"Truth is whatever gets the loudest applause." Debunking western myths even more than he did in McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971), Robert Altman's Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson (1976) sardonically explores the gap between western history and legend in show biz-obsessed America. Megalomaniac "Buffalo Bill" Cody (Paul Newman) assumes the legend created for him by writer Ned Buntline (Burt Lancaster), aided and abetted by his producer (Joel Grey) and his publicist (Kevin McCarthy), perpetuating myths of white triumph over savage "Injuns" in his Wild West show, as audiences cheer him on and buy his merchandise. But when Sitting Bull (Frank Kaquitts) joins the troupe with his interpreter (Will Sampson), his request for authenticity threatens to throw a wrench into the proceedings. Regardless of how Bill may feel about the facts, he must bow to the preferences of the paying public. Lucia Bozzola, Rovi
A skyscraper and an all-star cast go up in flames in Irwin Allen's classic disaster movie. To celebrate the construction of the Glass Tower, the world's tallest building, architect Doug Roberts (Paul Newman) and builder James Duncan (William Holden) hold a gala bash on the highest floors. Trouble is, Duncan's son-in-law and electrical subcontractor Roger Simmons (Richard Chamberlain) installed faulty wiring throughout the 138-story behemoth to save money. While the guests -- including Doug's lady friend (Faye Dunaway), a rich widow (Jennifer Jones), a con man (Fred Astaire), and a politico (Robert Vaughn) -- enjoy the party, and a security guard (O.J. Simpson) wonders why his equipment is on the fritz, a burnt-out circuit breaker ignites some garbage on the 85th floor, swiftly turning the high-rise into, well, a towering inferno. With the guests trapped on the 135th floor, it's up to Roberts and Fire Chief O'Hallorhan (Steve McQueen) to find a way to stop the blaze. Though not the first all-star '70s disaster movie (1970's Airport and 1972's The Poseidon Adventure preceded it), The Towering Inferno was the most popular and the most spectacular. In a move that would become more common in late-'90s blockbuster Hollywood, The Towering Inferno's mammoth production was mounted by two studios; screenwriter Stirling Silliphant combined the two novels owned by the studios into one saga. 1970s "shake 'n bake" maestro Allen, with co-director John Guillermin (Allen did the action sequences), tapped into deep fears about the fragility of modern life in the face of extreme natural phenomena, as well as into the envies and insecurities of middle-aged professional men. The Towering Inferno packed theaters and earned eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture; it won for Cinematography, Editing, and Song. While its heroic, no-nonsense men provided some traditional comfort, The Towering Inferno still might provoke second thoughts about going into a skyscraper. Lucia Bozzola, Rovi
- Genre: Drama
- Category Ensemble Film, Courtroom Drama, Biopic [feature], Docudrama, Buddy Film, Black Comedy, Coming-of-Age, Comedy Western, Disaster Film
- Theme: Southern Gothic, Love Triangles, Down on Their Luck, Redemption, Culture Clash, Daring Rescues, Trapped or Confined, Military Life
- Studio: 20th Century Fox
- Language: Spanish, English, French
- Subtitle Language: English, Spanish, French
- Release Date: September 22, 2009
- Lead Actor: Carlena Gower, Carol McEvoy, Richard Beymer, Paul Newman, Shirley MacLaine
- Supporting Actor: Evelyn Lear, Lauren Gilbert, Richard Collier, Charles Fredericks, Nelson Olmsted, Paul Stevens, Lee Erickson, Philo Hauser, Zipora Peled, Paul Stassino, Joseph Furst, Peter Madden, Ralph Truman, Eugene Jackson, Dahn Ben Amotz, Samuel Segal, Brian Corcoran, John Crawford, Helen Wallace, Eric Sinclair, George Maharis, Jim Brandt, Victor Maddern, Charles Akins, Michael J. Pollard, Cecil Elliott, Sam Elliott, Shelley Duvall, Martin Miller, Simon Oakland, Betty Walker, Pat McCormick, Paul Bryar, Murvyn Vye, Ralph Reed, Linda Cordova, Dorothy Adams, Nora O'Mahony, Nicholas King, Marc Cavell, Noelle Rogers, Martin Benson, Francisco Cordova, Ralph Osborn III, Craig Richard Nelson, Lou Nova, Monique Mercure, Jeff Corey, Geraldine Chaplin, Martin Balsam, Gene Kelly, Myron McCormick, Cameron Mitchell, Lee J. Cobb, Leon Ames, Dwayne Hickman, Allan Nicholls, Margaret Dumont, Will Sampson, Roxanne Hart, Ted Cassidy, Jake LaMotta, Mabel Albertson, O.Z. Whitehead, Gregory Ratoff, Lindsay Crouse, Cloris Leachman, Margaret Blye, Tom Hill, Tom Gilson, Hugh Griffith, Stefan Gierasch, Sarah Marshall, Patrick O'Neal, Reginald Gardiner, David Langton, Gale Gordon, Richard Anderson, Michael Constantine, Julie Bovasso, John Considine, John Derek, George Grizzard, George Furth, Peter Lazer, Juano Hernandez, Barbara Rush, James Dunn, Murray Hamilton, Arthur Kennedy, Richard Chamberlain, Nina Van Pallandt, Dick Van Dyke, Sal Mineo, Angela Lansbury, Elizabeth Allen, Tuesday Weld, Lee Remick, Brigitte Fossey, Milo O'Shea, Fred Astaire, Dan Dailey, Henry Jones, Jack Carson, Harvey Keitel, Dean Martin, James Mason, George C. Scott, Diane Cilento, Orson Welles, Faye Dunaway, Ina Balin, Fred Clark, Strother Martin, Ricardo Montalban, Peter Lawford, Bibi Andersson, Myrna Loy, Corinne Calvet, William Holden, Anthony Franciosa, Jack Warden, Kevin McCarthy, Robert Mitchum, Katharine Ross, Paul Newman, Piper Laurie, Ralph Richardson, Richard Boone, Fernando Rey, Joan Collins, Jackie Gleason, Joanne Woodward, Charlotte Rampling, Vittorio Gassman, Joel Grey, Eva Marie Saint, Diane Baker, Fredric March, Robert Redford, Steve McQueen, Bill Quinn, Barbara Eden, Ottola Nesmith, Army Archerd, Juanita Fleming, Stuart Randall, Susan Flannery, Tom Conway, Tony La Fortezza, Larry Ward, Sheila Mathews, H. Clay Dear, Maggie Task, Jim Martin, Malcolm Atterbury, Jack Collins, J. Pat O'Malley, Marie Blake, Herb Peterson, Helene Winston, Evelyn Moore, Clive L. Halliday, Clifford A. Pellow, Charles Andre, Queenie Leonard, Robert Cummings, Joe Seneca, Jennifer Jones, Gregory Sierra, Gordon B. Clarke, Dick Wilson, Christopher Connelly, Mae Marsh, Charles McDaniel, Burtt Harris, Bonnie Leaders, Barbara Bouchet, Dabney Coleman, Don Gordon, Don de Leo, Edward Mason, Eugene Borden, Willie Mosconi, Bruce Willis, Marvin Beck, Olan Soule, Ralph Dunn, Robert Vaughn, Lenny Kent, Susan Strasberg, Tracy Butler, Roy Gordon, Sid Gould, Rory Harrity, Susan Blakely, Milton Frome, Pat Hogan, Jack Greening, James Handy, Sid Raymond, Leib Lensky, Lewis J. Stadlen, Terry Rangno, Norman Burton, O.J. Simpson, Alex Green, Alexandra Stewart, Anthony Eustrel, Art Smith, Billy Corcoran, Byron Foulger, Don Koll, William Adams, John Blood, Michael Wynne, Phil Arnold, Marcel Hillaire, Michael J. Kaplan, Ralph Douglas, Marjorie Bennett, Pamelyn Ferdin, Vincent Gardenia, Elektra Rozanska, Ernie F. Orsatti, Felippa Rock, Felton Perry, Robert Wagner, John Harding, Michael Wager, Larry Kent, Kathryn Givney, I. Stanford Jolley, Charles Dierkop, Percy Helton, Tullio Carminatti, Françoise Berd, Philip Bourneuf, Jane Wald, Max Fleck, Colin Stinton, Howard Caine, Denver Pyle, Val Avery, Burt Mustin, Don Keefer, Carl York, Wally Vernon, Ted de Corsia, Kent Broadhurst, Bert Remsen, Timothy Scott, Whit Bissell, Marius Goring, Jess Kirkpatrick, Michael Maillot, Joseph Holland, David Canary, George Dunn, Jo Gilbert, Carolyn Coates, Maurice Marsac, Jill Haworth, Anne Gerety, Raymond Bailey, Mike E. Kaplan, Edward Binns, Jon Lormer, Robert DoQui, Fifi D'Orsay, Frank Silvera, Alexander Rose, William Walker, Marushka Stankova, Stanley Livingston, David Opatoshu, Wesley Addy, Donnelly Rhodes, Burt Lancaster, Kenneth Mars, Skip Ward, Jessica Tandy, Raymond Greenleaf, Felix Aylmer, Eli Wallach
- Director: Otto Preminger, John Guillermin, Sidney Lumet, J. Lee Thompson, Martin Ritt, Robert Rossen, Robert Altman, Irwin Allen, George Roy Hill, Mark Robson, Leo McCarey
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