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Tower
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01:54
Tower
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- 2016
- Keith Maitland
- 96 mins
Summary
Animation, testimony, and archival footage combine to relate the events of August 1, 1966 when a gunman opened fire from the University of Texas clock tower, killing 16 people.
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IMDB
Review
A star rating of 4 out of 5.
Jeremy Aspinall
Mass shootings of American civilians have become an unfortunate fixture on our TV news bulletins, but that wasn't always the case. If this traumatic trend had a start point, arguably it is 1 August 1966, when a sniper ensconced in the clock tower of the University of Texas in Austin randomly killed 16 people and injured many others. As one cop at the scene said: "Something was happening I ain't ever seen before." Director Keith Maitland's enthralling documentary brilliantly captures the shock of that fateful summer's day with an immersive blend of rotoscope animation, archive footage and survivor testimony. This unique melding of the real and the unreal probably shouldn't work, but the animated reconstructions are agonisingly intimate. The experience of one pregnant student, lying wounded next to her dead lover in the searing midday sun while the killer continued a rampage lasting 96 minutes (the same length as the movie), is harrowing enough on its own. But with recollections from other victims, bystanders and policemen seamlessly included, it proves to be an insightful, intense and intensely moving experience.
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7.9/10
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Credits
Cast
rolenameNeal SpelceMonty MuirClaire Wilson JamesViolett BeaneTom EckmanCole Bee WilsonAleck Hernandez JrAldo OrdonezHouston McCoyBlair JacksonBrenda BellVicky IllkAllen CrumChris DoubekJohn "Artly" FoxSeamus Boliver-OchaRamiro MartinezLouie ArnetteRita StarpatternJosephine McAdamClaire Wilson JamesClaire Wilson JamesJohn "Artly" FoxJohn "Artly" Fox
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Crew
rolenameDirectorKeith Maitland
Details
Theatrical distributor
Picturehouse Docs
Released on
2017-02-03
Languages
English
Guidance
Some swearing
Formats
Colour
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