Excellent, well-structured analysis, thanks! I love Towering over The Poseidon Adventure because, in Towering, the two leads work TOGETHER to solve the problem.
Your review led my wife and I to get this movie from the library and watch it last night. It was my first time seeing it, although she had seen it many times growing up. As you might be able to deduce from my user name, I am an architect, and I have to say that Paul Newman's architect knew an awful lot more about the specifics of his building's electrical system than most architects do. He seemed to be electrical engineer, electrician, and facilities manager all rolled into one. And of course, he also knew specific "spoiler alert" information about the water tanks. It makes one wonder why they needed to have the structural engineer in his minor role, since apparently the architect is a genius who knows everything. In reality, buildings require the expertise and efforts of many people, especially one of this size. Architects know walls, floors, doors, windows, roofs, stairs, arrangement of spaces and rooms, etc. Then we know a little about structural, electrical, plumbing, heating and cooling systems, etc. But we rely on our engineers to be the experts in their respective fields. Oh, well, like many movies, they wanted to simplify things and make them more dramatic than realistic.
@rktek, Because two books were used as source material, I think the screenwriters rolled characters from both books and came up with one "super engineer" - type character. The screenplay saved time, money (in casting a separate actor)... and in the end, I think it makes more sense for a movie storyline.
This was a gala evening with a gala dinner for 300 VIP guests yet apart from a waitress or two and Carlos, the World’s most overworked barman, you never see any sign of any catering or kitchen staff anywhere (Paul Newman assembles everyone to tell them the grim news) and for such an evening there would have been dozens.
The famous British film reviewer Leslie Halliwell regarded this film as the best of the big-budget disaster films, as did the BBC film reviewer Barry Norman. Maureen McGovern was credited in the end credits for the song, but in a couple places her mouth wasn't quite in sync with the words, so she was miming.
Very much enjoyed your review. Have always been a fan of The Towering Inferno, seeing it twice in the theater in 1974 (it wasn't common to see movies multiple times back then - Star Wars would change that a few years later). And have seen it countless times on video and DVD. Like you, I could pick apart many things about the movie, but also like you I just enjoy it is pure entertainment.
I have yet to read or view a better, more insightful and comprehensive review of Irwin Allen's masterpiece. THE TOWERING INFERNO is a largely overlooked epic today. It's not revived as frequently as THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE, but I think it has aged well. The scene that reverberates with me the most is when McQueen's fire chief gazes at the row of body bags of fallen firefighters at the end. Hollywood blockbusters like this one used to have real substance, and the film is even more astonishing when one considers how digital FX and imagery were not available to the filmmakers. If you're watching this one at home, watch it on the biggest TV screen or monitor that you can. I would pay full admission price to see this on the big screen!
My younger Brother never liked older films like I do. Anytime I'd put an old movie on, and He would just leave the room. Except for this one. Anytime I put this movie on, He'll stay and watch.
The blu-ray ratchets up the visual quality over the DVD. Those fire engine reds as well as the oranges and yellows of the blaze itself stand out in sharp relief. I can only imagine how good a 4K will look!
Both are classics. I agree that Poseidon Adventure is much more emotional. You could even call it a tear jerker. In that way, it is a much more upsetting and disturbing film. Towering Inferno is less about emotion and more about sheer suspense and action. The main element it possesses, which Poseidon Adventure does not, is a sense of triumph and heroism, particularly in the Steve McQueen character. In addition, it builds to an absolutely awesome climactic scene. Poseidon Adventure does not, and yet it still provides a ressolution that works. That's not to say that Hackman and Borgnine are not heroic figures, they certainly are. But Towering Inferno's resolution feels much more upbeat and exciting, as opposed to Poseidon's very dark sense of tragedy and loss which our characters have endured.
One of your videos showed up 2 weeks ago and I spent the rest of the night binge watching more. It's unusual for someone your age to love old black and white films. And I think I have a crush on you. Keep up the good work.
I saw this in the theater in 1974. I remember seeing the trailer for Jaws before the movie started. Saw that too the next year. Jaws is still my favorite movie of all time. The Towering Inferno is my favorite "disaster" movie. There's some similarities between both movies and both are scored by the great John Williams.
Great review of an absolute classic; blockbusters today wish they could be this good. The image of the burning man stumbling out of the elevator has haunted me since I was a kid. And this movie was also (at least, partially) the inspiration for Die Hard so it's like we got two great movies for the price of one!
I just watched this randomly with my wife while on vacation on a cruise and I have to say we both very much enjoyed it! I agree that there are some odd things that aren't realistic but overall it was a really entertaining and tense movie. I was especially impressed by the special effects, there was rarely a moment durring the whole thing that stood out to me as looking "bad". I've never seen The Poseidon Adventure, I'll have to watch that next! Thank you for the in-depth review!
It's wonderful to listen to a young person of the 21st century share her thoughts about a film that was made when I was a kid!! Your review is very eloquent, and would have been praised, even in the 1970's. p.s. It occurred to me that all of the water in THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE could have quickly put out the fire in THE TOWERING INFERNO!
I saw this movie on TV back when I was a kid. Probably around 8 years old. It scared me so much that I because physically ill, and I think I even had a bad fever. I was out of school for like two days recovering. No joke, this movie destroyed me.
Thanks for a another great review. You seem to have an affinity to disaster films. I like Irwin Allen's disaster epics. His earlier work showed where he was headed: They often have an element of disaster, particularly Voage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961), which is about the Van Allen belt that circles the Earth catching fire and raising world temperate to dangerous levels. The commander of the sub Seaview is in a race against time to get to the Mariannas Trench and shoot a missile to destroy the belt. Less disastrous is Allen's The Lost World (1960), but even it puts our cast in danger by having their copter destroyed by a dinosaur after arriving on a plateau populated with living dinos (actually iguanas dressed up!). They are in a race against time to get to safe ground before a volcano erupts. Even less disaster related is his Five Weeks in a Balloon (1962), but even in this our cast finds themselves in constant peril and in a race against time to stake a claim for territory in East Africa before slave traders get there. Like Allen's later disaster epics, these all have ensemble casts and aren't particularly high art, but are a lot of fun. Allen was the C.B. DeMille of his time, which brings to mind DeMille's The Greatest Show on Earth. I think irwin Allen's 1959 The Big Circus is just as entertaining..
I've got to give credit to my mom. She's really the one with the affinity for disaster films, old and new. As a kid I was along for the ride, and I suppose that led to my own independent enjoyment of them (and a more favorable attitude toward them than some others have). Thank you for providing the additional information about Allen's previous film productions and their connections to this genre. I've seen Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, a few minutes of that version of The Lost World, and The Big Circus. I tend to forget that Allen was involved with that last film (and didn't just produce but also co-wrote it), but I absolutely agree with you. I've seen The Big Circus a couple times and find it very enjoyable.
Beware of The Blob, it creeps. And leaps and glides and slides. Across the floor. Right through the door. And all around the wall. A splotch, a blotch. Be careful of the blob.
Whenever I watch this one I make it a kind of 'event night' because that's what most of this film feels like to me: an event. Where it works, and that's most of the film, it really puts on a fantastic show...something I feel we're kind of lacking sometimes these days.
I just finished this movie tonight! I'm trying to watch Paul's movies from the 60s and 70s and up my movie count in those decades. After seeing the movie, I looked up the reviews, and you were the first one I saw! I honestly really liked this movie. It has an awesome cast and a great score! My favorite stars in the film are Paul and Fred Astaire. I also liked seeing the little boy who played Bobby Brady in the Brady bunch and Scott Newman as the young firefighter who tells McQueen he is scared of falling.
Well done! Your mom being a McQueen fan, I strongly suggest The Sand Pebbles (1966). Epic and engrossing... my favorite of his. Length is long, but well worth it. P.S. We thoroughly enjoyed your Godzilla movie soundtrack reviews. Team G!
Hmm, I always saw this as Paul Newman's movie. Another great disaster movie I love but again it as so hard to watch so many well liked characters die. I love your enthusiasm about your dvd and its contents. Such refreshing positivity! Thank you! Thank you for your in depth exploration of so many aspects of this great movie. You truly have a way of telling enough to pique interest. I've seen this movies dozens of times but after your review I'm like "Huh, I should check that movie out, it looks interesting!"
So glad you enjoyed the video! It's always especially encouraging to hear that my review has made people want to watch the movie... even when they've seen it before! :D
The Allen films stand out because they weren’t afraid to kill off big name actors. That way you truly had no idea who would survive. Unlike the 90s disasters that none of the big name characters bite the dust. It got to the point of why bother, you knew the outcome without having seen the film.
Have not heard the word kerfuffle in a long time! Great review of a solid, if not great movie. Definitely the highlight of the disaster movie era- much better than Earthquake. I have read both books and both are very different in style but worthwhile. Not to give the details away but the Tower ends pretty bleak- the movie ending is much closer to the Glass Inferno.
This is one of my favorite disaster movies. Compared to the schlocky-ness Roland Emmerich, Michael Bay, and Brad Peyton would later put out, it comes off as surprisingly earnest, and it has a few elements (like actual character deaths that aren't glorified) that thrust it ahead of those films. Can't really compare it to The Poseidon Adventure (as I've only seen the TV movie and snippets of the remake), but The Towering Inferno's just been one of those movies that's held up over time that whenever it's on one of the oldies movie channels or I'm feeling the itch for an unpretentious action/adventure film, often scratches it with gusto.
Thank you for your review and reccomendation! I was looking for a good sunday afternoon film to watch today-what a great film!.They don't make films like this anymore-the set-pieces are spectacular but you actually care about all the characters-i really enjoyed this!
You couldn’t escape the sting of disaster films in the 70s. I was more a fan of the parodies Mad Magazine,The Big Bus and Airplane of course.A safety film made its round during this time that gained much notoriety called Hospitals Don’t Burn Down ! 1978.Based on a real event it was mandatory viewing for Hospital employees.It caused nightmares amongst freshman nursing students so TRIGGER WARNING if anyone wants to catch it on TH-cam.Inferno has quite a cast.As an 11 year old I never understood why a dancer was hired to act.
Love it just as much as The Poseidon Adventure, very different movies but they share so much, it's also a much longer film but when you watch it for some reason it never feels like it is. I guess that's a testament to how well made and entertaining it all is. Incidentally, there's a 1974 TV movie called Terror on the 40th Floor starring John Forsythe and Joseph Campanella, it's very similar to this film about a skyscraper catching fire it even premiered three months before The Towering Inferno and is basically a small-screen version. Speaking of Towering Inferno star Richard Chamberlain and the small screen, I would recommend The Count of Monte-Cristo (1975) and The Man in the Iron Mask (1977) both cast with many stars and based on the two Alexandre Dumas novels so they're well worth watching.
The Towering Inferno has been one of my favorite films since it was released back in the seventies. I think I saw it a couple of times actually in the theater during its initial run. Personally I prefer it over the Poseidon Adventure. The Poseidon Adventure to me is much darker, the characters are constantly at each other's throats there's just a lot of negativity, yes a lot of character development but it just seems to be very antagonistic and the end of it seems kind of dismal, I mean most of them have died and there's only a few that survived and you're thinking good it's over. The Towering inferno seems more optimistic there are characters that actually do like each other the music is very upbeat and we do actually get to see hope in the film with the rescue team trying to help those who are trapped. However as Irwin Allen said and I agree the star of the movie is the fire. I have always loved the opening theme. I have listened to it over and over, such an exciting, adventurous and majestic piece. It starts out small like a burning ember then escalates to a raging fire then burns itself out slowly in the end. One of John Williams early masterpieces. I really enjoyed your review it was very thorough as always.
I'm three years late, but I wanted to tell you this was an outstanding review and comparison video along with great backgroun information. Did you know that when the work on "The Towering Inferno" was completed the date was September 11, 1974? Twenty-seven years later to the day the tragedy of 9-11 took place in real life. I remember that on American Movie Classics the featured film or one of the featured films for the next day, September 12th, was "The Towering Inferno". Wisely and graciously A.M.C. changed the programming and instead showed another movie, I think it was "Breakfast at Tiffany's". Also would you ever consider making a review video the "The Last Voyage" from 1960? It's not a well-known disaster movie that actually didn't do well at the box office. Partly, I think , because some of it may have been too intense for audiences of the day. Also, and in a strange mix of life and art, "The Last Voyage" is based to quite an extent on the Andrea Doria disaster that occurred three yeas before the movie was filmed (released the next year). Not only that, but "The Last Voyage" was filmed aboard the French liner Ile de France which came to the rescue of those aboard the Andrea Doria.
Just discovered this channel, you present your review well, a bit in the style of Chris Stuckman. Pleasant voice and good presentation, you have a new sub.
I saw "The Towering Inferno" in the movie theater when it first came out (I was 19 and a sophomore in college). I enjoyed it then and still like to watch it on the rare occassions I can catch it on TV/cable. While I watched some Paul Newman and Steve McQueen movies back in the day, I wasn't a huge fan of either, but I did appreciate their talent and their "coolness." I don't think I went ga-ga over any particular movie star by that age. I just went to see TTI because it looked like a thrill ride and I enjoyed "The Poseidon Adventure" and was up for more. And then "Jaws" came out....
Thanks for the review. The Towering Inferno, along with The Poseidon Adventure, hold a special place in my heart as they come from Irwin Allen. For those of us who were kids in the 50s and 60s, Irwin Allen provided many an hour of television entertainment with his four science-fiction series, Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea, Lost In Space, Land Of The Giants, and my favorite, The Time Tunnel. Some of these series, notably Lost In Space, devolved in silliness; Voyage became a monster-of-the-week show, and Giants was somewhat same-y every week. Even my favorite, The Time Tunnel started down the road to silly aliens toward the end, but early on, it provided more adult stories based on historical events. I too, own that special edition DVD with the lobby cards. I never upgraded to Blu-ray.
Nice review, it's been a long time since I watched this film. Your review brought back memories of watching it. I'm a big fan of Astaire and it's amusing to see him play a shifty con man, lol. I'll have to revisit the film again in the near future. This is slightly off topic but Irwin Allen DVD sets must all come with lobby cards as I have the complete collection of Land of the Giants and there's several in that too. Looking forward to your next video.👍
Really enjoyed your extensive review of The Towering Inferno. Although I much prefer William’s score for Inferno when compared to his sparse approach (yet excellent) score for Poseidon. TI was my first real movie obsession. Having grown up in the San Francisco bay area I remember being gob-smacked at how convincing the effects were. The production team created a masterful sense of place and geography with that lovely cyclorama around the Promenade Room set. Anyhow, one fun fact I heard from a reliable source (who was there) is that the cast of “Young Frankenstein”, who were shooting at Twentieth Century Fox at the same time as Inferno would often venture over to the Inferno sets to watch the action scenes being filmed.
Glad you enjoyed it! I think a couple reasons I prefer the Poseidon Adventure score are that 1) I like how at times it subtly suggests the sounds and movements of the ship and the ocean, contributing to the immersive atmosphere (no pun intended!), and 2) I don't know, I find PA's main theme, especially the version in the end titles, kind of moving. Ha, that's great! I hadn't come across that bit of information anywhere, so thanks for sharing it. :)
Totally agree that the Poseidon score has a very powerful nautical heart at its core and I really do love it. And You’re right, Poseidon is much more character driven. The scene when Reverend Scott discovers that Belle has not survived her rescue of him is devastating. .........Fine, I love them both
I remember seeing this in the theater when it came out. It was a big deal. The two leads were a big deal. You are right, the increasing tension was palpable. During the movie people died so, it wasn't inevitable that everyone would survive and be a happy ending. That made it "sit on the edge of you seat" viewing. I think it succeeded
I could've sworn that you already did a video on this movie, but then I remembered where I had actually seen it on TH-cam before....1970's and 80's TV commercial compilations, First, from the 70's when it was released I assume...and then later on a 1980's commercial compilation when it was the "Saturday Night Movie that we'll return to after these messages..." Since this is now the 3rd time I've encountered it, I guess that's a sign I should watch it. Ha!
I had the same feeling, when I saw this review pop up up I thought it was an old video but then saw it was marked as new. Granted she has talked about this film before so maybe that's where the deja vu comes from.
Airport, Towering Inferno, Them! Its like you raided my blu-ray collection lol. If you start reviewing Columbo episodes I'll have to send you a marriage proposal via YT comments.
Have you ever thought about doing a podcast? I love your videos, but I'd also love to hear you talk about movies and books freeform. A lot of your charm and comes from your tangents and digressions. And you are so intelligent and insightful. All those thing with your very pleasing voice would make for a good podcast methinks.
I've considered it, but not very seriously. I feel like I use my facial expressions so much when I talk that some of what I wanted to convey would get lost in translation (also a reason why I'm not inclined to have a blog). I've tried to do some more conversational-style videos but it often ends up being a tiresome and discouraging experience. It's helpful to know what variations people might be interested in, though, so thanks for asking!
Alright, you’ve sold me on this one. I always got the impression it was a movie that tried to get by on star power and didn’t offer much else, but now I actually want to see it. I felt the same way about *The Poseidon Adventure,* but I think I did see at least part of that one a long time ago, probably between classes at college, as that was when I had TCM.
Saw The Towering Inferno, When It First Came Out. Only Irwin Allen, Along With Two Movie Studios, Can Put Together A Blockbuster Of A Movie. An All-Star Cast, Death-defying Stunts(Can't Practice That), & Stunning Cinematography, Makes For A Classic. Loved It.
I found the composition of your video to be ironically funny. You have a plush Godzilla on one side of your shelf and the Towering Inferno on the other. A happy accident to be sure. I recently rewatched The Towering Inferno and I feel its a little overwrought, over done if you will excuse the pun. It has the star power and the effects but the story is all over the place. It deserves its status as an epic film but felt it could've been edited to have a tighter focus. Other another great video of a classic movie, keep them coming.
Thank you for a great review of a classic disaster film. I am enjoying your series on 1970's disaster films, I hope you are planning to continue the series!
Glad you enjoyed it! I should clarify that this isn't really a review series. I've just had The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno on my list of films to discuss for years. I hope to finally review the Airport movies soon, but I wanted to cover these two before I moved on to that. Sorry about any confusion or disappointment! My friend Daisuke Beppu IS doing a 70s disaster movie series on his channel, so you should check that out! th-cam.com/users/DaisukeBeppuvideos
Thank you for the clarification, no apology needed, my mistake. I think the Airport movies are a great idea! I will check out Daisuke Beppu’s series, thank you for the recommendation!
I liked both Newman and McQueen, but I was not a fangirl of either. If they happened to be in a movie I wanted to see for whatever reasons, fine, but I didn't see just any movie because one or the other starred in it. I was probably a bigger fan of Robert Vaughn because, as a kid, I was into "Napoleon "Solo" and could relate more to him than anyone else in the film. I'd mention Richard Chamberlain as a favorite, but I didn't like his character, as intended. Anyway, I've enjoyed seeing this many times since I first saw it in 1972.
Not exactly: Paul and Steve fight one each other so Hard during the production. At one point Steve was so tirado of Newman's gigantic ego and left him alone for a days. Paul woulded take advantatge and Quick out Steve from the production and propose Eastwood for substitute. Eastwood decline at same time that Allen take control of Newman's ego and menace him. Steve return after days of resting at home to the production. The contractuals agreenment between Allen and Steve make impossible dismiss him. Everyone knows that the best and juicy part role were in hands of Steve. Newman Just play the macho~action role with an insoportable Faye Danaway, one if the most problematic actress of all time. There are a los of deleted scenes and non filmed part where Steve have a better and deserved role. 33 deleted scened in that supposed Special Edition from Fox to Germany zone DVD with extra bonus material, booklet, sillas and mano more. For me TTI is far superior than Poseidon Adventure and the rest of Disasters films genre. Also one of my favorite films.
I ride for Paul Newman, hes one of my three favorite actors, but I prefer Mcqueen in this movie. I havent seen it in a minute though. Im due for a rewatch. Good stuff as always Jerome.
Amazing film with amazing cast including Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway, Fred Astaire, Robert Vaughn, Richard Chamberlain and William Holden. This film won an Oscar for the song We May Never Love Like This Again by Maureen McGovern, thank you Jerome by the way you look so pretty great smile😊
Lovely review the one thing that always horrifies me in this film is Lorrie diving out of the window with her pantyhose on fire the thought of being in that situation sends a shiver through me all I know is I would of sounded exactly the same as her on the way down.
very concise and informative review! Poseidon is the better of the pair but this is a great movie on so many levels! The two best disaster movies easily!
I saw this in a rerelease in 1976, the only disaster film that I saw theatrically. I thouroughly enjoyed it, particularly the effects. I haven't seen it since, not so much out of disdain for the movie, but just because I haven't run across it on tv, and I don't have a copy. I may see what Amazon wants for the DVD.
I always thought that the issues over the placing of name credits was silly. There was the same issue between Tony Curtis and Roger Moore on the TV series-The Persuaders ( 1971-1072), which as fun to watch as a 6 year old 😀 Keep up the excellent reviews they are fun, interesting, extremely well researched and presented 👍👍
I'm also familiar with Steve McQueen's works, but I have yet to check this film out. Given that Disney now owns 20th Century Fox's film catalog, does this mean that Warner Bros now share the rights to this particular film with Disney?
Love this movie. It has a scale and sense of impending doom like very few other films. The acting is (despite various complaints about the dialogue) excellent all around. And it represents for many of this starry cast, their highest grossing movie of their careers. It's grand filmmaking and a throw-back to an era of 'Grand Hotel' and 'San Francisco'.
I was 6 yrs old the first time I saw The Towering Inferno at the movie theater in downtown Chicago in 1974. It has been one of my all time favorites and hours upon hours of watching this film over the years is crazy to count. At one it was my go to movie to fall asleep with when I couldn't sleep and there was nothing on tv. I have to agree with you some of the movie doesn't make NO SENSE but then we have to understand the scene play come from 2 different nova's. Thanks for the review on both The Towering Inferno and The Poseidon Adventure. And yes the 70s were the decade of disaster movies. Here's a suggestion for a another Disaster Movie from 1974 EARTHQUAKE.
Here in Venezuela this movie can't be aired on TV anymore, since we had an horrible fire in our biggest tower that is still on our minds. The problem was not "cutting corners" during construction but corrupt government people stealing the money needed for scheduled maintenance of the tower.
At the climax of the Towering Inferno it would have been great to have had a scene where Paul Newman is swimming underwater a la The Poseidon Adventure. Also there could have been a great sequel with the flood at the end now out of control in the building, and some other people stuck in the building and now trying to escape the water.
FWIW: I saw *THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE* in a cinema when it was released. I _remember_ seeing all the advertising for this movie when it came out, but for whatever reason I never went to see it.
Haven't seen you since the KING KONG review...anyway I had always heard that THE BLOB was M queen's premiere role. I liked this film & it paved the way for today's 'state of the art' disaster films such as - SAN ANDREAS, SKYSCRAPER, VOLCANO, DAYLIGHT etc, its very much Sunday afternoon material though, because of it's sheer length, sit down with coffee & a bar of chocolate I always think,. By Irwin Allen, the 70s undisputed disaster film Producer who also gave us- SHORT WALK TO DAYLIGHT, THE SWARM, CAVE IN, METEOR etc.
Hi Jerry, not only have I seen The Towering Inferno, but I have also read the two books. Quite frankly, I prefer The Glass Inferno to The Tower, but I have read the first one at least twice and I consider it a page-turner while I read The Tower only once and I remember it as plodding
Same here! I was in middle school when I read "The Tower" and "The Glass Inferno". I wasn't old enough to appreciate them as I would now at the age of...well, we needn't dwell on that...but I liked both in their own ways. I think I read "The Tower" twice and I know I read "The Glass Inferno" only once and that was the one I preferred. I might think differently now. I didn't think about it at the time, but I see now that it was unusual that one of the main characters in "The Tower" was an openly gay or somewhat openly gay man. I wonder if the movie people considered that character to be too daring for 1974 audiences.
Thanks for another excellent review. It's interesting that you can see similarities to 9/11. For me in Ireland, the greatest parallel with the movie is the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in London. Not sure how well known that is in America. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grenfell_Tower_fire
Thanks for the link, Damien. I had never heard of the Grenfell fire and find it amazing that something like that could have happened in 2017. The idea of a "stay put" policy in a burning building seems like pure madness!
Damn great movie I mean a very damn great movie because I was done a little boy or we could say a toddler back in 1974 during the time when this movie was done in theaters because I haven’t seen that movie until somewhere in the 80s when it aired one Sunday night back on NBCbecause I remember the scene when all of the firetrucks and ambulances responded to a devastating fire, which had taken place in this large building and downtown San Francisco because in this movie, there were lots of legendary actors and actresses, who played in this movie.
Thanks! Yup, I'm sure; it's not early in the movie but around the beginning of the party. Caught it when watching the movie and again when going through it collecting images. It's subtle.
Hi Jerry, new suscriber here, I'm 67 years old and a film fan. Not only did I see The Towering Inferno, I also read both books. Do you know that Frank M. Robinson, had another book of his filmed, a SF book, The Power, which happens to be Michael Rennie last movie
I've never seen this movie and I'm not totally sure why, but it may have to do with the running time. I'm a big fan of movies in the 90-100 minute range and if a movie runs longer than 2 hours then alarm bells and flashing lights go off in my head. That and also the negativity that surrounds this movie as you mentioned in your review. But, who knows, I might watch it one day. Thanks as always.
I always thought The Towering Inferno was better then The Poseidon Adventure as The Towering Inferno made a specific point about what happens when you "cut corners" to get things done cheaply and quickly. The Poseidon Adventure really doesn't. The Poseidon Adventure starts with the captain and one of the board of directors arguing about getting the ship home in a hurry and the captain saying that would be to dangerous. It wouldn't of mattered anyway as later, the tidal wave hits and that point is forgotten. Of course another point is Reverend Scott's sermon to not to sit on our butts praying to be saved vs doing it ourselves. The points sort of get buried in that movie. The Towering Inferno never buries the point as that movie keeps reminding us of that point. "Cutting corners equals the electrical problem, the fire, Paul Newman's great monolog to William Holden about "cutting corners" to Steve McQueen's sarcastic "architects" remark about making buildings taller and at the end William Holden saying hope this never happens again to the closing lines of Newman and McQueen's characters From IMBD Chief O'Hallorhan: You know, we were lucky tonight. Body count's less than 200. You know, one of these days, you're gonna kill 10,000 in one of these firetraps, and I'm gonna keep eating smoke and bringing out bodies until somebody asks us... how to build them. Doug Roberts: [looks up at the smoky building] Okay. I'm asking. Chief O'Hallorhan: You know where to reach me. So long, architect. Still I liked them both equally and could watch them both over and over.
Since this movie and Earthquake, etc. I feel that movies in general have gone down hill fast. What we have now is mutant super hero’s that are ridiculously unbelievable. Thank goodness for a halfway house in the form of Christopher Nolan who knows how to give us a true blockbuster that people enjoy.
A very thorough overview of the movie . Well done ! It’s interesting that Steve McQueen wanted someone “ better “ to star opposite him than Ernest Borgnine . The last time I checked , Mr Borgnine had a best actor Oscar on his mantelpiece. Anyway , Paul Newman was great , and I have always enjoyed the movie . Thanks !
@@Weiselberry You are most welcome . Yes there was a lot of ground to cover . I think that is one of your strengths as a reviewer . You can cover a lot of ground without going overboard on any one aspect of the material . Keep up the good work !
Yeah, these reviews seem to just grow and grow and grow. I'm very grateful people don't seem to mind the extra details and background information. I'll continue to do my best to deliver quality content!
I'm glad you enjoyed it! I have talked about a few other McQueen films to date. Very recently I talked about The Hunter (th-cam.com/video/fH0vyPzP-7s/w-d-xo.html ). I did a mini review of An Enemy of the People (th-cam.com/video/21566928qXM/w-d-xo.html ). And I reviewed The Blob: th-cam.com/video/kWVpV_cvl_Q/w-d-xo.html
@@Weiselberry Oh sorry, I didn't know you'd done more reviews on Steve's movies. That's awesome! I'm really excited to watch them. Especially eager to hear your take on his personal "Enemy of the people" project (which I find to be somewhat underrated). Thank you for replying to me, and god bless you.
This was not the first movie to use the billing used for Paul Newman and Steve McQueen. It was used the year before in BANG THE DRUM SLOWLY for Robert DeNiro and Michael Moriority.
Excellent, well-structured analysis, thanks! I love Towering over The Poseidon Adventure because, in Towering, the two leads work TOGETHER to solve the problem.
In high school, we made the joke: "Tonight's double feature is Earthquake and The Towering Inferno, a.k.a. Shake and Bake."
*_"It's what they call a 'Shake & Bake' colony."_*
*-- ALIENS [1986]*
@@bluebat7496 That’s funny
The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno are undisputed classics.
Your review led my wife and I to get this movie from the library and watch it last night. It was my first time seeing it, although she had seen it many times growing up. As you might be able to deduce from my user name, I am an architect, and I have to say that Paul Newman's architect knew an awful lot more about the specifics of his building's electrical system than most architects do. He seemed to be electrical engineer, electrician, and facilities manager all rolled into one. And of course, he also knew specific "spoiler alert" information about the water tanks. It makes one wonder why they needed to have the structural engineer in his minor role, since apparently the architect is a genius who knows everything. In reality, buildings require the expertise and efforts of many people, especially one of this size. Architects know walls, floors, doors, windows, roofs, stairs, arrangement of spaces and rooms, etc. Then we know a little about structural, electrical, plumbing, heating and cooling systems, etc. But we rely on our engineers to be the experts in their respective fields. Oh, well, like many movies, they wanted to simplify things and make them more dramatic than realistic.
Ha, that's Hollywood for you. :) Thanks for providing your professional insight!
@rktek,
Because two books were used as source material, I think the screenwriters rolled characters from both books and came up with one "super engineer" - type character. The screenplay saved time, money (in casting a separate actor)... and in the end, I think it makes more sense for a movie storyline.
This was a gala evening with a gala dinner for 300 VIP guests yet apart from a waitress or two and Carlos, the World’s most overworked barman, you never see any sign of any catering or kitchen staff anywhere (Paul Newman assembles everyone to tell them the grim news) and for such an evening there would have been dozens.
Excellent film. The performances are fantastic and the film is an incredible experience. Thank you very much for the review!
Glad you enjoyed it, Jared!
The famous British film reviewer Leslie Halliwell regarded this film as the best of the big-budget disaster films, as did the BBC film reviewer Barry Norman. Maureen McGovern was credited in the end credits for the song, but in a couple places her mouth wasn't quite in sync with the words, so she was miming.
Very much enjoyed your review. Have always been a fan of The Towering Inferno, seeing it twice in the theater in 1974 (it wasn't common to see movies multiple times back then - Star Wars would change that a few years later). And have seen it countless times on video and DVD. Like you, I could pick apart many things about the movie, but also like you I just enjoy it is pure entertainment.
Thank you! Yes, the movie's most enjoyable if you just take it as it is. :)
We used to watch this as a family whenever it was on growing up - same as the Poseidon. Both fantastic - thank you for reviewing!
I have yet to read or view a better, more insightful and comprehensive review of Irwin Allen's masterpiece. THE TOWERING INFERNO is a largely overlooked epic today. It's not revived as frequently as THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE, but I think it has aged well. The scene that reverberates with me the most is when McQueen's fire chief gazes at the row of body bags of fallen firefighters at the end. Hollywood blockbusters like this one used to have real substance, and the film is even more astonishing when one considers how digital FX and imagery were not available to the filmmakers. If you're watching this one at home, watch it on the biggest TV screen or monitor that you can. I would pay full admission price to see this on the big screen!
My younger Brother never liked older films like I do. Anytime I'd put an old movie on, and He would just leave the room. Except for this one. Anytime I put this movie on, He'll stay and watch.
The blu-ray ratchets up the visual quality over the DVD. Those fire engine reds as well as the oranges and yellows of the blaze itself stand out in sharp relief. I can only imagine how good a 4K will look!
Both are classics. I agree that Poseidon Adventure is much more emotional. You could even call it a tear jerker. In that way, it is a much more upsetting and disturbing film. Towering Inferno is less about emotion and more about sheer suspense and action. The main element it possesses, which Poseidon Adventure does not, is a sense of triumph and heroism, particularly in the Steve McQueen character. In addition, it builds to an absolutely awesome climactic scene. Poseidon Adventure does not, and yet it still provides a ressolution that works. That's not to say that Hackman and Borgnine are not heroic figures, they certainly are. But Towering Inferno's resolution feels much more upbeat and exciting, as opposed to Poseidon's very dark sense of tragedy and loss which our characters have endured.
One of your videos showed up 2 weeks ago and I spent the rest of the night binge watching more. It's unusual for someone your age to love old black and white films. And I think I have a crush on you. Keep up the good work.
Haha, thank you! I'm glad you're finding the videos so entertaining. :)
@@Weiselberry 🙂
Lol...same.
I saw this in the theater in 1974. I remember seeing the trailer for Jaws before the movie started. Saw that too the next year. Jaws is still my favorite movie of all time. The Towering Inferno is my favorite "disaster" movie. There's some similarities between both movies and both are scored by the great John Williams.
Great review of an absolute classic; blockbusters today wish they could be this good. The image of the burning man stumbling out of the elevator has haunted me since I was a kid. And this movie was also (at least, partially) the inspiration for Die Hard so it's like we got two great movies for the price of one!
I just watched this randomly with my wife while on vacation on a cruise and I have to say we both very much enjoyed it!
I agree that there are some odd things that aren't realistic but overall it was a really entertaining and tense movie. I was especially impressed by the special effects, there was rarely a moment durring the whole thing that stood out to me as looking "bad".
I've never seen The Poseidon Adventure, I'll have to watch that next!
Thank you for the in-depth review!
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
It's wonderful to listen to a young person of the 21st century share her thoughts about a film that was made when I was a kid!!
Your review is very eloquent, and would have been praised, even in the 1970's.
p.s.
It occurred to me that all of the water in THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE could have quickly put out the fire in THE TOWERING INFERNO!
I saw this movie on TV back when I was a kid. Probably around 8 years old. It scared me so much that I because physically ill, and I think I even had a bad fever. I was out of school for like two days recovering. No joke, this movie destroyed me.
Saw this in the theater in 1974. What a movie. McQueen stole the show.
Better than Newman
50th anniversary in 2024, for your information. Timeless movie.
Thanks for a another great review. You seem to have an affinity to disaster films. I like Irwin Allen's disaster epics. His earlier work showed where he was headed: They often have an element of disaster, particularly Voage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961), which is about the Van Allen belt that circles the Earth catching fire and raising world temperate to dangerous levels. The commander of the sub Seaview is in a race against time to get to the Mariannas Trench and shoot a missile to destroy the belt. Less disastrous is Allen's The Lost World (1960), but even it puts our cast in danger by having their copter destroyed by a dinosaur after arriving on a plateau populated with living dinos (actually iguanas dressed up!). They are in a race against time to get to safe ground before a volcano erupts. Even less disaster related is his Five Weeks in a Balloon (1962), but even in this our cast finds themselves in constant peril and in a race against time to stake a claim for territory in East Africa before slave traders get there. Like Allen's later disaster epics, these all have ensemble casts and aren't particularly high art, but are a lot of fun. Allen was the C.B. DeMille of his time, which brings to mind DeMille's The Greatest Show on Earth. I think irwin Allen's 1959 The Big Circus is just as entertaining..
I've got to give credit to my mom. She's really the one with the affinity for disaster films, old and new. As a kid I was along for the ride, and I suppose that led to my own independent enjoyment of them (and a more favorable attitude toward them than some others have). Thank you for providing the additional information about Allen's previous film productions and their connections to this genre. I've seen Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, a few minutes of that version of The Lost World, and The Big Circus. I tend to forget that Allen was involved with that last film (and didn't just produce but also co-wrote it), but I absolutely agree with you. I've seen The Big Circus a couple times and find it very enjoyable.
Beware of The Blob, it creeps. And leaps and glides and slides. Across the floor. Right through the door. And all around the wall. A splotch, a blotch. Be careful of the blob.
Whenever I watch this one I make it a kind of 'event night' because that's what most of this film feels like to me: an event. Where it works, and that's most of the film, it really puts on a fantastic show...something I feel we're kind of lacking sometimes these days.
I just finished this movie tonight! I'm trying to watch Paul's movies from the 60s and 70s and up my movie count in those decades. After seeing the movie, I looked up the reviews, and you were the first one I saw!
I honestly really liked this movie. It has an awesome cast and a great score! My favorite stars in the film are Paul and Fred Astaire. I also liked seeing the little boy who played Bobby Brady in the Brady bunch and Scott Newman as the young firefighter who tells McQueen he is scared of falling.
Great movie, probably best cast cinema history. Pure legend. I still enjoy watching this film
Except for Robert Wagner
Well done! Your mom being a McQueen fan, I strongly suggest The Sand Pebbles (1966). Epic and engrossing... my favorite of his. Length is long, but well worth it.
P.S. We thoroughly enjoyed your Godzilla movie soundtrack reviews. Team G!
@taylor ape ah, yes... Goldsmith’s contribution was the icing on the cake. A great listening experience on its own as well.
Personally I really disliked The Sand Pebbles. The film was so depressing, nothing good happens for anyone.
@@earlleeruhf3130I definitely understand your point. At the risk of further spoilers, it isn’t for everyone 🎬
"Kerfuffle," I love it!
Hmm, I always saw this as Paul Newman's movie. Another great disaster movie I love but again it as so hard to watch so many well liked characters die.
I love your enthusiasm about your dvd and its contents. Such refreshing positivity! Thank you!
Thank you for your in depth exploration of so many aspects of this great movie. You truly have a way of telling enough to pique interest. I've seen this movies dozens of times but after your review I'm like "Huh, I should check that movie out, it looks interesting!"
So glad you enjoyed the video! It's always especially encouraging to hear that my review has made people want to watch the movie... even when they've seen it before! :D
The Allen films stand out because they weren’t afraid to kill off big name actors. That way you truly had no idea who would survive. Unlike the 90s disasters that none of the big name characters bite the dust. It got to the point of why bother, you knew the outcome without having seen the film.
Have not heard the word kerfuffle in a long time! Great review of a solid, if not great movie. Definitely the highlight of the disaster movie era- much better than Earthquake. I have read both books and both are very different in style but worthwhile. Not to give the details away but the Tower ends pretty bleak- the movie ending is much closer to the Glass Inferno.
I think I recall OJ Simpson playing role of Security Guard who discovered the Fire
He's the security chief.
This is one of my favorite disaster movies. Compared to the schlocky-ness Roland Emmerich, Michael Bay, and Brad Peyton would later put out, it comes off as surprisingly earnest, and it has a few elements (like actual character deaths that aren't glorified) that thrust it ahead of those films. Can't really compare it to The Poseidon Adventure (as I've only seen the TV movie and snippets of the remake), but The Towering Inferno's just been one of those movies that's held up over time that whenever it's on one of the oldies movie channels or I'm feeling the itch for an unpretentious action/adventure film, often scratches it with gusto.
Thank you for your review and reccomendation! I was looking for a good sunday afternoon film to watch today-what a great film!.They don't make films like this anymore-the set-pieces are spectacular but you actually care about all the characters-i really enjoyed this!
You're welcome! I'm glad you liked the movie!
You couldn’t escape the sting of disaster films in the 70s. I was more a fan of the parodies Mad Magazine,The Big Bus and Airplane of course.A safety film made its round during this time that gained much notoriety called Hospitals Don’t Burn Down ! 1978.Based on a real event it was mandatory viewing for Hospital employees.It caused nightmares amongst freshman nursing students so TRIGGER WARNING if anyone wants to catch it on TH-cam.Inferno has quite a cast.As an 11 year old I never understood why a dancer was hired to act.
Love it just as much as The Poseidon Adventure, very different movies but they share so much, it's also a much longer film but when you watch it for some reason it never feels like it is. I guess that's a testament to how well made and entertaining it all is. Incidentally, there's a 1974 TV movie called Terror on the 40th Floor starring John Forsythe and Joseph Campanella, it's very similar to this film about a skyscraper catching fire it even premiered three months before The Towering Inferno and is basically a small-screen version. Speaking of Towering Inferno star Richard Chamberlain and the small screen, I would recommend The Count of Monte-Cristo (1975) and The Man in the Iron Mask (1977) both cast with many stars and based on the two Alexandre Dumas novels so they're well worth watching.
Great review. thanks!
The Towering Inferno has been one of my favorite films since it was released back in the seventies.
I think I saw it a couple of times actually in the theater during its initial run.
Personally I prefer it over the Poseidon Adventure. The Poseidon Adventure to me is much darker, the characters are constantly at each other's throats there's just a lot of negativity, yes a lot of character development but it just seems to be very antagonistic and the end of it seems kind of dismal, I mean most of them have died and there's only a few that survived and you're thinking good it's over.
The Towering inferno seems more optimistic there are characters that actually do like each other the music is very upbeat and we do actually get to see hope in the film with the rescue team trying to help those who are trapped.
However as Irwin Allen said and I agree the star of the movie is the fire.
I have always loved the opening theme. I have listened to it over and over, such an exciting, adventurous and majestic piece. It starts out small like a burning ember then escalates to a raging fire then burns itself out slowly in the end. One of John Williams early masterpieces.
I really enjoyed your review it was very thorough as always.
I'm three years late, but I wanted to tell you this was an outstanding review and comparison video along with great backgroun information. Did you know that when the work on "The Towering Inferno" was completed the date was September 11, 1974? Twenty-seven years later to the day the tragedy of 9-11 took place in real life. I remember that on American Movie Classics the featured film or one of the featured films for the next day, September 12th, was "The Towering Inferno". Wisely and graciously A.M.C. changed the programming and instead showed another movie, I think it was "Breakfast at Tiffany's".
Also would you ever consider making a review video the "The Last Voyage" from 1960? It's not a well-known disaster movie that actually didn't do well at the box office. Partly, I think , because some of it may have been too intense for audiences of the day. Also, and in a strange mix of life and art, "The Last Voyage" is based to quite an extent on the Andrea Doria disaster that occurred three yeas before the movie was filmed (released the next year). Not only that, but "The Last Voyage" was filmed aboard the French liner Ile de France which came to the rescue of those aboard the Andrea Doria.
Just discovered this channel, you present your review well, a bit in the style of Chris Stuckman. Pleasant voice and good presentation, you have a new sub.
Thanks for subscribing! I hope you continue to enjoy future videos!
I saw "The Towering Inferno" in the movie theater when it first came out (I was 19 and a sophomore in college). I enjoyed it then and still like to watch it on the rare occassions I can catch it on TV/cable. While I watched some Paul Newman and Steve McQueen movies back in the day, I wasn't a huge fan of either, but I did appreciate their talent and their "coolness." I don't think I went ga-ga over any particular movie star by that age. I just went to see TTI because it looked like a thrill ride and I enjoyed "The Poseidon Adventure" and was up for more. And then "Jaws" came out....
The countdown music is my favorite theme and it reminds me of the 1st movement of Brahms' First Symphony.
Thanks for the review. The Towering Inferno, along with The Poseidon Adventure, hold a special place in my heart as they come from Irwin Allen. For those of us who were kids in the 50s and 60s, Irwin Allen provided many an hour of television entertainment with his four science-fiction series, Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea, Lost In Space, Land Of The Giants, and my favorite, The Time Tunnel. Some of these series, notably Lost In Space, devolved in silliness; Voyage became a monster-of-the-week show, and Giants was somewhat same-y every week. Even my favorite, The Time Tunnel started down the road to silly aliens toward the end, but early on, it provided more adult stories based on historical events.
I too, own that special edition DVD with the lobby cards. I never upgraded to Blu-ray.
Nice review, it's been a long time since I watched this film. Your review brought back memories of watching it. I'm a big fan of Astaire and it's amusing to see him play a shifty con man, lol.
I'll have to revisit the film again in the near future.
This is slightly off topic but Irwin Allen DVD sets must all come with lobby cards as I have the complete collection of Land of the Giants and there's several in that too.
Looking forward to your next video.👍
Really enjoyed your extensive review of The Towering Inferno. Although I much prefer William’s score for Inferno when compared to his sparse approach (yet excellent) score for Poseidon. TI was my first real movie obsession. Having grown up in the San Francisco bay area I remember being gob-smacked at how convincing the effects were. The production team created a masterful sense of place and geography with that lovely cyclorama around the Promenade Room set.
Anyhow, one fun fact I heard from a reliable source (who was there) is that the cast of “Young Frankenstein”, who were shooting at Twentieth Century Fox at the same time as Inferno would often venture over to the Inferno sets to watch the action scenes being filmed.
Glad you enjoyed it! I think a couple reasons I prefer the Poseidon Adventure score are that 1) I like how at times it subtly suggests the sounds and movements of the ship and the ocean, contributing to the immersive atmosphere (no pun intended!), and 2) I don't know, I find PA's main theme, especially the version in the end titles, kind of moving. Ha, that's great! I hadn't come across that bit of information anywhere, so thanks for sharing it. :)
Totally agree that the Poseidon score has a very powerful nautical heart at its core and I really do love it. And You’re right, Poseidon is much more character driven. The scene when Reverend Scott discovers that Belle has not survived her rescue of him is devastating.
.........Fine, I love them both
I remember seeing this in the theater when it came out. It was a big deal. The two leads were a big deal. You are right, the increasing tension was palpable. During the movie people died so, it wasn't inevitable that everyone would survive and be a happy ending. That made it "sit on the edge of you seat" viewing. I think it succeeded
one of my favourite films, but i will admit it was ahead of it's time, The Towering Inferno deserves a Remake
I could've sworn that you already did a video on this movie, but then I remembered where I had actually seen it on TH-cam before....1970's and 80's TV commercial compilations, First, from the 70's when it was released I assume...and then later on a 1980's commercial compilation when it was the "Saturday Night Movie that we'll return to after these messages..." Since this is now the 3rd time I've encountered it, I guess that's a sign I should watch it. Ha!
I had the same feeling, when I saw this review pop up up I thought it was an old video but then saw it was marked as new. Granted she has talked about this film before so maybe that's where the deja vu comes from.
Airport, Towering Inferno, Them! Its like you raided my blu-ray collection lol. If you start reviewing Columbo episodes I'll have to send you a marriage proposal via YT comments.
Have you ever thought about doing a podcast? I love your videos, but I'd also love to hear you talk about movies and books freeform. A lot of your charm and comes from your tangents and digressions. And you are so intelligent and insightful. All those thing with your very pleasing voice would make for a good podcast methinks.
I've considered it, but not very seriously. I feel like I use my facial expressions so much when I talk that some of what I wanted to convey would get lost in translation (also a reason why I'm not inclined to have a blog). I've tried to do some more conversational-style videos but it often ends up being a tiresome and discouraging experience. It's helpful to know what variations people might be interested in, though, so thanks for asking!
It's amazing that after all these years I still haven't see this film. I may have to change that. Thanks for your review.
Alright, you’ve sold me on this one. I always got the impression it was a movie that tried to get by on star power and didn’t offer much else, but now I actually want to see it. I felt the same way about *The Poseidon Adventure,* but I think I did see at least part of that one a long time ago, probably between classes at college, as that was when I had TCM.
Saw The Towering Inferno, When It First Came Out. Only Irwin Allen, Along With Two Movie Studios, Can Put Together A Blockbuster Of A Movie. An All-Star Cast, Death-defying Stunts(Can't Practice That), & Stunning Cinematography, Makes For A Classic. Loved It.
Just subbed to your channel...Love your voice!!..Looking forward to watching all your reviews
Thank you very much! :)
I found the composition of your video to be ironically funny. You have a plush Godzilla on one side of your shelf and the Towering Inferno on the other. A happy accident to be sure.
I recently rewatched The Towering Inferno and I feel its a little overwrought, over done if you will excuse the pun.
It has the star power and the effects but the story is all over the place. It deserves its status as an epic film but felt it could've been edited to have a tighter focus.
Other another great video of a classic movie, keep them coming.
Thank you for a great review of a classic disaster film. I am enjoying your series on 1970's disaster films, I hope you are planning to continue the series!
Glad you enjoyed it! I should clarify that this isn't really a review series. I've just had The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno on my list of films to discuss for years. I hope to finally review the Airport movies soon, but I wanted to cover these two before I moved on to that. Sorry about any confusion or disappointment! My friend Daisuke Beppu IS doing a 70s disaster movie series on his channel, so you should check that out! th-cam.com/users/DaisukeBeppuvideos
Thank you for the clarification, no apology needed, my mistake. I think the Airport movies are a great idea! I will check out Daisuke Beppu’s series, thank you for the recommendation!
I liked both Newman and McQueen, but I was not a fangirl of either. If they happened to be in a movie I wanted to see for whatever reasons, fine, but I didn't see just any movie because one or the other starred in it. I was probably a bigger fan of Robert Vaughn because, as a kid, I was into "Napoleon "Solo" and could relate more to him than anyone else in the film. I'd mention Richard Chamberlain as a favorite, but I didn't like his character, as intended. Anyway, I've enjoyed seeing this many times since I first saw it in 1972.
Love this movie - and another great, detailed review. Thank you!
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Irwin Allen wanted Clint Eastwood to play the fire chief but Eastwood felt he would be laughably miscast.
Also, Clint Eastwood in San Francisco in the 1970s was seen as police inspector Harry Callahan.
Not exactly:
Paul and Steve fight one each other so Hard during the production. At one point Steve was so tirado of Newman's gigantic ego and left him alone for a days.
Paul woulded take advantatge and Quick out Steve from the production and propose Eastwood for substitute. Eastwood decline at same time that Allen take control of Newman's ego and menace him. Steve return after days of resting at home to the production.
The contractuals agreenment between Allen and Steve make impossible dismiss him.
Everyone knows that the best and juicy part role were in hands of Steve. Newman Just play the macho~action role with an insoportable Faye Danaway, one if the most problematic actress of all time.
There are a los of deleted scenes and non filmed part where Steve have a better and deserved role. 33 deleted scened in that supposed Special Edition from Fox to Germany zone DVD with extra bonus material, booklet, sillas and mano more.
For me TTI is far superior than Poseidon Adventure and the rest of Disasters films genre.
Also one of my favorite films.
With all the characters and subplots, this movie felt like a mini-series that was condensed into one (overlong) movie. Still enjoyable though!
I ride for Paul Newman, hes one of my three favorite actors, but I prefer Mcqueen in this movie. I havent seen it in a minute though. Im due for a rewatch. Good stuff as always Jerome.
Amazing film with amazing cast including Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway, Fred Astaire, Robert Vaughn, Richard Chamberlain and William Holden. This film won an Oscar for the song We May Never Love Like This Again by Maureen McGovern, thank you Jerome by the way you look so pretty great smile😊
Well those 70's analog wall phones could really take a licking' back in the day...
What fantastic reviews you always do! I will definitely have to give this one a watch. Thank you :)
Rip To All The Actor's Who We're In This Movie,Who Are No Longer With Us, We Still Miss You All
Lovely review the one thing that always horrifies me in this film is Lorrie diving out of the window with her pantyhose on fire the thought of being in that situation sends a shiver through me all I know is I would of sounded exactly the same as her on the way down.
I saw this movie in 1975. Steve McQueen is dominant in the 2nd half . Love McQueen ❤️
very concise and informative review! Poseidon is the better of the pair but this is a great movie on so many levels! The two best disaster movies easily!
I saw this in a rerelease in 1976, the only disaster film that I saw theatrically. I thouroughly enjoyed it, particularly the effects. I haven't seen it since, not so much out of disdain for the movie, but just because I haven't run across it on tv, and I don't have a copy. I may see what Amazon wants for the DVD.
I always thought that the issues over the placing of name credits was silly.
There was the same issue between Tony Curtis and Roger Moore on the TV series-The Persuaders ( 1971-1072), which as fun to watch as a 6 year old 😀
Keep up the excellent reviews they are fun, interesting, extremely well researched and presented 👍👍
Same thing with Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams in "Laverne & Shirley."
I'm also familiar with Steve McQueen's works, but I have yet to check this film out.
Given that Disney now owns 20th Century Fox's film catalog, does this mean that Warner Bros now share the rights to this particular film with Disney?
Love this movie. It has a scale and sense of impending doom like very few other films. The acting is (despite various complaints about the dialogue) excellent all around. And it represents for many of this starry cast, their highest grossing movie of their careers. It's grand filmmaking and a throw-back to an era of 'Grand Hotel' and 'San Francisco'.
A classic. Looking forward to the 4K.
You are the greatest TH-cam movie person around!!!!!
Aw, thank you!! :)
I was 6 yrs old the first time I saw The Towering Inferno at the movie theater in downtown Chicago in 1974. It has been one of my all time favorites and hours upon hours of watching this film over the years is crazy to count. At one it was my go to movie to fall asleep with when I couldn't sleep and there was nothing on tv.
I have to agree with you some of the movie doesn't make NO SENSE but then we have to understand the scene play come from 2 different nova's.
Thanks for the review on both The Towering Inferno and The Poseidon Adventure.
And yes the 70s were the decade of disaster movies.
Here's a suggestion for a another Disaster Movie from 1974 EARTHQUAKE.
...plus this movie features Mike Lookinland (Bobby Brady)... talk about an ALL-STAR cast!!! 😅
Here in Venezuela this movie can't be aired on TV anymore, since we had an horrible fire in our biggest tower that is still on our minds. The problem was not "cutting corners" during construction but corrupt government people stealing the money needed for scheduled maintenance of the tower.
At the climax of the Towering Inferno it would have been great to have had a scene where Paul Newman is swimming underwater a la The Poseidon Adventure. Also there could have been a great sequel with the flood at the end now out of control in the building, and some other people stuck in the building and now trying to escape the water.
FWIW: I saw *THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE* in a cinema when it was released.
I _remember_ seeing all the advertising for this movie when it came out, but for whatever reason I never went to see it.
4:46. The true star of the film, is the building!
Haven't seen you since the KING KONG review...anyway I had always heard that THE BLOB was M queen's premiere role. I liked this film & it paved the way for today's 'state of the art' disaster films such as - SAN ANDREAS, SKYSCRAPER, VOLCANO, DAYLIGHT etc, its very much Sunday afternoon material though, because of it's sheer length, sit down with coffee & a bar of chocolate I always think,.
By Irwin Allen, the 70s undisputed disaster film Producer who also gave us- SHORT WALK TO DAYLIGHT, THE SWARM, CAVE IN, METEOR etc.
Hi Jerry, not only have I seen The Towering Inferno, but I have also read the two books. Quite frankly, I prefer The Glass Inferno to The Tower, but I have read the first one at least twice and I consider it a page-turner while I read The Tower only once and I remember it as plodding
Same here! I was in middle school when I read "The Tower" and "The Glass Inferno". I wasn't old enough to appreciate them as I would now at the age of...well, we needn't dwell on that...but I liked both in their own ways. I think I read "The Tower" twice and I know I read "The Glass Inferno" only once and that was the one I preferred. I might think differently now. I didn't think about it at the time, but I see now that it was unusual that one of the main characters in "The Tower" was an openly gay or somewhat openly gay man. I wonder if the movie people considered that character to be too daring for 1974 audiences.
Thanks for another excellent review. It's interesting that you can see similarities to 9/11. For me in Ireland, the greatest parallel with the movie is the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in London. Not sure how well known that is in America. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grenfell_Tower_fire
Thanks for the link, Damien. I had never heard of the Grenfell fire and find it amazing that something like that could have happened in 2017. The idea of a "stay put" policy in a burning building seems like pure madness!
I wasn't familiar with it either. Thanks for sharing the story; it's certainly pertinent.
Damn great movie I mean a very damn great movie because I was done a little boy or we could say a toddler back in 1974 during the time when this movie was done in theaters because I haven’t seen that movie until somewhere in the 80s when it aired one Sunday night back on NBCbecause I remember the scene when all of the firetrucks and ambulances responded to a devastating fire, which had taken place in this large building and downtown San Francisco because in this movie, there were lots of legendary actors and actresses, who played in this movie.
my favourite film of all time
The real building is a hotel in San Francisco and it was used for filming locations as was a Model and Matt paintings.
Great review, so much interesting insight. But tell me , are you sure Morning After plays somewhere at the early part of the movie?
Thanks! Yup, I'm sure; it's not early in the movie but around the beginning of the party. Caught it when watching the movie and again when going through it collecting images. It's subtle.
Great movie and a wonderful review.. Thanks
Thank you!
Hi Jerry, new suscriber here, I'm 67 years old and a film fan. Not only did I see The Towering Inferno, I also read both books. Do you know that Frank M. Robinson, had another book of his filmed, a SF book, The Power, which happens to be Michael Rennie last movie
One question, why were there gas lines in the stair wells in this building?
Is this normal?
I don't know if it was normal back then, but it's not allowed by code now.
I've never seen this movie and I'm not totally sure why, but it may have to do with the running time. I'm a big fan of movies in the 90-100 minute range and if a movie runs longer than 2 hours then alarm bells and flashing lights go off in my head. That and also the negativity that surrounds this movie as you mentioned in your review. But, who knows, I might watch it one day. Thanks as always.
I always laugh at the...breacher's buoy escape attempt by the men, very much like something from the ironic spoof disaster film - AIRPLANE,
I laugh at that and their screams one sounds like he's doing a Tarzan scream my husband said he would of sounded the same falling that far.
I cracked up at that scene.
@@gina7288 Ha I would of been as noisy as well.
@@georgie1246 I did imagine my husband on it and the noise he would be making.
I went back to see this movie in the theater 2 more times in a week and a half just to hear John Williams music play out the story.
I always thought The Towering Inferno was better then The Poseidon Adventure as The Towering Inferno made a specific point about what happens when you "cut corners" to get things done cheaply and quickly. The Poseidon Adventure really doesn't. The Poseidon Adventure starts with the captain and one of the board of directors arguing about getting the ship home in a hurry and the captain saying that would be to dangerous. It wouldn't of mattered anyway as later, the tidal wave hits and that point is forgotten. Of course another point is Reverend Scott's sermon to not to sit on our butts praying to be saved vs doing it ourselves. The points sort of get buried in that movie.
The Towering Inferno never buries the point as that movie keeps reminding us of that point. "Cutting corners equals the electrical problem, the fire, Paul Newman's great monolog to William Holden about "cutting corners" to Steve McQueen's sarcastic "architects" remark about making buildings taller and at the end William Holden saying hope this never happens again to the closing lines of Newman and McQueen's characters
From IMBD
Chief O'Hallorhan: You know, we were lucky tonight. Body count's less than 200. You know, one of these days, you're gonna kill 10,000 in one of these firetraps, and I'm gonna keep eating smoke and bringing out bodies until somebody asks us... how to build them.
Doug Roberts: [looks up at the smoky building] Okay. I'm asking.
Chief O'Hallorhan: You know where to reach me. So long, architect.
Still I liked them both equally and could watch them both over and over.
Since this movie and Earthquake, etc. I feel that movies in general have gone down hill fast. What we have now is mutant super hero’s that are ridiculously unbelievable. Thank goodness for a halfway house in the form of Christopher Nolan who knows how to give us a true blockbuster that people enjoy.
A very thorough overview of the movie . Well done ! It’s interesting that Steve McQueen wanted someone “ better “ to star opposite him than Ernest Borgnine . The last time I checked , Mr Borgnine had a best actor Oscar on his mantelpiece. Anyway , Paul Newman was great , and I have always enjoyed the movie . Thanks !
Thanks! There was so much ground to cover. :)
@@Weiselberry You are most welcome . Yes there was a lot of ground to cover . I think that is one of your strengths as a reviewer . You can cover a lot of ground without going overboard on any one aspect of the material . Keep up the good work !
Yeah, these reviews seem to just grow and grow and grow. I'm very grateful people don't seem to mind the extra details and background information. I'll continue to do my best to deliver quality content!
Thank you for reviewing this. Please consider doing more Steve McQueen film reviews. Cheers from Iran
I'm glad you enjoyed it! I have talked about a few other McQueen films to date. Very recently I talked about The Hunter (th-cam.com/video/fH0vyPzP-7s/w-d-xo.html ). I did a mini review of An Enemy of the People (th-cam.com/video/21566928qXM/w-d-xo.html ). And I reviewed The Blob: th-cam.com/video/kWVpV_cvl_Q/w-d-xo.html
@@Weiselberry Oh sorry, I didn't know you'd done more reviews on Steve's movies. That's awesome! I'm really excited to watch them. Especially eager to hear your take on his personal "Enemy of the people" project (which I find to be somewhat underrated). Thank you for replying to me, and god bless you.
This was not the first movie to use the billing used for Paul Newman and Steve McQueen. It was used the year before in BANG THE DRUM SLOWLY for Robert DeNiro and Michael Moriority.
Saw this in theaters when it came out.
Loved it then,love it now!
Well done!
Thanks!