City on Fire (1979 film)

City on Fire is a disaster film directed by Alvin Rakoff of 1979, which originated in American- Canadian co-production.

Action

William Dudley, the corrupt mayor of a city in the American Midwest, has approved the construction of an oil refinery near the city center. The problem is that the refinery has no access to water. No river, no lake or reservoir is near.

Stover, an unstable employee of the refinery is ignored not only in the carriage, he gets fired. Stover wants revenge and will open more valves of the pipeline. Chemicals and fuel flow into the environment or into the drainage. When welding, the gasoline ignited. Not only the refinery is destroyed, even in the city itself caused dozens of fires.

Dr. Whitman is the director of the municipal hospital, which is poorly equipped by Dudley's mismanagement. Whitman and his staff try to treat the injured, while the fire chief Risley has to send its rescue teams with poor equipment to the fire sources. The alcoholics reporter Maggie Grayson sees the disaster, however, a chance to establish itself with a recent story. Also in the hospital is the heiress Diana, a former schoolmate Stover, of which he is possessed. More and more injured flock to the clinic, while the fires spreading. Finally, Dudley and Risley decide that the hospital has to be evacuated as the fires threaten to destroy the hospital in a firestorm.

During the evacuation, the fires reach the hospital and make a bet with vehicles impossible. The firefighters with hoses must form a corridor to protect people from the heat. Stover and several nurses are killed. Dr. Whitman succeeds as a last escape before the hospital explodes in a giant fireball.

At the end we learn that apparently the entire city burned down. Dr. Whitman and Diana come together.

Reviews

The lexicon of the International film described the film as "a technically elaborate spectacle in which the real threats to our modern cityscapes be neglected but behind a plot to constructed and garish show effects. "

The film magazine Cinema wrote: "As a work of destruction, this spectacle is consistent: It burned an army of veterans as extras a monstrous pyrotechnics show Ava Gardner and Leslie Nielsen, to the Oscar - winner Henry Fonda and Shelley Winters them remains all in the. smoke away the breath. "

The " TV Guide " scoffed that the film is a poor excuse for a disaster movie. Although the cast is good, but do it the unintentionally funny script difficult to get through the movie.

Background

The film is one of the few productions whose premiere took place abroad. On 24 May 1979 he was first shown in Germany. In Canada, he appeared only on 29 August the same year, in the U.S. even until 31 August.

The production had an estimated budget of 5.3 million U.S. dollars.

The film, supported by the state production company Telefilm Canada, was filmed in Montreal. As usual with disaster movies that time, many movie stars were used, Fonda, Gardner, winter and Franciscus included already a veteran of the genre.

Elements of the film refer to the Texas City explosion that 581 people lost their lives in April 1947.

William McCauley, the composer of film music, worked here together with his son Matthew.

In 2000 they created a remake titled Blaze - city in the firestorm.

1979 in film Screenplay Jack Hill Film score
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