44 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent overall, November 3, 2000
This review is from: Guyana Tragedy: Story of Jim Jones [VHS] (VHS Tape)
Although I'd quibble with some muddying of the facts, this film presents an excellent overview of the events leading up to the Jonestown tragedy of 1978.
The film starts with Jones as a child involved in preaching the gospel to anyone who will listen. The more disturbing aspects of Jones' childhood (including his torture and killing of small animals) are left unexplored. However, as the film progresses, we do get more of an idea of the sickness of the Reverend Jim Jones. His drug use, seduction of both male and female parishioners, staged "healings," questionable financial dealings, and vicious public castigation of Temple Members are all given due screen time.
The cast is unbelievable for a TV movie -- Powers Boothe riveting as Jones, Veronica Cartwright excellent as his wife Marceline, as well as James Earl Jones, Colleen Dewhurst, Diane Ladd, Brad Dourif, Ned Beatty, LeVar Burton, Meg Foster, Randy Quaid, Brenda Vaccaro, and many others.
Despite the film's grainy picture quality, the production values are admirably high as well -- the recreation of Jonestown is frighteningly eerie, and the film features a great score by the always excellent Elmer Bernstein.
Some may not like the compression of facts and events. Names are changed and characters are switched around. For instance, Tim and Grace Stoen (they are given different names in the film) were not shot at the airstrip in Port Kaituma, nor did Congressman Ryan spend the night at the Jonestown compound. There are also several key players who seem to be missing in the film: Deborah and Larry Layton, and Caroline and Annie Moore, for instance.
However, the final suicide scene is absolutely harrowing. The dialogue is taken from the actual tape recording made at the suicide, and the director wisely chose to shoot the scene without any music. This gives it the feel of a documentary, and it is easily worth watching the entire movie just for this finale. I cannot imagine anyone being able to watch this scene without tears in their eyes.
Despite its rather free treatment of the facts surrounding the demise of the Peoples Temple, this film contains excellent performances and should be seen by anyone with an interest in this particular tragedy or cults in general.
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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Boothe's Emmy was well deserved!, February 22, 2003
This review is from: Guyana Tragedy: Story of Jim Jones [VHS] (VHS Tape)
Besides the riveting portrayal of Jones by star Boothe, the two-part telefilm sports excellent performances from Rosalind Cash, Veronica Cartwright, Brenda Vaccaro, Madge Sinclair, and Levar Burton, fresh from his star-making turn as the young "Kunta Kinte" in "Roots.
The film is engrossingly disturbing from start to finish. It chronicles the events leading to one of the most horrific days in history, only parrelled by the attack on Pearl Harbor and that day in September two years ago.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Gives a good understanding of the tragedy and the events leading up to it., July 1, 2006
This review is from: Guyana Tragedy: Story of Jim Jones [VHS] (VHS Tape)
The Jonestown tragedy had previously been made into the exploitation film "Guyana - Crime of the Century". However, this TV production, with a running time of about three hours gives a better understanding of how it could happen. The story starts when Jim Jones is a child, being indoctrinated by a Christian fundamentalist friend. He starts the integrated People's Temple Church after discovering how racist the established churches in San Francisco are. He really wants to do something good for the community and he does, but power corrupts and the church turns into more of a money making cult and Jones turns into a cruel leader. His drug use and paranoia doesn't make things better. After moving to Guyana, Jones has complete control over his folloers, and with him as a leader, Jonestown is headed for destruction.
This gives a good understanding of the events, and what it might have been like for the people involved. The mass suicide sequence is reconstructed almost completely the way it happened, based on tape recordings. As a piece of trivia, the gospel songs performed by the People's Temple Choir are recordings of the actual choir.
I certainly recommend this film to those interested in the Jonestown story, destructive cults, or 1970s history in general.
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