On August 1, 1966 a sniper opened fire at the University of Texas, killing 16 and wounding 32 others. 50 years later, the story is getting re-told utilizing a mix of newly filmed footage rotoscoped à la Waking Life, archival materials, and interviews in the film Tower. Directed by Keith Maitland, Kino Lorber has now released the first trailer ahead of a release next month.
We said in our review, “It’s quite a cartographic feat, providing an accurate sense of geography and proximity, aided by reporter Neal Spelce, who circled the campus as the nation watched in horror. Like Maitland’s previous feature, The Eyes of Me, Tower takes on a hybrid of animation, interviews, and recreations. Claire Wilson’s own words are performed in a rotoscoped past by Violett Beane as history separates and merges with the present in the film’s touching third act.”
Check out the trailer below.
August 1, 1966, was the day our innocence was shattered. A sniper rode the elevator to the top floor of the iconic University of Texas Tower and opened fire, holding the campus hostage for 96 minutes in what was a previously unimaginable event. TOWER combines archival footage with rotoscopic animation of the dramatic day, based entirely on first person testimonies from witnesses, heroes and survivors, in a seamless and suspenseful retelling of the unfolding tragedy. The film highlights the fear, confusion, and visceral realities that changed the lives of those present, and the rest of us, forever – a day when the worst in one man brought out the best in so many others.
Tower opens on October 12 in NY and October 14 in LA.