🎦 Thoughts on "The Towering Inferno"
I was amazed by the incredibly luxurious cast and the intensity and visual beauty that I wouldn't expect from the 1970s.
It was the first joint production between Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox.
The day the 138-story skyscraper falls. Due to a generator failure, they decide to switch to the backup generator. Because of corner-cutting construction that reduced the budget, a fire breaks out in a storage room on the 81st floor. The party is on the 135th floor, so they are initially carefree, but the fire grows larger and larger, eventually becoming a catastrophe involving hundreds of people...
This was an era when disaster movies were popular. It is said to be the greatest masterpiece of them all. The title, when translated into Japanese, is apparently "Towering Hell." I wonder why it stayed in English (lol).
(Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox each bought separate stories and combined them. It seems the title is also a combination.)
The key is that it's not a disaster movie where people are screaming and running away in scary scenes. I was surprised that it works as a disaster movie without those elements.Even during the incredible rescue scenes, there is no music. Yet, the fact that you can feel such intense tension and suspense is likely due to the high level of acting and cinematography.
It is by no means a lukewarm story, and it doesn't end with a "happily ever after"; people actually die, and there are scenes that make you go "Ahhh!," so it's quite realistic. The ending also leaves a lingering impression.
"There will be more accidents in high-rise buildings from now on," and "I want architects to come and hear what firefighters have to say."
Steve McQueen saying that gives me chills.
Regarding this building, it was filmed using a 10-meter miniature (is that too big to be called a miniature?), but the intensity is off the charts.I simply cannot believe this is a 10-meter miniature. ...I still don't believe it (lol).
The lead is Paul Newman, and while the characters aren't depicted in great depth because of the sheer number of luxury actors, the structure allows you to understand each of their situations.
If someone like Arnold Schwarzenegger or Bruce Willis did this, it might be different, but I thought Paul Newman was perfect for playing a normal, ordinary person who isn't an action star.
The first name in the credits wasn't Paul Newman, but Steve McQueen. (Though they were listed side-by-side.)
He plays a firefighter and has less screen time than Paul Newman, but he's the type to steal every scene he's in (lol).
To my surprise, William Holden and Fred Astaire were in it. Amazing.Others included Richard Chamberlain and more. William Holden is wearing thick glasses, so you wouldn't know it was him unless you were told (lol).
There are actually few scenes of people panicking, and they don't scream unnecessarily, but since it's definitely a disaster movie, I thought it was the real deal (lol).
The music is by John Williams.