In an age when school shootings are depressingly frequent, Keith Maitland's powerful documentary takes a look at the first major incident, when a sniper on the observation deck of the University of Texas Tower took aim at pedestrians below, killing 14 and wounding another 31, on August 1, 1966. The identity of gunman Charles Whitman is eventually revealed, but the emphasis here is on the victims, along with the police and other individuals who tried to assist or made their way toward the tower to confront the shooter. Maitland uses an impressive variety of techniques to capture both the immediacy and poignancy of the tragic event, including dramatic re-enactments that morph into rotoscope-animated images (both black-and-white and color), accompanied by voiceover reminiscences (new and archival) of those trapped amidst the carnage. A remarkable amount of contemporary footage is edited into the material, with radio and television reports, punctuated by a steady stream of gunfire, added to the mix, while a group of police and one civilian (a bookstore manager) recollect how they worked past the bodies of Whitman's first victims to reach the deck and end the siege. This portrait of courage in the face of terror is capped by newly-shot interviews and reunions, including one between Claire Wilson, who lay wounded on the concrete beside the corpse of her dead boyfriend for hours, and John Fox, a young man who came out of hiding to help carry her to safety. Tower is a remarkably moving re-creation of a traumatic episode in America's history that also serves as a reminder of how ineffective we have been at preventing similar tragedies over the past half-century. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)
Tower
(2016) 69 min. DVD: $29.95, Blu-ray: $34.95 (avail. from most distributors), $349 w/PPR (avail. from www.kinolorberedu.com). DRA. Kino Lorber. Closed captioned. Volume 32, Issue 3
Tower
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