"The Towering Inferno"
When disaster flicks are made nowadays filmmakers tend to take the easy way out in regards to special effects. Directors and studios have the attitude that they can save money by having everything done on computers during the post production process. Today it is rare to see a big budget, effect heavy film made with the use of practical, on set special effects. Director John Guillermin's The Towering Inferno does not disappoint in this department.
San Fransisco's recently completed 1800 ft., 138 story tall Glass Tower skyscraper is having her grand opening gala when a fire breaks out in a maintenance room on the 81st floor. Chief builder Jim Duncan (William Holden) and head architect Doug Roberts (Paul Newman) are part of the 300 people attending the party on the 135th floor. What caused the fire? The cheap, faulty wiring installed by lead electrical engineer Roger Simmons (Richard Chamberlin) is the cause. He also happens to be Duncan's son-in-law. Fire Chief O'Hallorhan (Steve McQueen) quickly arrives on the scene to see the fire rapidly grow out of control. With his men hard at work, O'Hallorhan with the aid of Roberts has to devise varied escape plans as the fire continues to climb and devour each floor. For the gala's attendees, taking the elevators or even the stairs could lead to their demise.
McQueen and Newman give their usual fine performances. It is quite thrilling to watch the two of them brave the unrelenting flames together. Their characters come off as believable and live up to their noble positions. O'Hallorhan is the man with plan. Given his attitude and demeanor we can tell this Fire Chief has been in some pretty hot situations before. As for Roberts, he is the astute (and acrobatic) architect that knows the Glass Tower like the back of his hand. We don't question their characters’ motives because McQueen and Newman truly own their roles. They are exceptional at their craft.
The special effects and stunt work are top-notch too. It is so exhilarating to see real fire ablaze on big, physical set pieces. Guillermin and his crew know how to properly spark an electrifying thrill ride to an audience that craves edge of your seat action. Practical effects just look more convincing because the danger seems more plausible. Audiences should leave their seats scratching their heads and thinking, "How'd they do that?"
There are some cracks in the tower's foundation though. The film has a 165 minute runtime. For the most part it isn't that noticeable. The screenplay moves fairly well from one alarming sequence to the next. However, there are some supporting characters that we do spend time with and get to know, but really what's the point. They are merely minor obstacles for the fire to engulf. It's inevitable that in a film like this all its characters aren't going to survive. But some supporting characters do make it past the 100 minute mark only then later to fall victim to the flames in senseless deaths. Why introduce them at all to only have them end up spouting cliché dialogue in predicable scenes? Oh well, we shouldn't always expect everyone to have a happy ending.
The Towering Inferno is a rousing and entertaining film that is able to stand the test of time even after 37 years. Its cast and production values span the length of the tower itself. The film crew's realistic approach to developing the special effects that bring this harrowing tale to the screen pay off in a big way. The Towering Inferno might be given the cold shoulder by the casual viewer and be brushed aside as just another one of those disaster flicks that came out in the 1970’s. Don’t let that extinguish you from feeling the heat of this fantastic spectacle of a film.
No comments:
Post a Comment