Matcollis This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See

SparkMore n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Leofwine_draca You know, it's funny. All I've seen on this site have been negative reviews for CITY ON FIRE, a late-stage disaster movie from Canada and directed by Alvin Rakoff, the guy who made the underrated DEATH SHIP. Having just watched CITY ON FIRE, I found it a thoroughly absorbing movie and certainly nowhere near as bad as some claim. It's not up to the standard of THE TOWERING INFERNO - few films are - but it's certainly a film comparable to EARTHQUAKE, for instance.The story is straightforward. A messed-up arsonist (the intensely unlikeable Jonathan Welsh) decides to burn down an oil refinery that just had him sacked. The whole city is soon aflame, with a hospital providing a focus point for the climactic action. An ensemble cast go through the motions, and you just know some of them won't make the end credits. Leslie Nielsen's the mayor, Barry Newman a doctor, Shelley Winters a nurse, Henry Fonda the fire chief.There's very little to dislike about this film. The budget is surprisingly high and the disaster scenes have an authentic ring to them, with plenty of death and destruction to keep you on your toes. The script is a bit cheesy but this is normal for the era. The '70s ambiance is just right and the film has a relatively brief running time which means the action is short and snappy. The whole street gauntlet climax is well-staged with a maximum of excitement. I thought CITY ON FIRE as a whole was very good, so ignore the naysayers.

cardfather City on Fire is about an ex-employee taking it out on the whole city by sabotaging the refinery. The city winds up in flames and the doctor and his staff have a race against time to get everyone out before the fire spread to the hospital. Pretty much cheesy at best including the special effects and the flubs on some of the scenes on a limited movie budget. Barry Newman, Henry Fonda(I don't know why he took this role), Susan Clark(Webster jokes by MST3K guys), Leslie Neilsen trying to be serious as the mayor, Ava Gardner as a wasted news anchor doing the play by play on the City on Fire and Shelley Winters whom she just comes in for some of the scenes. Pretty much if someone needs to remake the movie anytime in the future please don't make it worst.

T Although I am a die-hard disaster movie fan I could find little if any redeeming characteristics in this turkey. The acting was dull, and most of the once-were stars seem at best indifferent. One exception is Leslie Nielsen, who turns in a funny if unintentional performance.The plot and special effects all center around the approaching fire storm which threatens a "major" city hospital, all the while followed Ava Gardner in her campiest role since Earthquake as a reporter deeply in the sauce. The special effects are in of themselves Subaru and the director seems to have a grasp of physics that is as limited as his proclivity for having nurses, the average man on the street, the kid next door and even Spot run around on fire. Unfortunately for both the director and the viewer, the images of screaming alphas does little to advance the story.To sum it up in two words: Stay away!

LAKERS34 Wow...this film isn't worth the $3.00 someone said they paid for it on DVD... What little story there was made no sense; the depicted behavior of the fire and the use of firefighting equipment were a joke; totally inaccurate, and the large ensemble cast literally ran in circles around and through this disaster of a film...A bigger question than how this film was ever made in the first place would be HOW DID THEY GET THE ALL-STAR CAST TO APPEAR IN THIS DEBACLE? Did they owe the producer a big time favor? Were all their agents away that weekend? Were the stars too old and blind to read the script? Did they read the wrong script, sign on, and then realize too late they were trapped? We'll never know... If you want some misplaced laughter, go ahead and take a look; otherwise head for the hills when this turkey pops up on the boob-tube.