In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Big, bold, brawny, big budget, brutally effective, the disaster film never looked so good. A stellar cast, and convincing special effects photography wins the day, and an early 1970s state-of-the-art styling doesn't grate - it doesn't date the film much at all. There is no deep and lofty notion about American enterprise, but there is a simple message about caution about business economics and a chilling reminder of the potential problems with high-rise buildings; emergency services and the public suffering the repurcussions of poor decisions of vanity projects and profit. The film is to be noted for having very little melodrama within its dramatic confines, just solid, on-the-nose performances, almost as if the cast are in awe of the scale of the production itself, though that could have been the director's reputation for screaming at the cast and crew. The film's director, John Guillermin was a perfectionist with a good eye for directing big action pieces. The viewer can expect good suspense and witness the terrible, destructive power of fire. The explosions, wreckage, action all look real and there are some real jolts to the senses, and some very grisly scenes. The characters are also skilfully woven into the story. The Towering Inferno proves that escapism done very well will always prove a box-office winner because an audience will always want to exorcise their elemental fears.

Growing up, I was often subjected to Irwin Allen films because my father loved them. So, I was one of MANY people back in 1974 who saw this film in the theater. I didn't remember it all too well today (I was only 10 when I first saw it) but found it in a 4 pack of movies someone bought me....so I thought, what the heck...why not? However, I must tell you that most of the Irwin Allen films I've seen recently I didn't like...and I was expecting the same for "The Towering Inferno". Why do I say I am not a huge Irwin Allen film fan? Well, a few things he was known for I don't care for in movies....explosions and mayhem as well as many, many 'guest starring roles'...you know, when the film's budget seems to mostly be on getting as many big stars and has-beens to appear in it. This is why I am not a huge fan of "Airport" and its sequels as well as "Midway"...too many guests and not enough money spent on writing. "The Towering Inferno" has all of this...so it's definitely going to be a tough sell for me.The plot to the film is pretty simple. The world's tallest building is being dedicated but what the chief architect (Paul Newman) does not realize is that the boss' pusillanimous son-in-law (Richard Chamberlain) is a weasel but substituted the wiring in the specs with much cheaper wiring that makes the place a giant tinderbox. Only after a big gala party begins on the rooftop do they realize that the place is ablaze and a lotta folks are gonna die.For what it was, this film actually surprised me. Sure, there are some of the usual one-dimensional Irwin Allen characters but a few were pretty interesting and the film seemed to make the most out of the disaster genre. I especially appreciate its take on human nature, as many of the folks are simply selfish idiots! My only complaint is that MOST of the women in the film are simply there to scream and cry! Now I am NOT saying it's a great film...but if you have to watch a disaster flick, this is much better than most.

It has been heavy discussed over the years about the "peak" status of this movie, being the most successful production in the era of pretty silly and - in average - overambitious disaster movies between 1970-1980. The trends who invited the greatest movie companies to show us terrible ways to die, fascinates me in present days. The view of the world must have been gloomy and gray, people still wanted to be shown moderate special effects of avalanches (salt) and skyscrapers fully set on fire. (Scale models.) Some of the characters always made it to the end of the tunnel for daylight, some were brutally roasted, the "heroes" who often sacrificed themselves for the crew.The Towering Inferno of 1974 is the one disaster i can re-visit from time to time. Mostly because of the very good casting, and the non-stop action after the entering of the flames. Steve McQueen was in first to act as the architect, but changed his mind. Thank You. Anyone imagine if Newman and McQueen would have been playing the other ones part? OK, If so, we could have discuss it either other way, today, because we wouldn't know anything else. The rest of the stars in this "epic panic" are just statistics for me; Newman grabs the steering wheel from the beginning, but almost has to move over to be co-driver, when fire chief McQueen enters the screen, jumping out of his car beside the "chimney". Equal lines, equal top billing....yes you heard it all before. The great rivals of the 70's (especially McQueen) was apparently sick of ego, and didn't allow the other part to have an inch of attention, or a second more of limelight than the opponent. Today this movie is only remembered by many as a cult flick of the (first) disaster era; some will rank it the as the best, the most successful. Patterns are all there: the love stories, the struggling family relations, the other template people you get to know briefly before the tragic sets in. The bad ones who gets theirs.I still like this one pretty lot, and will pick it up again, maybe this x-mas?

After watching this movie I have come to the conclusion that people in the 70ies were retarded and stared at each other awful lot. It sort of makes sense now too why they were all dressed in Ronald Weasley's dress robes...Apart from the endless staring at each other they also made sure there were lengthy pauses after each corny and unnatural sounding sentence they uttered. Even in the middle of a life-threatening emergency. They were either all terribly zen or...retarded. Yeah. I think this is one of the most annoying movies I have ever seen. About 65% of it, at least, could and should have been cut easily. I hope they remake it with normal people.