening-credits sequence.

I was traumatized by this movie as an eleven-year old girl who was dragged to it by her mother, who wanted to see it because all her "boyfriends" (Newman, McQueen, Chamberlain) were in it.

My husband asked me to get this DVD for him because of all the extras on it, which I admit were pretty good. For older kids and adult fans of "disaster" flicks, this is one of the better ones. The movie takes on new significance post-9/11.

This is a fantastic DVD...stuffed with great special features, deleted scenes, and documentaries. Even if you aren't a fan of THE TOWERING INFERNO, this is a must for anyone who wants to learn how movies are made.

This special edition DVD has all the bells and whistles one would want for this film. Most already know the story, but this film was made before the era of computer graphics, and the stars did most of their own stunts. And this film certainly has a list of stars. The film was actually completed in a fairly short time. The film is long, but really doesn't drag very much, as there are a lot of subplots to tidy up and give background to the action. And in this film, you keep ahead of the actors, in that you know things they do not know.

The commentary by F.X.Feeney really helps one understand how the film was composed and the scenes were set. He does, however, come to some opposite conclusions to some of the commentary for the scene specific commentary on the second disc.

For those who saw or remember the film in the theater, this is the DVD you have been waiting for. The two set DVD does the film justice.

This film was done in the old fashioned manner. Great stars, showmanship, and no computer graphics. And a well written script to go along with the special effects. Some of the scenes filmed then are as good as any computer graphics could do now.

I give the film five stars for its type, not five stars because it is five stars compared with any other film out there.

Wow! The special effects were great. Powerful story and great stars. You really get wrapped up in this one.