The Towering Inferno

The Towering Inferno (1974) is John Guillermin's disaster epic you can watch online on iFILM. San Francisco unveils the tallest skyscraper on Earth, and high above the streets a cheap electrical short begins to smolder.

While 300 guests celebrate at a black-tie party near the roof, fire climbs the building's shafts floor by floor. Architect Doug Roberts (Paul Newman) warned during construction that the contractor cut corners on the wiring, and nobody listened. Now he and fire chief O'Hallorhan (Steve McQueen) have to get people off the burning upper floors before the elevators turn into death traps.

Fox and Warner pooled their money on a single film for the first time and stacked it with stars: Newman, McQueen, William Holden, Faye Dunaway, and a 75-year-old Fred Astaire. It won three Academy Awards, including Best Cinematography, and set the template for the disaster genre for a decade. Stream The Towering Inferno (1974) online on iFILM.