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The Towering Inferno [DVD]
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Additional DVD options | Edition | Discs | Price | New from | Used from |
DVD
October 22, 2021 "Please retry" | — | 1 |
—
| $9.83 | $9.78 |
Purchase options and add-ons
Genre | action / adventure |
Format | Widescreen, AC-3, Closed-captioned, Letterboxed, Color, DVD, NTSC, THX |
Contributor | Fred Astaire, O.J. Simpson, Susan Blakely, Susan Flannery, Thomas N. Scortia, Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, William Holden, John Guillermin, Faye Dunaway, Richard Chamberlain, Jennifer Jones, Robert Wagner, Irwin Allen, Richard Martin Stern, Stirling Silliphant, Robert Vaughn, Frank M. Robinson See more |
Language | English |
Runtime | 2 hours and 45 minutes |
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Product Description
Product description
The Towering Inferno
Amazon.com
Disaster movies used to work because there was little certainty as to who would survive. Not so in this film, really an amalgam of two original stories, about a group of well-to-do celebrants at the top floor of a skyscraper. Cheapo electrical wiring and bad construction management cause an enormous blaze at the lower floors, steadily rising to consume the revelers. Newman's an architect, McQueen a firefighter, and Fred Astaire a kind old gentleman, for which he was Oscar-nominated. O.J. Simpson plays a security guard who rescues a cat. Now that's a disaster. --Keith Simanton
Product details
- Aspect Ratio : 2.35:1
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- MPAA rating : PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
- Product Dimensions : 7.5 x 5.38 x 0.6 inches; 2.4 ounces
- Director : Irwin Allen, John Guillermin
- Media Format : Widescreen, AC-3, Closed-captioned, Letterboxed, Color, DVD, NTSC, THX
- Run time : 2 hours and 45 minutes
- Release date : April 15, 2003
- Actors : Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Fred Astaire
- Subtitles: : English, Spanish
- Language : English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
- Studio : 20th Century Fox
- ASIN : 6305280762
- Writers : Frank M. Robinson, Richard Martin Stern, Stirling Silliphant, Thomas N. Scortia
- Number of discs : 1
- Best Sellers Rank: #33,933 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #3,405 in Action & Adventure DVDs
- Customer Reviews:
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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.
Films buffs have to see this film and watch all the extra features on the making of THE TOWERING INFERNO.
Sadly, modern audiences might not fully appreciate THE TOWERING INFERNO and its background story. We've gotten too sophisticated with all the computer generated special effects. Yes, they are incredible, but take a step back into the early 70's when specific effects required a lot of labor and often danger.
PRODUCER/DIRECTOR IRWIN ALLEN was famous in the 60's for his sci-fi fantasty TV shows like LOST IN SPACE, THE TIME TUNNEL and LAND OF THE LOST. He took a different career path inthe 1970's with the disaster epic THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE to become the king of disaster films. He followed that huge success with THE TOWERING INFERNO.
The world's tallest and news skyscraper is about to celebrate his official opening with a gala party. Many members of high society and the political world will be attending the party on the very top floor. Unfortunately, corners have been cut to save costs and many safety features are compromised. A small fire turns into THE TOWERING INFERNO.
Again, you need to watch the special features to truly understand the undertaking it was to film this movie. Fire is unpredictable and yes, stunt actors were actually on fire in several scenes. The bravery of this cast and crew is amazing.
Speaking of the cast, another fun part of this film is seeing actors who were in their heyday in the early 1970's along with famous actors like Fred Astaire and Jennifer Jones from the past. The cast list is astounding--Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Robert Wagner and even O.J. Simpson. Who will survive the towering inferno? It's easy to draw comparisons with 9/11 and people trapped in a burning skyscraper. Fortunately, the people in our story have some chance for survival.
Back to the special effects, it's still amazing to watch although some effects look cheesy by today's standards. Again, we have to remember that there were limitations on how realistic special effects could be. The crew of THE TOWERING INFERNO did an amazing job.
This film is a step back in time. It's not as realistic in many ways as modern films, but considering the resources that were avalaible at the time, THE TOWERING INFERNO is an amazing achievement.
Top reviews from other countries
Ich suche auch noch nach der DVD " U 4000 - Panik unter dem Ozean " , hat vielleicht noch jemand einen Tip für mich wo ich danach suchen könnte ? Ansonsten bin ich fürs erste echt happy dieses Sahnestück erworben zu haben .
この映画は、後のバック・ドラフトにつながっていると思う。バック・ドラフトの公開時私の兄は、本当に消防士になって尊敬できた。そういう思いでのあるこの映画は、素晴らしいと思う。その後に私も消防系の仕事に携わり、仕事を全うした。今も高層ビルの火災は恐ろしい物だと思う。ホンノ小さな火が50階や60階あるビルを業火で包み込み破壊そして消滅させていくのが本当に恐ろしいものだと思い、消火設備の重要性を感じた物です。見直すとそれが思い出されて見て良かったと思いますね。
Reviewed in Japan on March 8, 2024
この映画は、後のバック・ドラフトにつながっていると思う。バック・ドラフトの公開時私の兄は、本当に消防士になって尊敬できた。そういう思いでのあるこの映画は、素晴らしいと思う。その後に私も消防系の仕事に携わり、仕事を全うした。今も高層ビルの火災は恐ろしい物だと思う。ホンノ小さな火が50階や60階あるビルを業火で包み込み破壊そして消滅させていくのが本当に恐ろしいものだと思い、消火設備の重要性を感じた物です。見直すとそれが思い出されて見て良かったと思いますね。
The night of its grand opening the Tallest building in the world catches fire. Believed to be impossible to burn. This films core theme of human arrogance is reminiscent of the Titanic story of the unsinkable ship, this is the unburnable building.
Paul Newman plays the buildings architect who after when a small electrical breaks out in the morning of the Grand Opening discovers that his superior designs have been altered in order to cut cost. A move that he realizes will to disaster, his warnings fail to reach their desired effect & so no one really listens until its to late.
The Bluray is loaded with special features including all the features from the 2 disc special edition dvd & then some.