Rotten
The movie doesn't stick together in one's head; this thing is like some junky fairground show -- a chamber of horrors with skeletons that jump up.
Pauline Kael, New Yorker
The Towering Inferno
One tiny spark becomes a night of blazing suspense.
1974 · 2h 45m · PG
Action, Drama, Thriller
Directed by
John Guillermin
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The Towering Inferno
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.
Director and cast
- John Guillermin Director
- Steve McQueen as Chief Michael O'Hallorhan
- Paul Newman as Doug Roberts
- Faye Dunaway as Susan Franklin
- William Holden as Jim Duncan
- Robert Vaughn as Gary Parker
- Fred Astaire as Harlee Claiborne
- Susan Blakely as Patty
- Richard Chamberlain Cast
- Jennifer Jones Cast
- O. J. Simpson Cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
70%
Tomatometer
Rotten
Irwin Allen, the Busby Berkeley of natural disasters and other people's troubles, teams up with John Guillermin, a competent if undistinguished action director.
Don Druker, Chicago Reader
Fresh
The Towering Inferno is one of the greatest disaster pictures made, a personal and professional triumph for producer Irwin Allen.
Variety Staff, Variety
Rotten
A starry cast share out roles that are less like characters than places in a lifeboat.
Geoff Andrew, Time Out
Fresh
You may not come out of the theater with any important ideas about American architecture or enterprise, but you will have had a vivid, completely safe nightmare.
Vincent Canby, New York Times
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