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ITHE STAH-THIBUNE: Sunday, May 25, 19751115*ThT oweringInfrnof9DoubleFilmTake two novels, two directors, two “all-star” casts, two film studios, two enormous budgets, two photograpy directors, two of just about every member of the production crew right down to key grip operators, put them all together and set them on fire. What have you got? Something pretty close to gold, believe it or not.peculiar doubleabout(giant skyscrapersfire) and turning each novels, “The Tower” an combined to become thThe4 4Towering Inferno,” the biggest disaster film to date.I’ve always liked the double meaning inherent in that term, “disaster film,” which has by now become a complete genre of contemporary movie making. Depending on what you like to see in a movie, you can use that word “disaster” as a modifer (meaning disasterous) or leave it as a noun as it is intended. I favor the first interpretation, although there are literally millions of people across the country who will take me to task for that.IT’S NOT THAT I dislike watching skyscrapers burn down, charring people to death in the process; or earthquakes knocking buildings over on frightened pedestrians; or tidal waves sending luxury liner passengers to Davey Jones’ locker or planes colliding in mid-air. The movies have taught me to enjoy that kind of vicarious excitement.But the trouble with disaster movies is that they are only exiting. They’re like a ride on Tilt-a-Whirl. It’s fun while it lasts, but it doesn’t last long. They are purely for surface thrills. They ultimately mean very little. Sure, you may be a bit leery about being in a skyscraper, you may have less desire to live in earthquake-prone San Francisco, you may forego ocean liner travel and vou mav be less relaxed theWESTERN LINCOLNCINEMA 1 2747-0800U.S. 30 WESTERN AVE(Neat to K MART)I •[CINEMA I - FINA^^DAYStVnTiTTLE IIIDIAXsH^^^MIS SCARIER THAN ORIENT EXPRESS—£§rt Wii*On.SyndKBttd CotumniMtft#COlO*jumbo jetwhat goodput a little more fear in the back of yourthatknow that buildings burn, ships sink ash and earthquakes level cities. Thethrough a disaster which in real life most of us would choose to skip.I suspect a lot of “The Towering Inferno’s” appeal is that it plays on the fear of many urban dwellers. In large metropolitan areas (where movies are most popular) a majority of the population either works orbottomWhat happensstranded on the top floor?THE POPULARITY of that fear may be what caused two major studios, 20th Century Fox and WarnerBrothers, to embarkon the project simultaneously. One company bought “The Tower,” the other “The Glass Inferno.” Both had cast the films and hired their crews and had started filming when they found out their efforts were being duplicated.#rRather than race each other to the box office (the tirst film completed would probably take the biggest slice of the cake since once you see one modern skyscraper burn down, let’s face it, you’ve seen them all) the companies decided to combine their efforts and form a single disaster.This accounts for the double crews and the glut of big-name actors who stumble in and out of the film so fast you can barely remember who burned up where and when. But the way the film incorporated two directors (a task not unlike putting two heads on aRobertUnaware of the approaching fire,Wagner secretly meets his secretary, Susan Flannery, in “The Towering Inferno.”produce it and they’ve already made a good deal more than 10 times that much from ticket sales.In that respect, this is the best disaster yet. But then we haven’t seen the last of them, either. There arethoroughbred race horse) proved even more peculiar p|enty |eft be filmed and, I suspect, they willIrwin Allen, who started the disaster Poseidon Adventure,” was listed as producer and (get this one) director of “action sequences.” The other, John Guillermin, of “Shaft in Africa” non-fame got the traditional director title.For all its faults and peculiarities, however, the1mis an amazing technical al effect of the movie — ii special effects — are meprove. And as more and more people get into the act, the disaster genre may expand and move away from mere spectacle and into areas of more substance, or at least become more intelligent thrillers. Until then, I’m afraid, we’ll continue to get burned by splashy films like “The Towering Inferno.”imagine, me makers 01 ' me certainly didn’t spare any expense in a dazzling spectacle. It cost themphotography, editing real than I care to Towering Inferno”
Newspaper Details
South Holland Star Tribune
South Holland, Illinois, US
Sun, May 25, 1975
Page 44
Full Page
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NY, USA 04 Jan 2021
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