Review of The Towering Inferno (1974) by Tavo R — 10 Mar 2010

"The Towering Inferno" holds a special place in my heart beacause it is one of the first movies I ever remember seeing. This past Christmas I recieved a Paul Newman gift set from my mom and it had 15 Paul Newman classics, one being "The Towering Inferno.

" I hadn't seen it in a very long time and was expecting it to be somewhat corny and cheesy. "The Posadion Adventure" which I loved as a kid is so so corny now. "The Towering Inferno" holds up really well.

Disaster movies were a big deal in the 1970s and this is probably the best. The premise is simple. The worlds tallest building is having a grand gala party to celebrate its opening and what starts as a small fire snowballs into a major disaster.

They don't make movies like this anymore and I mean that literally. These fires are really fires, not cgi fires like in todays movies. Now they are some corny parts but as a whole this is a nearly 3 hour film that holds your interest from beginning to end.

The cast is a virtual whos who of great Hollywood stars of past. You have Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Fred Astaire, Jennifer Jones, Robert Wagner, Richard Chamberlain and even O.

J. Simpson??? The special effects are first rate and hold up today simply because they are real, not fake and you can tell. I can spot cgi in a heartbeat and I think that kind of puts a damper on movies like the recent "2012.

" The cast is very good in particular Newman and Mcqueen but the best performances are given by Fred Astaire as a con man and the radiant Jennifer Jones as his date. Astaire even gets to dance a little.

"Brady Bunch" fans will recognize Bobby Brady, his real name escapes me at present~maybe Mike Lookinland. This movie was such a big deal in 1974 that two studios, Warner and Fox, joined forces to make it.

Several Oscar nominations including Best Picture and Supporting Actor (Astaire) and wins for Cinematography, Editing, and Song. Directed by John Guillermann with action sequences directed by the Master of Disaster Irwin Allen.

Rated PG.