MamaGravity good back-story, and good acting

Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

MartinHafer Back in 1966, a tragedy occurred at the University of Texas. A crazed gunman atop the clock tower began opening fire on folks down below...killing about a dozen folks and injuring many more during this 90 minute spree. This film is the second I have seen about it...and it's very different from "The Deadly Tower", a made for TV movie from 1975. "Tower" tells the story using voice actors and rotoscoped* animations of the actors. The voice actors read testimony by a variety of survivors who witnessed the incident. There are also a few folks who talk about it without the use of animation as well as some archival footage from the time. And, here's what is really interesting...instead of focusing on the killer as the previous film did, this new film deliberately avoided mentioning him or giving any attention to him personally. This was a wise decision and really showed respect for the man's many victims. Instead, it focused on the folks who risked their lives that day--who ran out to help the victims.Overall, it was a compelling story told in an unusual manner by Keith Maitland. Well worth seeing...especially since some folks really rose to the occasion that day and proved that within tragedy was some humanity. Just be sure, if you do watch, that you keep some Kleenex handy...just in case.*Rotoscoping is a simple technique for animation. A scene is filmed live and the drawings are made atop the original pictures. It's been around since at least 1915 when the Fleischer Brothers used it in their animated films.

Larry Silverstein This gripping and brilliant film recreates the horrific mass shooting on the campus of the University of Texas, in Austin, on August 1, 1966. On that date, Charles J. Whitman, after killing his wife and mother, rose to the observation level of the Tower building with an arsenal of weapons, and began to fire on innocent people below for about 90 minutes. killing 16 and wounding 33 others.The movie combines archival footage, eyewitness accounts, and animation in a most effective way to bring the viewer a moment by moment accounting of the tragic event. As many wounded and dead lay in the courtyard below the Tower, the police found that they did not have the weaponry that would reach the sniper. Thus, it would be up to 3 Austin policemen, led by a Captain Martinez, and a civilian to try to climb to the observation deck and put an end to the nightmare.Overall, the movie, directed by Keith Maitland, is greatly enhanced by presenting to the viewer the moving accounts of those that survived the mass shooting and how today the trauma of that day has affected their lives. Can highly recommend this film to those that like this type of movie.

reid-hawk The decision in "Tower" to stylistically recreate the actions of the heroes and heroines that took place during August 1st, 1966 is the best single design choice I have ever seen in a documentary. This movie, while still being a compelling true story, would lose lots of its tension and dehumanize many of its victims without the animated sections. "Tower" emotionally moved me, both through its depressing moments and its moments of heroics. Never before has a documentary connected with me on such an emotional level before. However, this movie also frustrated me, particularly towards the third act. some moments of voice acting are weak, but that is only a minor grip. My main issue is with the closing monologue with which the film ends, a monologue that blames violence in media, television, movies, and every other buzzword as an excuse for why the killer did what he did. It does not mention his malignant tumor that had been unknowingly destroying his mind and controlling his actions which is the popular theory as to why he did what he did that day. No, instead the movie seems to blame modern society as a whole for the actions of a single mentally ill man who was given no treatment. This flawed ending does not ruin or even too badly damage the movie for me. In fact I loved it so much I'm going to rate it a 9/10 and say that it is, as of this moment, by far my favorite documentary of the year.

Red_Identity This film is really an extraordinary achievement, in both the animation genre and the documentary genre. This could have been just like many other documentaries where talking heads are intercut with archival footage. By using animation, the film is able to create re- enactments that play around with memory and affective experience in a way that wouldn't be able to be done without animation. It's able to be a clear documentary while still telling a cohesive, linear narrative with many main characters and different perspectives at its core. This deserves to be seen and widely acclaimed, its achievement in not just how much of an emotional impact it has but also in various aspects of filmmaking are enough to recommend this to fans of quality cinema.