One of the more entertaining movies trends of the 70s had to be the disaster film. Cram as many stars as you can in some life threatening situations. Then try to drown them, blow them up, set them on fire, or throw them through a window. I remember sitting in the theater for "The Poseidon Adventure" and the thrill of Sensurround with "Earthquake". Somehow, I missed the excitement of a very tall building on fire.
You have to throw out common sense to get caught up in the fun of these films. While "Earthquake" featured a plausible situation, "The Towering Inferno" was a man-made scenario requiring lapses of logic and judgement. Once the fire gets started, let the entertainment begin.
Steve McQueen plays the fire chief, who seems to get around the building (and across the street) with relative ease. Meanwhile, Paul Newman as the architect, handles the upper half of the building, although we see his struggle to get from floor to floor. Elevators are used with unsurprising consequences. Fred Astaire plays a character who may have wondered in from another movie as his plot just fills time. And O.J. Simpson saves a cat, and slightly opens a door before he bravely kicks it in (I think the film makers thought we wouldn't notice).
At 165 minutes, it's a bit long, yet still a silly piece of fun.
Rating: 6/10
Movies I've previously seen: 2
First time viewings: 27
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