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Posted: |
Apr 19, 2009 - 4:00 PM
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By: |
manderley
(Member)
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After 9/11, and other high-rise fires, this scenario, even in fictional movie form, is a bit too discomforting anymore, at least for me. Years ago, I think it was in the late 1970's, my partner worked for a major talent agency which was located on an upper floor in a New York high-rise. As my partner describes it, somehow a janitor's cart, full of collected trash, caught on fire, probably from a discarded but unextinguished cigarette, as it was sitting in the elevator lobby. The fire soon spread to the entire lobby, blocking the elevators and the exits, which were just off this lobby. The employees remaining on the floor, I guess about a dozen including my partner, managed to barricade themselves in a large office---which happened to be the nice one of the head of the agency. There was a bathroom, so they made wet towels and sealed up the doors with them. They called and called but no help arrived quickly. As the doors got warmer and warmer and smoke was coming into the office, they broke out several windows with a chair and managed to get a little fresh air. Then they, deciding it was near the end, broke into the wet bar, took out all the booze and had last drinks. They could look down and see crowds gathering on the street below and over to the building next door, where news and tabloid TV cameras were set up on the roof, lenses trained to catch the first moment when jumpers would start to fall to their deaths. This went on for a long time and as the situation got more precarious and the occupants were making final calls to their loved ones on the phones which still worked, firemen miraculously broke down the main door with hatchets. My partner said that the firemen stood there astonished, and then broke into tears! They had expected to find only suffocated bodies by that time. Hooray for the skills, bravery, and sensitivities of our working firemen! Even though it was thirty years ago, my partner still talks about this day from time-to-time. I'm sure the total horror of the situation will be with him forever.
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 Sir M, We Understand Your Considerable Chagrin Department: And we’re sure we’re not alone in empathizing with the horrendous travails your Partner (and his office mates) went through during their own hellacious REAL (not reel) life experience. To those who give their lives, so that others may live - to the firefighters of the world - this picture is gratefully dedicated" As for saluting the genuine heroics of fire-fighters, we recall when the film was first released there were considerable snickers by various critics at the above Tribute in the opening credits – even Mr. Williams’ music also slowed down, stopped and musically memorialized (which said oceans more about the their chic cynicism than the movie’s sympathetic overture).  As to that, we feel HooRaq makes a definitive point in contrasting the late 90s' lame-brained negative attempts at the genre contrasted with what Mr. Allen was about. True, after 9/11, anything of this sort would be seriously suspect but there are the exemplary Exceptions to all the contemptible generalities – and we sorta figger this cinematic suspect is wayyyyy ahead of its other culprits.  When we spent a marvelous afternoon in the garden outside his home with screenwriter Stirling Silliphant  his own examples of the demanding egoholic antics Mr. McQueen continually pulled (fer instance, making sure he had the exact amount of lines as Mr. Newman – including, you’ll note, the film’s final one) didn’t exactly endear the former to him (how’d you like it if YOUR honeymoon was gonna be interrupted ‘cause some infantile star wanted rewrites?).  Still, what always rescued him was Mr. McQueen’s unerring intuitive sense of what roles he was temperamentally right for. Although it was (during its B-list concept) originally slated for Ernest Borgnine, when the casting net started ascending toward Super-Star status, Mr. McQueen decided the Fire Chief was better suited for him rather than the Architect – and he was right. (Personally, tho, Mr. Newman’s who we most identify with but we’ll expand on both their characters and contributions anon).  Historical Addendum to/for Sir M Department: Given your encyclopedic photographic frame ( ) of professional reference, we always found the fact this heavyweight production was especially notable for its triple array of acclaimed photographic peers which is memorably immortalized in the special issue American Cinematographer devoted to the filming - February 1975. [ As writer David Hammond noted, “... the only way you could film something like THE TOWERING INFERNO short of large scale arson would be to conjure up ample potions of the Hollywood magic of old and shoot on a sound stage where absolute control can be exercised. It was a three man cinemagraphic show. Joe Biroc, ASC headed the unique Action Unit, Fred Koenekamp, ASC was Director of Photography for the first unit, which was responsible for all of the dramatic and background filming and Bill Abbott, ASC came out of retirement to supervise the special photographic effects, which included the use of miniatures, matte paintings, and blue screen photography”. ] You can read all about it by beaming over to www.thetoweringinferno.info/action.html.  This swingin' symposium’s just gettin’ started, we promise ya that …
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I love the film. Every second of it. And, though many of my big screen favorites are in it, the standout performance is Susan Flannery in a minor role. She should have become a big star. I don't know what happened?
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