The classic film The Towering Inferno is now available on Blu-ray. The 1974 disaster movie came out in the middle of all the classic thrillers of the 1970s, which included Airport and The Poseidon Adventure. This new Blu-ray format brings all the horror of the story into clear view and includes some incredible bonus features.
An Impressive Cast
Steve McQueen headlines the impressive cast, which also includes Richard Chamberlain, Robert Wagner, Faye Dunaway along with other A-list stars like Fred Astaire, Robert Wagner, Paul Newman, William Holden, and many more.
The story centers on the tallest building in the world, which happens to be in San Francisco. Architect Newman has designed the perfect structure, however Chamberlain took some kickbacks and cut costs by installing different wiring than was called for. While his father-in-law Holden claims everything was up to code, Newman insists that his plans required the more secure and more expensive material.
As most moviegoers know, a fire breaks out in the building during the grand opening party due to the inferior building materials. Unfortunately, many of the characters die either in the fire or trying to escape, but in true form McQueen saves the day.
As fellow actor and co-star in The Great Escape James Garner once said in an interview that McQueen loved to play the knight on the white horse. He always wanted to play the guy that comes in and makes everything all right. In this film he does just that. He is the savior.
The story is intense and the viewers never know which characters will survive the blazing inferno. While it doesn’t go into much detail about the history of the characters, it shows the human reactions when strangers are put together in an ominous situation. While some come to the assistance of others, many are trying just to save themselves. This shows humanity at its best and worst.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
While this film is great in itself, what makes this new Blu-ray edition special are the additional features. First, there are 32 extended and deleted scenes as well as alternate opening scene. There are features on the scale models used to create the scenes, the fires, how the stars dealt with being so close to the fire, directing the film, a look at the making of the movie, storyboard comparisons, and a feature on Irwin Allen who produced this epic film.
While The Towering Inferno was not the first “disaster film,” this type of film was popular in its time.
- Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
- Studio: 20th Century Fox
- Run Time: 165 minutes
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