7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
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.
Starring: Paul Newman, Steve McQueen (I), William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Fred AstaireThriller | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 4.0 (Original)
English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (224 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono (224 kbps)
English SDH, French, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
D-Box
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
It's a fire, mister, and all fires are bad.
All fires in skyscrapers are bad, of course, unless they're under the watchful eyes of a movie crew
and
support staff
during the creation of one of cinema's great Disaster pictures. A staple of motion pictures, the
Disaster movie (no, not that atrocity) has enjoyed plenty
of ups
(The Poseidon Adventure, Airport) and downs (the Disaster miniseries in particular) during its long and
storied history. The genre's enjoying something of a CGI-intense comeback (see The Day After
Tomorrow and the upcoming 2012), and of course, James Cameron's
Disaster-Romance hybrid epic Titanic currently reigns as the top box-office earner of
all-time. Irwin Allen's 1974 classic The Towering Inferno is the granddaddy of the genre,
the film not only a technical achievement that holds up incredibly well (just ignore the clothes
and decor) but the picture also boasts one of filmdom's all-time great ensemble casts and an
impressive list of Oscar nominations (including Best Picture) and a trio of wins (Best
Cinematography, Best Film Editing, and Best Music, Original Song).
You've got me burnin'.
The Towering Inferno ignites on Blu-ray as another high quality classic catalogue release from 20th Century Fox. A very fine layer of grain swirls around this 1080p, 2.40:1-framed transfer; it's barely noticeable in most scenes. The print exhibits but a few minute pops and scratches, the film looking about as pristine as the day it debuted some 35 years ago. Colors take on that distinct and warm 1970s look; plenty of oranges, yellows, browns, and baby blues dominate the palette as seen in both the period clothing and decor that's scattered about the building. The transfer does look rather soft in many scenes, particularly in outlying areas of the frame while the center-screen action looks mostly sharp and clear. The transfer does serve up a fair bit of fine detail. As the film moves along, dirt and grime begin accumulating on outfits and the fireman's yellow tanks strapped to their backs that gives the film a sense of realism and texture. Also, close-up shots of actors later in the movie reveal beads of nervous- and warmth-induced sweat across every brow. Black levels impress throughout, whether the image is of a dark interior corner of the building or many nighttime exterior shots of the Glass Tower. Flesh tones also remain a rather neutral and natural shade. The many smoky shots never see any problematic banding or blocking. Despite a few bouts of softness, The Towering Inferno looks rather good on Blu-ray.
The Towering Inferno explodes onto Blu-ray with a satisfactory DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The track delivers an experience that's about as expected of a mid-1970s production, beginning with a sweeping score that sounds rather good as it spreads across the front of the soundstage and benefiting from the lossless presentation with a wonderful clarity that may not match the best of the current crop of newly-produced sound mixes but makes for a solid listen nevertheless. The movie delivers an effects-heavy soundtrack, and the lossless mix serves them up to a degree that's better than any previous home video rendition. Screaming fire vehicles race to the tower with loud blares of their sirens and revving engines that both streak across the soundstage. Later, various explosions are loud but pack a minimal wallop and come off as somewhat jumbled and undefined. The rear channels are used rather sparingly, offering up a bit of atmosphere but rarely delivering discrete sound effects. Dialogue plays an important role in the picture and though it's sometimes lost under background sound effects, it's mostly clear and intelligible. Not the most active or clear soundtrack out there but one that is certainly befitting the film, listeners shouldn't be disappointed with this lossless offering from 20th Century Fox.
The Towering Inferno bursts onto Blu-ray with a long list of extra features in true Fox
"classic title" fashion. First up is a commentary track with Film Historian F.X. Feeney. The track
looks at the film from a slightly different -- detached and historical -- perspective, not the usual
gamut
of filmmaker and star commentaries. He speaks breezily and often fascinatingly about the history
of
the project, discussing the film's backstory and the conglomeration between 20th Century Fox
and
Warner Brothers, the film's star power, the direction, the numerous stories and themes that
develop through the film, and plenty more. Feeney's commentary is more akin to a fascinating
college lecture rather than a dry recount of the grind of filmmaking. He never slows down during
the entire extended runtime, making this one of the best commentary tracks yet. Also included
are two scene-specific commentaries. The first, by X-Men: The Last
Stand's Special Effects Director Mike Vezina, is available with the
following eight scenes: Explosion on 81, Fire Chief Arrives on 81, 'I Used to
Run the 100 in 10 Flat', Explosions in Stairwell, Roger Tries to Escape,
Elevator Explosion, Breeches Buoy, and Water Explosion. The second,
featuring The Day After
Tomorrow's Montreal Stunt Coordinator Branko Racki, is available with the following
nine scenes: Will Giddings Catches Fire, Battling Fire, Man on Fire, 'I
Used to
Run the 100 in 10 Flat', Fallen Stairwell, Scenic Elevator Brought to Safety,
Fight over Breeches Buoy, Preparing the Water Tanks, and Water Tank
Explosion.
Next up are 10 featurettes. Inside the Tower: We Remember (480p, 8:15) features cast
and crew remembering the experience of working alongside the film's incredible star power.
Innovating the Tower: The SPFX of an Inferno (480p, 6:55) briefly examines the various
and innovative "old fashioned" methods of bringing the film's many effects shots to life. The
Art of Towering (480p, 5:17) looks at the important role of the art department's conceptual
drawings and storyboards to the finished product. Irwin Allen: The Great Producer
(480p, 6:25) briefly looks back on the famed producer's career. Directing the Inferno
(480p, 4:28) offers a short examination of the combined directorial work of John Guillermin
(dramatic scenes) and Irwin Allen (action scenes) in The Towering Inferno. Putting
Out the Fire (480p, 4:58) takes a look at the dangers of playing with fire and the role of local
real-life firefighters in ensuring the safety of the cast, crew, and sets during the shoot.
Running on Fire (480p, 5:52) pays tribute to the role stunt people in the film. Still
the World's Tallest Building (480p, 8:23) takes a peek the history of skyscrapers and some of
the world's most famous buildings. The Writer: Stirling Silliphant (480p, 9:16) looks
back at the life and times of the Oscar-winning writer. Finally, AMC Backstory: The Towering
Inferno (480p, 22:08) is a more generalized look back at the film.
Also included is a massive collection of 33 extended, alternate, and deleted scenes (480p, 44:58).
Storyboard-to-Film Comparisons (480p) shows viewers a collection of storyboards
followed
by the final shots. Scenes offered for comparison include Fallen Stairwell, Helicopter
Crash, Elevator Shaft, Scenic Elevator, Buoy Chair, and Water
Tank Explosion. Moving along, Vintage Promotional Material offers up a collection of
interesting tidbits, including NATO Presentation Reel (480p, 11:08), Original 1974
Featurette #1 (480p, 8:15), Original 1974 Featurette #2 (480p, 7:20), the
nine-part 1977 Irwin Allen Interview (480p, 12:18), The Towering Inferno
teaser
(480p, 1:34) and theatrical trailer (480p, 2:12), and The Poseidon Adventure theatrical
trailer
(480p, 3:15). Also included are three interactive pieces from American
Cinematographer: the 23-page "The Towering Inferno and How it Was Filmed," the
26-page "Photographing the Dramatic Sequences for The Towering Inferno," and the
34-page "'Action Unit' Lives Up to its Name While Shooting The Towering Inferno." Also
included is a quintet of still galleries: Shot Compositions, Publicity, Behind
the Scenes, Conceptual Sketches, and Costumes. Finally, this disc is also
D-Box enabled.
Though not the highest-grossing, most popular, or largest-in-scale Disaster picture ever made, The Towering Inferno is still the standard-bearer of the genre, a classic epic that boasts impressive visuals, great characters and an even better cast, a fine story, and excellent pacing. Another treasure from 20th Century Fox's massive and largely impressive vault, The Towering Inferno sets Blu-ray ablaze with a presentation sure to satisfy all audiences. Boasting a strong 1080p transfer, a suitably good lossless soundtrack, and a wealth of bonus materials that run the gamut of the film's production, The Towering Inferno is a disc well worth warming up to. Highly recommended.
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