A sniper. A 28-story clock tower. And 96 minutes of terror on a Texas college campus.
Stacker ranks it #19 on its list of the 100 Best Documentaries of All Time.
Trailer for “Tower”
You Can’t Make This Sh!t Up
- Claire Wilson was eight months pregnant when the sniper shot her in the stomach. Her boyfriend, Thomas Eckman, tried to help but was shot dead. Her unborn baby also died.
- An 18-year-old girl ran into the open to help Claire. She played dead so the sniper wouldn’t shoot her. Another stranger, John “Artly” Fox, helped get Claire to safety.
- Two cops climbed a 28-story tower to stop the killer. Martinez fired his pistol, and McCoy shot him with a shotgun. After 96 minutes, the shooting was finally over.
Watch “Tower”
You can find “Tower” on Kanopy, Prime Video, Apple TV, and other services.
Ratings:
- My Rating: 91/100
- IMDb Rating: 7.9/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 89/100 (Users); 99/100 (Critics)
Director’s Note: Keith Maitland directed this 82-minute documentary. Instead of relying on standard talking-head interviews, he uses rotoscope animation, which turns filmed actors into animated figures. He mixes those scenes with actual footage from the 1966 shooting and interviews with survivors. Maitland also directed “A Song for You: The Austin City Limits Story.”
Release Date: March 13, 2016 (South by Southwest Film Festival); October 12, 2016 (U.S. theatrical release).
Other Unique Stuff
- Whitman had visited a university psychiatrist months before the shooting. After his death, an autopsy found a brain tumor. Whether it affected his actions remains disputed.
- A newspaper delivery boy, Aleck Hernandez, was among the first people shot outside the tower. He was only 17 and survived.
- The shooting helped change how American police departments prepared for heavily armed attackers.
Wrap Up:
I like “Tower” because it turns one of America’s most infamous mass shootings into a story about the people who helped each other survive. If you like true crime but want more heart and less obsession with the killer, this is well worth your 82 minutes.
Thanks for reading!
Heather Fenty, Guest Writer, Daily Doc