The Towering Inferno (1974/Fox Blu-ray)
Picture:
B- Sound: B- Extras: B- Film: B-
Before
digital effects (starting with the very brainless hit Twister) spawned a new disaster movie cycle, the first cycle began
in the 1970s. With Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds (1963) as a precursor,
disaster films that were either natural, with manmade structures or both put
Hollywood’s biggest name in postage-stamp-sized images on posters and became a
source of hit films for the studios.
Along with Airport (1970), The Poseidon Adventure (1972) and Earthquake (1974) came The Towering Inferno (1974), a huge hit
for Fox that had hit TV shot mogul Irwin Allen trying to outdo Poseidon Adventure with co-director
John Guillermin. The result was a big
hit winning three Oscars and marking the peak of the cycle.
Steve
McQueen is a lead fireman who knows its capabilities almost with an instinct
and when a new luxury hotel building has its new electrical system backfire,
all hell is literally going to break loose.
Paul Newman plays the designer of the crowning new achievement in high
living as they and an all-star cast try to survive it burning to cinders.
Those
great leads are joined in this camp classic by other greats like Fred Astaire,
William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Susan Blakely, Richard Chamberlain, Robert
Vaughn, Jennifer Jones, Robert Wagner, Don Gordon, Norman Burton and O.J.
Simpson as the head of security! Yes, it
just gets funnier and funnier with age.
Guillermin
had just finished Shaft In Africa
before taking this on and the result was a temporary place on the directing
A-list that included the 1976 hit remake of King Kong and big star adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Death On The Nile (1978) that showed he
was a capable journeyman. The actors are
really trying, but even harder than the people trying to survive the fire are
those behind the scenes trying to survive this wacky script by the capable
Stirling Silliphant. This is also one of
classic Hollywood’s last big hurrahs so see it just for that. Plus, aren’t you curious about how they did
the visual effects before digital arrived?
The 1080p
2.35 X 1 AVC @ 24 MBPS digital High Definition image is unfortunately soft
throughout as if it were an older HD master, but color and the great “look how
big this is” compositions and long shots by the great Fred Koenekamp (Patton) use the classical soundstage
style of old Hollywood films. The money
is here, but so are the costumes. It is
visually fun in all kinds of ways.
The
DTS-HD Master Audio (MA) lossless 5.1 mix is a little better than the Dolby
Digital 4.0 mix with some fullness in the music and sound effects you cannot
get otherwise, plus the DTS is enhanced with the D-BOX bass motion system if
you happen to have it. The original
release had older 6-track magnetic stereo sound for 7omm blow-ups including
travelling dialogue and sound effects, which was also available to a lesser
extent on the 4-track mag stereo 35mm prints that were produced in limited
quantity. The rest of the 35mm prints
were monophonic. The mix is also
noteworthy for John Williams’ early blockbuster score a year before Jaws and few more before Star Wars, in (with Earthquake!) what began his new
commercial music trajectory.
Extras
are many and rightly so, including F.X. Feeney audio commentary track, scene
specific commentary by visual FX expert Mike Vézina & Stunt Director Branko
Racki (from later films, not this one), over 30 deleted/extended scenes, the AMC Backstory episode on the film,
storyboard-to-film comparisons, NATO presentation reel, original Making Of
featurette, 1977 Allen interview, 3 interactive articles from American
Cinematographer Magazine, stills, teaser, trailer and even a Poseidon Adventure trailer. We recommend all of that only after watching
or rewatching the film.
- Nicholas Sheffo
