At the opening party of a colossal, but poorly constructed, office building, a massive fire breaks out that threatens to destroy the tower and everyone in it.At the opening party of a colossal, but poorly constructed, office building, a massive fire breaks out that threatens to destroy the tower and everyone in it.At the opening party of a colossal, but poorly constructed, office building, a massive fire breaks out that threatens to destroy the tower and everyone in it.
- Won 3 Oscars
- 13 wins & 14 nominations total
Sheila Allen
- Paula Ramsay
- (as Sheila Mathews)
Norman Burton
- Giddings
- (as Normann Burton)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaBoth novels were inspired by the construction of the World Trade Center in the early-1970s, and what could happen with a fire in a skyscraper. In Richard Martin Stern's novel "The Tower", the fictional 125-story building was set next to the north tower of the World Trade Center. The climax of the novel was centered around a rescue mounted from the north tower.
- Goofs(at around 2h 35 mins) At the end of the movie the tower seems to be well lit despite the power outage caused by the fire.
- Quotes
Doug Roberts: I don't know. Maybe they just oughta leave it the way it is. Kind of a shrine to all the bullshit in the world.
- Crazy creditsThe 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. Pictures logos don't appear in the beginning.
- Alternate versionsThe film was re-dubbed in 2003 for the German DVD release. All subsequent releases on DVD and Blu-ray feature this new dubbing, many TV airings as well.
- ConnectionsEdited into St. Elsewhere: The Abby Singer Show (1988)
- SoundtracksWe May Never Love Like This Again
Sung by Maureen McGovern
Words and Music by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn
Featured review
" What do they call it when you kill people? "
In the world of architectural structures, there are some buildings which have become synonymous with the state there were born in. Indeed, the structure which caught fire in this film was actually created from two stories. The original building was called 'The Tower' and it's sister structure was called " The Glass Inferno.' Together they were united summarily and christened as " The Towering Inferno. " Assembling a memorable cast caused this movie to be riveting and spellbinding. The inner tale for this combined feature is of a majestic and towering high rise which has just been inaugurated as it's first occupants are checking in and occupying their rooms. The architect, Doug Roberts (Paul Newman) has just returned from a short vacation and is impressed with his completed design. Immediately upon his return however, he discovers a small fire has broken out, due to faulty wiring. As the fire spreads, the Construction engineer, Jim Duncan (William Holden) is informed his chief electrical engineer has just been burned to death. As the fires continues to grow and evolve into a flaming, dangerous and ever rising inferno, the city's fire departments begin to arrive introducing Chief Michael O'Hallorhan (Steve McQueen). Several other stories thread and interlace the surface story involving Hollywood's elite, including Fred Astaire, Faye Dunaway, Richard Chamberlain, Robert Vaughn, and Robert Wagner. If you're seeing this movie for the first time, be prepared for many action scenes and exciting hair raising stunts. The story line is plausible (due to 911) as we acknowledge the firmly established courage and honored reputation of America's valiant Firemen, which is now fact and part of our history. Great movie which now wears the title of Classic. ****
helpful•212
- thinker1691
- Oct 14, 2009
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Flammendes Inferno
- Filming locations
- 2898 Vallejo Street, Pacific Heights, San Francisco, California, USA(Roger and Patty Simmons' house)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $14,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $116,000,000
- Gross worldwide
- $116,000,429
- Runtime2 hours 45 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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