Customer Reviews

In the Line of Duty:Ambush in Waco [VHS]

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

After reading such books as "A Place Called Waco", and watching the excellent "Waco: The Rules Of Engagement", All I can say is that this is nothing but propoganda to demonize David Koresh and the Davidians, and portray the ATF as heroic dragon slayers. Do yourself a favor, stay away from this one and buy "Waco: The Rules Of Engagement", available on Amazon.com

This made-for-TV film was quickly put together to exploit the deaths of so many ATF agents and Davidian men, women and children, barely after the smoke had cleared in Waco. Years later, the screenwriter who wrote this film, Phil Penningroth--much to his credit--confessed that he had been pressured by television executives to forget about researching the facts, and to instead use the film as a forum for promoting the government's spin on events at Waco. Do a google search for Penningroth's article, "Righting Waco", and you'll soon learn, as he eventually did, that this film was an utter sham from the beginning, and never even sought the truth. But such is the awesome power of propaganda in a nation of corporate-dominated media: when even the people who write the stories we're told don't know they are lying, how are the masses supposed to know?

When the Davidian "compound" burned on April 19, 1993, I was horrified by the carnage, but felt like so many others that the Davidians had brought it on themselves, and the ATF/FBI had done the best they could. After all, that is what this film portrays. But after researching the matter for myself, traveling to the site, speaking with survivors, and kneeling at the tiny plaque which marked the location of the concrete room that became the oven that burned so many women and children alive, I will live the shame of my former beliefs for the rest of my life. The U.S. government killed those people, used the enormous power of the mass media to lie about it, and we all believed them.

Watch "Waco: Rules of Engagement" instead. Or better yet, travel to the site yourself and stand where those flames once reached into the sky. Then you'll understand what really happened. This film is classic only in the sense of its value as a powerful propaganda piece that diverted an entire nation's attention away from the rogue power of its own government--an atrocity that Timothy McVeigh attempted to avenge with yet another senseless tragedy in Oklahoma City. But that's another story....

I saw this made-for-TV movie when it was first ran on TV back in the spring of 1993. Production values are pretty good. As I recall, it was aired less than two weeks after the FBI burned the church to the ground and then bulldozed the site to remove evidence of FBI crimes.

As a result of this time-frame, the movie has a pro-government slant. It is forgivable, I suppose, since the only views getting out to the media at that time came through the filter of a BATF and FBI desperately trying to cover up. So, no one outside of the federal government knew that Alabama National Guard helicopters were flown into Texas (without the knowledge of the governors) and used to strafe the living quarters (2nd floor) of the women and children with automatic weapons. No one knew that the government likely fired first. No one knew that Koresh had invited the BATF to come in and inspect his firearms anytime (BATF declined). No one knew the BATF were stung by racial and sex discrimination lawsuits and risked having funding deleted by Congress, and so, planned to use Waco as a feather in their cap for the upcoming budget hearings. No one knew the search warrant was fraudulent and that the judge rubber stamped it. No one knew that the BATF lied about drugs at the compound so that they could qualify for special Army training and support. No one knew that the FBI "punished" the Branch Davidians for releasing children by increasing "psy-ops" activity, running over vehicles and fresh graves with Bradley tanks. No one knew that the FBI shot incendary devices into the plywood structure just before the fire started. And definately, no one knew that the feds were shooting into the building with automatic weapons as the fire raged and people screamed (FBI audio) to get out. And so on. The federal government committed many crimes during that 51 day seige. And thanks to a federal law designed to assist in the "drug war" by disallowing suits against federal agents "acting within their duty," they have not been brought to justice.

If you want a better take on it, buy "Waco: The Rules of Engagement." Still, as bad as W:TROE makes the situation out to be, the reality is even worse. If you want information over-load, go over to the book section and order Kopel's heavily foot-noted "No More Wacos...". "W:TROE" and Kopel's book make a great pairing. The book, "Ashes of Waco" is another good source, I am told.

Sorry, anyone giving this tape five stars does not have possession of the facts. I know too much about what happen at Waco and can state this tape if misleading to false. The public deserves better.

I'm not qualified to review the facts of the real story and most people say this movie isn't the real story. I can review the movie though. I liked it. It was a strong movie from beginning to end. I've always liked the tv movie genre of the 90s. Tim Daly really gets into character and pulls off a chilling portrayal of David Koresh. It might be mostly fiction but as a movie it was well done.

All this movie was was more propaganda to try and demonize David Koresh and the Branch Davidians and make our government look like the "good guys." The ATF wasn't the "good guys" in this situation. If you think they were, ask Robert Gonzalez. He himself was an ATF agent that was sent to infiltrate the group... He doesn't condone the raid or the way the raid was conducted. This movie could have been produced by the government itself and it couldn't have cast them in a better light. Complete an utter propaganda.

This is one of the best movies in the "Line of Duty" series that were fairly popular back in the 80's & 90's on NBC. The cast features some very familiar faces like: Tim Daly (Wings), Dan Laurie (Wonder Years), Neil McDonough (Minority Report), a young Jeri Ryan & a Very young James Marsden (X-Men). The acting was good & the battle sequence at the Branch Davidian compound was very impressive. To me, it looked very much like what was shown on the news coverage of the assault on tv & at times, I could hardly tell the difference between the movie & real life. The movie only shows what happened up to the end of the battle though & in that regard, I say the filmmakers did a good job.

Now i've read all the negative reviews here & see that most people are upset because they think this was a pro-gov't propaganda film & also becuz it didn't go into the terrible things that were discussed in the documentary: "Waco - The Rules of Engagement" I agree that those revelations were very disturbing but this movie takes place before those events happened. I also disagree that this movie made all the Davidians look like wackos. The only one that was really shown that way was David Koresh. Tim Daly played him as a meglamaniac religious fanatic with fierce convictions & disturbing behaviors but I don't think he went too over the top in his portrayal. Especially after everything i've read about Koresh. The Davidians were portrayed mostly as just regular folk who had some strange beliefs and were conflicted about Koresh's actions but were still loyal to him because they thought he was their savior. The ATF were portrayed as a group that was trying to do the right thing in stopping the Davidians buildup of illegal weapons & reports of child molestation. Was this film a little biased in favor of the gov't? Perhaps. But many negative things were said about Koresh & not all of them were said by the gov't. Some of them were said by former Davidians who left the compound because of the alleged crimes & wacky behavior that Koresh & his followers were engaging in. That being the case, I think this movie is a fairly accurate portrayal of what happend right up to the firefight between the ATF & Koresh. For the rest of the story, you should definitely checkout the documentary I mentioned earlier. This movie was only part of this tragic story.

Yes, this movie might be in bad taste of how fast it came out and whatnot but the bottom line is, Tim Daly played a great role! It's a good watch! I hadn't seen this in years and i was glad I found it and purchased here! Enjoy!

Very pleased with the time it took to get it, as well as the quality and price.

Had the cast & crew of this laughable piece of Quackery lived in North Korea, they would be able to churn out this kind of stuff on a monthly basis.

The reality is that were President Clinton to ship over several hundred CIA agents to Northern Ireland & have them adopt the same tactics towards Sinn Fein as they adopted towards the Branch Davidians, then there would be hundreds of dead Catholic women & children.

Monthly.

Back in the early 1970s, the American Psychiatric Assoc. determined that homosexuality was no longer to be classified as a mental illness.

Now is the time for the APA to reverse the process.

The belief that the FBI were "innocent" of murdering dozens & dozens of Branch Davidians must indicate

PARANOID SCHIZOPHRENIA.

And warrent incarceration in a top security mental hospital.

For life.