Movie · 1974 · Action, Drama, Thriller · 2h 45m · PG · English
Curator score: 4.9/10 (84.4K ratings)
One tiny spark becomes a night of blazing suspense.
Overview
At the opening party of a colossal—but poorly constructed—skyscraper, a massive fire breaks out, threatening to destroy the tower and everyone in it.
Ratings
Curator score: 4.9/10
IMDb: 7.0/10
Letterboxd: 3.49/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 69%
Metacritic: 69
TMDB: 7.0/10
Director
John Guillermin
Production
Warner Bros. Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Irwin Allen Productions
Cast
Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Fred Astaire, Susan Blakely, Richard Chamberlain, Jennifer Jones, O. J. Simpson, Robert Vaughn, Robert Wagner, Susan Flannery, Sheila Allen, Norman Burton, Jack Collins, Don Gordon, Felton Perry, Gregory Sierra, Ernie F. Orsatti, Dabney Coleman
Curator Review
Verdict
A big, glossy 1970s disaster spectacle that still delivers on scale, suspense, and star power. It’s long and character depth is secondary to the set pieces, but the practical effects and escalating chaos make it a classic of the genre.
Best for
fans of disaster movies
viewers who enjoy large ensemble casts
people who like practical effects and old-school spectacle
audiences seeking a tense, crowd-pleasing thriller
Skip if
you want tightly written character drama
you dislike long runtimes
you prefer modern pacing and effects
you need emotional realism over spectacle
Overview
The Towering Inferno is disaster cinema at its most confident and expensive-looking. It takes a simple premise — a skyscraper fire during a glittering opening-night celebration — and stretches it into a full-scale survival thriller, with the building itself becoming the villain. The movie’s pleasures are immediate: the star wattage, the engineering detail, the escalating panic, and the sense that every corridor and elevator shaft could turn lethal at any moment.
Worth noting
What gives it staying power is the sheer professionalism of the filmmaking. The practical effects, miniature work, and staging of the fire sequences still feel impressive, and the film knows how to build suspense out of logistics as much as emotion. It’s also very much a product of the 1970s disaster boom, meaning the characters are often archetypes first and people second, but the movie compensates with momentum and scale.
Bottom line
If you’re in the mood for a big, old-school crowd-pleaser with genuine tension and a little camp in the mix, it’s easy to recommend. It may not be subtle, but it is committed, polished, and memorable in the way only a major studio disaster epic can be.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Anna Imhof 🌸 · 585 likes
If I was a building, I’d probably also go up in flames if I had Paul Newman and Fred Astaire walking around inside of me. Only so much hotness a building can handle, right? But it gets worse. Steve McQueen is called to the scene—of all people!—to extinguish the fire. McQueen the fireman. What a joke. If I was a building in flames and McQueen was sent over to get me under control, I can tell you right now I’d burn more, not less.
Colin the dude (4★) · 469 likes
Here was a production so enormous that they had to double the duties of a normal production. Two studios put it together (20th Century and Warner Bros.), two directors were credited (one for talking scenes, one for action scenes), it's based on two novels smooshed together, and they very intricately and carefully designed it for two superstar leads (Steve McQueen and Paul Newman) to anchor the film. It's documented that McQueen only signed on if him and Newman had the… more Here was a production so enormous that they had to double the duties of a normal production. Two studios put it together (20th Century and Warner Bros.), two directors were credited (one for talking scenes, one for action scenes), it's based on two novels smooshed together, and they very intricately and carefully designed it for two superstar leads (Steve McQueen and Paul Newman) to anchor the film. It's documented that McQueen only signed on if him and Newman had the… more
theriverjordan (3.5★) · 201 likes
“The Towering Inferno” is the original burning building and chill flick.
There’s plenty of fuel for the nearly three-hour fire: the flames feed off some of the biggest egos in the Hollywood of its era.
What’s distinguishes “Inferno” from other disaster pictures of the 1970s isn’t that it’s necessarily a better film than the likes of “Airport” and “The Poseidon Adventure.” It’s just that everyone involved with it seemed to believe that they were making a masterpiece.
The sweet scent… more
eely (3★) · 194 likes
imagine: you’re in your room on the 80 somethingth floor of an on-fire skyscraper and your room slowly starts to fill with smoke so you put on your headphones and listen to some bangers to distract you from your imminent demise, and then, just as you start to sob, paul newman busts down your door, drenched in sweat and covered in soot, with the sole intention of rescuing your miserable ass. imagine.
Filmento (4★) · 160 likes
Imagine a badass Michael Bay movie starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt and Leo Dicaprio... but in the 70s.