There are a few that come to mind. One is Towering Inferno. That was a good one.
Two would be Fire on the 35 Floor with Lee Majors and Lisa Hartman. The third one which really was not the greatest but had a lot of actual footage of the trade center bombing was the one where George Cloonie played Kevin Shea. Not sure what the name of that one was. If your into John Wayne there is the Hellfighters about oil rig firefighters. Take your pick.
This is not a movie....but one of the best programs I have seen about firefighters is FDNY: Brothers in Battle. It shows firefighters in action from all the boroughs in NYC.
Every once in a while it shown on Bill Kurtis Investigative Reports on the A&E cable channel
There was a movie made about the Sioux City Airline crash. Can't remember the name, but James Coburn was a fire chief, and Johnboy Walton (can't rememebr his real name either) was an E.P. Director. Good movie, although it didn't really focus on the fire department.
That Souix City crash movie was called "Crash: Rescue of Flight 232". It even won an Academy Award for special effects...They used the claxton sounds that Squad 51 had...
And I think the one with George Clooney was actually a movie about the WTC bombing? Still a good flick...
Backdraft is the best movie about firefighting. although some of the technical firefighting issues are flawed alittle. but all in all still a good movie about firefighting.
Just a quick question, what is towering inferno about?. Havent seen it.
Smokeetr4,
Yeah, you kind of have a point. Backdraft may not be 100% accurate but, how many firefighting movies are...? As for Towering Inferno, it must have been one of those "before my time" things cause I've never seen it. And NO, I'm not calling you guys old...honest...hehehe. Okay, now I am gonna go back to the Juniors Board so I can keep myself out of trouble. ;D
~Courtney
The 1974 Epic "Towering Inferno" was truly the best Firefighting Movie I've ever seen. The cast was a young all-star group and the Movie was produced very well...It's funny to watch it now and see all things that Firefighters did and wore then as opposed to Today.
Capt. Gonzo also brings up the FDNY Brother's in Battle -- Great Program !! it Goes along with another one from Investigative Reports titled "FIRE: A War that Never Ends" This one was produced and filmed in Chicago with the companies of the C.F.D. -- I Enjoyed both programs so much that I bought the Box Set from A & E.
Now for the Fantasy Films:
"Trapped on the 35th Floor" I believe was actually Titled "H.E.L.P." about the LA City Bank Building Fire...Although a spoof of the Towering Inferno it lacked some basic common sense
"Back-Draft"....Come on It started to get to emotional after the first 40 minutes centering one brother's plight to get even with his Lieutenant Brother's way of fighting fires...And of course to catch the Arsonist which turned out to be one of the Engine Company Members -- Like we didn't see that coming if you follow the story line { Especially in the Un-Cut Version } All in All the movie was entertaining but the Firefighting scenes were a bit off the wall
"Turk #182"....engine121 Give me a break...This Movie had nothing to do with actual Firefighting and was more involved with a brother of an injured FDNY Firefighter getting his medical expenses paid because he performed a rescue while off duty and supposedly wasn't covered...That was more a buricratic Red Tape Type Film...And boring to say the least
In short they just don't make 'em like they used to....'EMERGENCY' is still the top in my book as far as Firefighting/EMS TV -- No body could ever duplicate the "old days"
Not one much for movies but the SC crash 232 if you need a speaker for an event the pilot from the crash does a great job.
If ya want action Towering Inferno is good, although it has been along time since I have seen it.
Back Draft, well we had a member just join the dept. about the time it came out who stated that they had learned so much from the movie. That really drove home how much training is needed. Nuff said.
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