Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Slow
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- rugged
- earnest
- melodramatic
- classic movie night
- John Wayne marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film's fire-fighting spectacle more effective than its overlong plot and thin characterizations.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Chance Buckman and his crew fight oil-rig fires, making hazardous industrial labor the film's central action framework.
Chance must confront how years of oil-fire fighting damaged his marriage and distanced him from Madelyn.
Chance resists his daughter's desire to visit oil fires and fears losing both her and her husband to the dangerous profession.
Oil fires, rigs, bulldozers, and firefighting operations provide the film's defining visual set pieces.
Films like Hellfighters, and why
The Wrecking Crew
shared 1960s action-adventure spectacle, rugged professional protagonist, and romance threaded through dangerous work
In Harm's Way
shared John Wayne star persona, large-scale occupational peril, masculine camaraderie, and conventional romance
The High and the Mighty
shared disaster-oriented adventure, workplace heroism, family conflict, and an older male lead confronting personal consequences
Movie Details
- Director
- Andrew V. McLaglen
- Release Date
- 1968-11-27
- Runtime
- 121 min
- Rating
- 6.3 / 10 (93)
Cast
- John Wayne
- Katharine Ross
- Jim Hutton
- Vera Miles
- Jay C. Flippen
- Bruce Cabot
- Edward Faulkner
- Edmund Hashim
- Barbara Stuart
- Valentin de Vargas
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Hellfighters about?
- A veteran oil-fire fighter must balance spectacular industrial danger with the family bonds his lifelong profession has damaged.
- What is Hellfighters like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Hellfighters as slow, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Hellfighters violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Hellfighters as mild.
- What did critics think of Hellfighters?
- Critics broadly found the film's fire-fighting spectacle more effective than its overlong plot and thin characterizations.
- Which films are like Hellfighters?
- Films with a similar feel include The Wrecking Crew, In Harm's Way, and The High and the Mighty.
- How long is Hellfighters?
- Hellfighters runs 121 minutes.
- Where can I watch Hellfighters?
- In United States, Hellfighters streams on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads.
