I'm a grad student at UT Austin. I went on the Tower Tour last week - on the very observation deck from where the sniper shot. The tour guides aren't supposed to make the tour about the shooting story, so they didn't go into it, but they told us about the documentary.It's a mix of archival footage and animation. The animation recreates the shooting. And it was riveting. It's probably riveting for anyone to watch, but watching a horror story unfold in so familiar a location - one that's part of my daily life - is something else altogether.Maybe I'll take a different route tomorrow, or maybe I'll figure out a way to put this story out of my mind. Also, it was August 1st just yesterday. 52 years to the date.FYI there is heavy security at the tower these days. You have to pass through a metal detector and everything to go on the tour.

On August 1, 1966, a sniper climbed to the observation deck of the clock tower at the University of Texas - Austin. From there, he randomly shot and killed fourteen people and injured thirty-two others. The story is retold in this film which is mostly a documentary but also a drama where some events are re-enacted in rotoscopic animation.The shooting spree lasted about an hour and a half which is close to the length of this movie. As events seem to be happening in real time, this film succeeds in having the effect of a thriller - at least to those of us who did not know the final outcome of the tragedy.Director Keith Maitland has made some unique choices that pay off fabulously. The available footage is compelling; the use of animation to continue the story (where footage is not available) is also very effective.This movie is more powerful than most documentaries in that it places viewers in the moral dilemma of some of the bystanders: what does one do upon seeing someone wounded who is in clear view from the tower? While helping is the right thing to do, how does one do so without risking getting shot?Once the main narrative of the event is complete, the post-script takes on a life of its own. It includes interviews with some of the survivors, police officers, and observers including archived interviews of those who have died since the event. This satisfies a curiosity especially when they speak openly of the traumatic memories followed by a healing process.Maitland has deliberately excluded much information about the assassin with an exception being a photo which generates many mixed feelings. The inclusion of a commentary by the revered Walter Cronkite is also very well chosen especially considering the many mass shootings that have happened in the half-century since. This is a superior documentary.

This film will break your heart.It's all too common to acknowledge statistics and forget the human cost. This gets that across in such a powerful and artistic way. Never delving too far into the political, this film shows simply the tragedy and the heroism that arose on that day.There's not much to say here that hasn't been said before. My only advice is watch it. Regardless of your politics, regardless of your beliefs, watch it. If nothing else, this film is a beautiful memorial to those who were lost.

As a current UT student, this movie means a lot. The tower used to just a landmark, but right now, it reminds me of the story of those brave men and women. It is the first time I saw a documentary mixed with animations. Those animations piece the story together, and their connection with the real video is very smooth. They also provide a shocking contradiction between the animated characters and the real people 50 years later. This contradiction reminds me how long we have been forgetting those people.