1974 - The Towering Inferno
The first phase of this year's awards season is under way with many critics associations announcing their picks, including the journalists from the Golden Globe Foundation, who revealed their nominations earlier this week. As such, frontrunners are slowly emerging, and while I still have plenty of contenders to see, I'm excited to get stuck into the discussion in the coming weeks.
Time now to discuss our next Best Picture contender from 1974...
The Towering Inferno
Director:
John Guillermin
Screenplay:
Stirling Silliphant
(based on the novels The Tower by Richard Martin Stern and The Glass Inferno by Thomas N. Scortia and Frank M. Robinson)
Starring:
Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Fred Astaire, Susan Blakely, Richard Chamberlain, Jennifer Jones, O.J Simpson, Robert Vaughn, Robert Wagner
Academy Awards:
8 nominations
3 wins, including Best Song
San Francisco plays host to the opening of The Glass Tower, a 138-storey skyscraper that is now the world's tallest building. As crowds gather for the dedication, an electrical issue concerns workers in the main utility room. However, unbeknownst to the workers, the short caused a small fire to break out on the 81st floor. The building's architect, Doug Roberts (Newman), discovers his electrical specifications weren't adhered to, blaming subcontractor Roger Simmons (Chamberlain), who denies any wrongdoing. When an engineer is killed upon discovery of the fire, Roberts pleads with the developer, James Duncan (Holden), to evacuate the building, but Duncan refuses, putting the lives of the party-goers on the 135th floor in grave danger. Not until fire chief Michael O'Hallorhan (McQueen) arrives on the scene does Duncan acquiesce, but by that time, the flames have engulfed many floors, thus evacuation is no longer simple. Now, the party attendants, the building staff and even the fire crew all struggle to find a safe way out of this towering inferno.
The Towering Inferno takes full advantage of the expectations that audiences undoubtedly bring to disaster movies, particularly in 1974 when the genre was riding a popularity wave. The slow pace of the first act sets up a beautiful tension - the calm before the storm. We all know exactly what's coming, but there's a delicious anticipation in waiting for it to happen. Even after the story begins to unfold, the tension remains palpable. Rather than jumping immediately into constant fast-paced action, there's a perfectly appropriate slow burn (pun intended). As the fire gradually spreads from floor to floor, the action also heats up (there's another pun), steadily increasing the stakes before eventually coming to a boil (I can't help myself).
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That said, the film does, at times, venture dangerously close to TV melodrama. While much of the script exhibits a sparkling wit, some sequences contain a fair amount of cheesy subtextless dialogue. And it pains me to say this, but the film's schmaltz is often exacerbated by a rather heavy-handed dramatic score from the otherwise brilliant and legendary John Williams.
The film embraces the disaster movie tradition of assembling an all-star cast, led by an effortlessly natural Paul Newman as the passionate architect, and a stoic Steve McQueen who, despite maintaining a small range, is very effective as the seen-it-all-before fire chief. Faye Dunaway shines in her second Best Picture nominee of 1974, matching Newman's breezy naturalism. Also noteworthy is Richard Chamberlain as the smarmy coward. Classic sitcom fans will enjoy seeing young Mike Lookinland, fresh off his The Brady Bunch success. And at the other end of the spectrum are two titans of old Hollywood, Oscar-winner Jennifer Jones and my distant relative Fred Astaire, who not only received his first and only Oscar nomination here, but also the film's only nod for acting. Altogether, The Towering Inferno garnered eight nominations, justifiably winning for its beautiful cinematography and splendid editing. Plus, it wouldn't be a disaster movie without an emotional song - We May Never Love Like This Again picked up the picture's third Oscar.
Time now to discuss our next Best Picture contender from 1974...
The Towering InfernoDirector:
John Guillermin
Screenplay:
Stirling Silliphant
(based on the novels The Tower by Richard Martin Stern and The Glass Inferno by Thomas N. Scortia and Frank M. Robinson)
Starring:
Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Fred Astaire, Susan Blakely, Richard Chamberlain, Jennifer Jones, O.J Simpson, Robert Vaughn, Robert Wagner
Academy Awards:
8 nominations
3 wins, including Best Song
San Francisco plays host to the opening of The Glass Tower, a 138-storey skyscraper that is now the world's tallest building. As crowds gather for the dedication, an electrical issue concerns workers in the main utility room. However, unbeknownst to the workers, the short caused a small fire to break out on the 81st floor. The building's architect, Doug Roberts (Newman), discovers his electrical specifications weren't adhered to, blaming subcontractor Roger Simmons (Chamberlain), who denies any wrongdoing. When an engineer is killed upon discovery of the fire, Roberts pleads with the developer, James Duncan (Holden), to evacuate the building, but Duncan refuses, putting the lives of the party-goers on the 135th floor in grave danger. Not until fire chief Michael O'Hallorhan (McQueen) arrives on the scene does Duncan acquiesce, but by that time, the flames have engulfed many floors, thus evacuation is no longer simple. Now, the party attendants, the building staff and even the fire crew all struggle to find a safe way out of this towering inferno.
The Towering Inferno takes full advantage of the expectations that audiences undoubtedly bring to disaster movies, particularly in 1974 when the genre was riding a popularity wave. The slow pace of the first act sets up a beautiful tension - the calm before the storm. We all know exactly what's coming, but there's a delicious anticipation in waiting for it to happen. Even after the story begins to unfold, the tension remains palpable. Rather than jumping immediately into constant fast-paced action, there's a perfectly appropriate slow burn (pun intended). As the fire gradually spreads from floor to floor, the action also heats up (there's another pun), steadily increasing the stakes before eventually coming to a boil (I can't help myself).
.jpg)
That said, the film does, at times, venture dangerously close to TV melodrama. While much of the script exhibits a sparkling wit, some sequences contain a fair amount of cheesy subtextless dialogue. And it pains me to say this, but the film's schmaltz is often exacerbated by a rather heavy-handed dramatic score from the otherwise brilliant and legendary John Williams.The film embraces the disaster movie tradition of assembling an all-star cast, led by an effortlessly natural Paul Newman as the passionate architect, and a stoic Steve McQueen who, despite maintaining a small range, is very effective as the seen-it-all-before fire chief. Faye Dunaway shines in her second Best Picture nominee of 1974, matching Newman's breezy naturalism. Also noteworthy is Richard Chamberlain as the smarmy coward. Classic sitcom fans will enjoy seeing young Mike Lookinland, fresh off his The Brady Bunch success. And at the other end of the spectrum are two titans of old Hollywood, Oscar-winner Jennifer Jones and my distant relative Fred Astaire, who not only received his first and only Oscar nomination here, but also the film's only nod for acting. Altogether, The Towering Inferno garnered eight nominations, justifiably winning for its beautiful cinematography and splendid editing. Plus, it wouldn't be a disaster movie without an emotional song - We May Never Love Like This Again picked up the picture's third Oscar.
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