BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Solidrariol Am I Missing Something?

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

merklekranz The movie features Kurt Russell as a sniper who uses the Austin Texas tower to carry out his short but deadly reign of terror. Do not expect any in depth explanation of his motivation, because there is none. In fact a no name actor could have easily played Russell's part, since he hardly speaks at all. When "The Deadly Tower" is creating high tension it is at it's best. When it tries to become a "message movie", it almost grinds to a halt. I say this, it is worth seeing for Kurt Russell's cold as ice performance, playing against type, and is certainly a way above average TV film. Although the Warner Brothers Archive Collection DVD shows black and white stills on the case, the movie is in color. - MERK

poe426 Kurt Russell's eye-opening performance (which might well have inspired both Peter Bogdanovich's TARGETS and Arnold Schwarzenegger's implacable killing machine approach in THE TERMINATOR) only adds to the tension in this made-for-TV docudrama. Russell comes across as an almost emotionless automaton, moving through scenes with truly frightening purpose. While I don't think this one ever needs to be remade, some of the more recent revelations regarding Whitman's final moments would certainly satisfy the more blood thirsty among us: the man who finally killed Whitman has mentioned that Whitman, hit in the head at one point during the gun battle that ended his murder spree, fell back into a sitting position against a wall and began to throw his head violently from side to side; from the description, it reminded me of the scene in BLADE RUNNER where Daryl Hanna is shot and bucks furiously before succumbing to her wounds.

The_Void The Deadly Tower is yet another example of an excellent seventies made for TV movie. This film is the first to be based on the real life Texas Sniper Charles Joseph Whitman who killed a series of people during a tower top sniper rifle rampage in Texas in 1966. The movie is clearly a TV movie as it all looks very cheap and there's nothing particularly all that special about it; but in spite of that, director Jerry Jameson has taken a harrowing story and made a film that entertains the viewer as well as providing food for thought and ensuring that the reaction of the killer's actions come through also. The film sticks to the facts well and as such the story is very simple. We focus on Charles Joseph Whitman, a troubled young man who one day decides to kill his mother and his wife before going to the gun shop, buying "enough guns to start world war 3" and taking them to the top of a university tower in order to blow away a load of people around the campus. The is mixed in with the story of police officer Ramiro Martinez as he tries to stop the killer.In a way, it's a shame that this movie was made for TV because the sniper plot could have given the film a lot of room for plenty of gory special effects; which unfortunately don't feature due to the TV restraints. However, on the other hand; out of respect for the victims and their families, this may be a good thing. The film is notable for featuring an early performance from the great Kurt Russell. Russell doesn't deliver a performance here that is up there with his best; but the script doesn't really allow for that, and he certainly does convince as the cold and murderous lead character. The main bulk of the movie focuses on the killer and the film features some effective shots detailing the sniper's actions against the local community, but the director also includes some meatier topics. The effect of the victims' deaths features somewhat and the film also makes a point against America's liberal gun laws; although both of these could have been more defined and better focused. Even so, The Deadly Tower is certainly a very notable seventies TV and is well worth seeing if you can find it.

Raegan Butcher When Charles Whitman did his psycho-sniper act in 1966 it seemed like an unfathomable act of total madness and a one-of a kind nightmarish freak occurrence. Flash forward to the 21st century and see the depressing regularity with which American men nut-up and start killing people.At the time this played on TV Kurt Russell was known only from his appearances in light-hearted Disney comedies, so it must have been unnervingly effective to see him going off the deep end, sweating and approaching his sleeping mother with a knife clenched in his hand( he never says a word in the film) and then calmly loading up his arsenal for the trip to the bell tower.It is an amazingly dark role and kudos to the producers for casting him against type.This is a very low-key approach to a fairly hair-raising true story. Kudos all around.