Fans of Armageddon might see one or two resemblances between that 1998 box office hit and Hellfighters; a 1968 action film by Andrew V. McLaglen; one of John Wayne's favorite directors in his late career. (Their joint ventures included Chisum; Cahill: United States Marshal; and McLintock!) Wayne plays an oil well firefighter in the mold of Red Adair; turning up anywhere in the world where a geyser of fire is shooting up from a once-profitable gusher. His right-hand man (Jim Hutton) has questionable judgment about safety matters and is a scoundrel with the ladies--and neither fact is lost on Wayne when Hutton's character marries his long-lost daughter (Katharine Ross; a mere year after The Graduate). The film is an early entry in the disaster-meets-soap-opera genre that flourished in the '70s with such titles as The Towering Infernoand The Poseidon Adventure. McClaglen gets a lot of crackle out of his action scenes (many of the firefighting sequences are still startling in their intensity) and turns twin love stories (Hutton and Ross; Wayne and Vera Miles) into frothy studies of adult manners; with equal hints of Howard Hawks and Sidney Sheldon. The widescreen image on DVD offers viewers a chance to see what was then a developing vogue for gratuitous breadth and scope in all its goofy; self-congratulatory glory. (Is it necessary to look at a golf course the way one might look at an African veldt? Hellfighters says yes!) The DVD also includes production notes and written bios on the stars; plus optional French and Spanish subtitles and an optional Spanish soundtrack. The cast and sundry thrills make this film highly enjoyable; and easily forgivable for indulging in such inanities as a subplot concerning--hold on--Venezuelan terrorists! The Duke lives! --Tom Keogh