Flammendes Inferno (1974)

Flammendes Inferno: Directed by John Guillermin. With Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, William Holden, Faye Dunaway. 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.

“u0026quot;Grand Hotelu0026quot;-styled disaster epic that, along with the original u0026quot;Airportu0026quot; and u0026quot;The Poseidon Adventureu0026quot;, became a monstrous money-maker which dominated not only economically, but also critically. u0026quot;The Towering Infernou0026quot; is an intense affair as a high-rise skyscraper in San Francisco seems to be a state-of-the-art marvel, but sometimes things are not as perfect as they seem. There are still flaws in the building and naturally a small spark in a utility room will lead to an overwhelming night of terror and heroism. A whou0026#39;s who cast in Hollywood at the time makes up the mind-blowing list of performers. Paul Newman, Robert Vaughn, William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Steve McQueen, Susan Blakely, Richard Chamberlain, Robert Wagner and Jennifer Jones all make lasting impressions. However it is Fred Astaire (in an Oscar-nominated role of a lifetime) and then-Buffalo Bill superstar O.J. Simpson (showing the style, grace and power that he showed on the playing field here in his debut screen performance) that stand out and create a higher dimension to an honestly corn-filled story. A terribly difficult production to pull off due to the very large scope involved. The technical effects compete well with the all-world performers to make a stunningly impressive movie. Near the top of the usually ho-hum genre of the period. 4 stars out of 5.”