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Towers Open Fire

  • 1966
  • Not Rated
  • 10m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
324
YOUR RATING
Towers Open Fire (1966)
Short

Dramatizations, cut ups, and psychological experimentation based on the works of William S. Burroughs and Brion Gysin.Dramatizations, cut ups, and psychological experimentation based on the works of William S. Burroughs and Brion Gysin.Dramatizations, cut ups, and psychological experimentation based on the works of William S. Burroughs and Brion Gysin.

  • Director
    • Antony Balch
  • Writer
    • William S. Burroughs
  • Stars
    • Antony Balch
    • William S. Burroughs
    • David Jacobs
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.5/10
    324
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Antony Balch
    • Writer
      • William S. Burroughs
    • Stars
      • Antony Balch
      • William S. Burroughs
      • David Jacobs
    • 4User reviews
    • 2Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos

    Towers Open Fire (1966)
    Towers Open Fire (1966)
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    Top cast

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    Antony Balch
    • Man on Bed
    William S. Burroughs
    William S. Burroughs
    David Jacobs
    Bachoo Sen
    Alexander Trocchi
    • Director
      • Antony Balch
    • Writer
      • William S. Burroughs
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Connections
      Featured in William S. Burroughs: Commissioner of Sewers (1991)

    User reviews4

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    6/10
    Burroughs and Gysin-influenced experimental short film
    It's difficult to describe this film! A shot list would take some time to compile, despite its short length.

    It starts with a still photo of Bela Lugosi (actually, this still is lacking from the print of Towers Open Fire used on Mystic Fire Video's copy, or they accidentally omitted it). Antony Balch, the director, was a particular fan of Lugosi's and used to project Lugosi films (among others) on 16mm film for people to watch in his home. From there on, there's some Moroccan music courtesy of Brion Gysin, and some voice-over from William Burroughs, perhaps reading from some of his works. There's a brief shot of a demonstration of Gysin & Burroughs' cut-up technique, whereby pages are cut into quarters, reassembled and the new text read. Probably anyone watching this unfamiliar with that would not know it from watching this, since it goes by so quickly and unexplained. There are also several shots of Gysin's flicker invention, the Dreamachine, a zooetrope-like device meant to be watched with the eyes closed.

    A lot of the editing is really done in a barrage of montage, so it's difficult to see what is flashing before our eyes. There are some shots of Burroughs in a sort of scientific presentation, and also as a gas-masked soldier with a ping-pong ball rifle, and as a radio man giving the order (?) "towers, open fire!"

    Very much an experimental film. I don't know what to make of it, but it's quite watchable. I first saw it on the VHS Towers Open Fire and Other Films by Antony Balch from Mystic Fire Video, but it is now also available on DVD as a bonus feature on Synapse's release of Balch's horror anthology film Secrets of Sex (1970) AKA Bizarre.
    helpful•10
    0
    • FieCrier
    • Jul 1, 2005

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    Details

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    • Release date
      • October 1966 (United Kingdom)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Башни, открыть огонь
    • Production company
      • Antony Balch Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      10 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Mono

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