Powers Boothe turns in a stellar performance as 1970's cult figure Jim Jones of the Peoples Temple. Jones physical likeness to Jones is uncanny and the story is acted out chillingly. The movie keeps you riveted and is a must see for anyone. check it out.
Add a Review
-
mag7_123 October 2002
-
Cocomab21 April 2003I read a few reviews of this TV movie which all said that the film dragged on for too long and that it was basically only sensationalistic entertainment. I agree that perhaps, the film goes on a bit too long (2h30 would have been enough...) but I certainly do not think it sensationalize the subject matter. Jim Jones' expansive power trip and slow degradation into mental illness, paranoia and drug abuse are never treated in a voyeuristic manner. The movie takes its time in showing how Jones recruited followers (Brenda Vaccaro's and Brad Dourif's character are stand-outs in that matter) but also in observing an uncanny shift in Jones' perception of reality. It is mind-boggling to see an egalitarian, left-wing and compassionnate preacher become such a destructive and cruel dictator. Perhaps the movie doesn't explore Jones' motivations enough, which can make the whole ordeal a bit superficial at times (may have to do with censorship as well...) But Powers Boothe's mesmerizing performance makes it all come true. I am not familiar with the details of the real Jim Jones' life, but Boothe sure makes the monster he plays believable and real. The movie features many strong scenes, among them the preaching messes of Jones, Jones's meeting with Father Divine (a remarquable James Earl Jones), Congressman Leo Ryan (Ned Beatty)'s visit to the Guyana camp and of course, the suicide scene. It is quite a gloomy spectable to watch and Boothe is quite commanding in those last moments. Madge Sinclair shines in this scene as one of the suddenly sceptic follower, and so do Veronica Cartwright (as Jones' wife) and Brad Dourif, especially when their time comes to drink the murderous potion. The relative calm of the end of this scene, the tasteful direction and the contrasting beauty of the natural surroundings all work in making those images quite impossible to erase from one's mind. A disturbing reflection on human nature and its weaknesses. Worth watching, if only to keep in mind one of the truly horrific events of the 20th century. Not to let it be repeated again. Like, ironically, the inscription in Jim Jones' camp: "Those who do not know the past are bound to repeat it".
-
virek21318 August 2001Just given the fact that it is based on the most infamous mass suicide incident of modern times would have been enough to give this 2-part 1980 made-for-TV film attention. But the fact is that it is a superb recreation of the life of the Rev. Jim Jones, who built a church into a virtual empire, and then encouraged it to disintegrate into a sleazy cult in which a Congressman and his entourage were assassinated, and 917 cult followers committed suicide by drinking Kool-Aid doused with cyanide.
Done very tastefully but horrifying enough, unlike the excruciatingly sadistic CULT OF THE DAMNED, GUYANA TRAGEDY features an all-star cast, including Ned Beatty (as Rep. Leo Ryan), Meg Foster, Randy Quaid, Brad Dourif, Brenda Vaccaro, LeVar Burton, and Madge Sinclair. But it is Powers Boothe (in his first big role) that really stands out as Jim Jones. He actually BECOMES the man, and his performance is riveting and chilling. Thus, it is no wonder that this film still manages to attract attention after more than twenty years. -
dtucker8613 September 2003This is an awesome film and Powers Boothe's performance is what makes it. When it was first broadcast on CBS-TV in 1980, Time Magazine even had an article on it. The magazine didn't think much of the film in general, but it said there is one unforgettable performance in it, "a young actor named Powers Boothe captures all the rage, power, evil and charisma of "Dad" Jim Jones. It was most unusual for them to cast a young unknown actor in such an important role, but Powers Boothe proved his worth in spades! He won an Emmy for his dynamite portrayal. There was an actor's strike at the time and he was one of the only ones who showed up to accept his award, "this may be the bravest moment of my career or the most stupid" he said. This film shows Jone's rise to power in the People Temple. Originally he was a good man of God who wanted to help others, but something went horribly wrong. Boothe captures the sinister evil that was Jim Jones, but also his charisma and charm as well. Debbie Layton was one of the few people who survived the massacre in Guyana. She knew Jones very well and said that Jones was evil but he was also very clever and good at fooling people. Jones appealed to poor blacks and people without a direction in life. He promised them a better life and a utopia in "Jonestown". The final scenes of the film detailing the horrible mass suicide in November 1978 are gut wrenching. Out of 913 dead, only Jones and his nurse had not taken poison. Boothe captures Jones rhythmic, haunting preacher cadences and his words to the dying are taken from Jone's actual words. He was recording himself at the time. We must never forget this evil man and the horror he perpetrated upon the world. Those who forget the mistakes of history are only doomed to repeat them. In Search Of...had a show on Jim Jones once and at the end the host Leonard Nimoy said that there are still people who venerate Jim Jones who sleep with his picture and who believe that he is the only person who ever loved them. That is truly sad indeed. By the way, it surprised me that Powers Boothe's career never took off the way it should have after he made this incredible debut. He beat out Henry Fonda and Jason Robards to win his Emmy. He played Phillip Marlowe in an HBO series of short films and was in A Cry For Love, Southern Comfort, Red Dawn, A Breed Apart, The Emerald Forest, Extreme Prejudice and Into The Homeland, but the only really good part he played that was close to this one was when he played Soviet spy John Walker in the 1990 tv film Family Of Spies.
-
Sylviastel19 January 2007I will never forget this film or the events that lead up to Jonestown in Guyana. It just seems so tragic but needs to be told. Powers Boothe give a commanding performance as the leader Rev. Jim Jones from obscurity until total madness. It would have won him an Academy Award easily if it was released in the movie theaters. It is the kind of mini-series you won't forget. You won't forget the images of the cult's brutality, control, and obsessiveness of it's leader. His rise and fall and the threat from the outside world to destroy what he considered to be paradise. The mass suicide is horrifying, almost unreal to anybody's imagination as to why so many people (900+) went willingly or resisted JOnes' orders. They don't make mini series like these anymore where we're left with out mouths open and hungry to know what happened to the others.
-
grisell4 January 2000A well cast summary of a real event! Well, actually, I wasn't there, but I think this is how it may have been like. I think there are two typically American standpoints evident in the film: 'communistophobia' and parallels to Adolf Hitler. These should be evident to most independent observers. Anyway, Boothe does a great performance, and so do lots of other well-known actors. The last twenty minutes of the film are unbearable - and I mean it! Anyone who can sleep well after them is abnormal. (That's why it's so terrible - it all happened, and it probably looked just like that). But, actually, did that last scene on the air station really take place?
-
jjholmes74765 December 2006This is quite the gripping, fascinating, tragic story. Quite good, and for the most part pretty accurate, considering it IS a TV movie rather than a documentary. They did create some fictional characters, and combine several actual people into one character, but otherwise this is a good telling of a very tragic and dark story.
The final moments of the movie, depicting the mass suicide/murder, are almost directly taken from an audio recording made by Jim Jones. This recording was made during the final 44 minutes of the Peoples Temple's existence. It is available in several places on the internet. This portion of the film is almost spot on in that regard.
To sum up, a documentary this is not. However, it does cover most of the base elements to the People's Temple story. -
goya-417 April 2001Powers Booth is hypnotic as cult leader jim jones who led his Peoples Temple followers from 1953 until 1978 when he led them in a mass suicide in 1978 where over 900 died. A very well done movie which may seem a little dated due to the 70s time period but well worth the time 8 of 10
-
You would have had to guess in 1978 that a movie about the most shocking event of the 70's would come soon after. Disappointingly, the first thing we got was a goofy exploitative mess of a film from Mexico called GUYANA CULT OF THE DAMNED (1979) starring Stuart Whitman as Jim "Johnson". The names in that film were changed "to protect the innocent" though Jim Jones would have to classify as about as far from "innocent" as anyone can get. Whitman looked the part but performed him as a 1-dimensional raving madman from the start.
A year later, a this 2-part TV movie came out which granted both the tragic events and Jones himself a much more fair portrayal, though things still came in a bit rough around the edges. The cast has about the same amount of names as the Mexican film, though with a lot fewer aging stars and a lot more up-and-comers such as Levar Burton, Brad Dourif, and Irene Cara. Ned Beatty I feel doesn't quite match the look and gravity of Gene Barry in the role of Congressman Ryan and his climactic visit to Jonestown is sadly glossed over. For some reason, they decided to leave out the creepiest episode of his visit; when the entire compound erupted into thunderous (fake?) applause for several minutes after he complimented their achievements. Also missing is the whole attempt on Ryan's life that caused him to leave the compound in the first place, along with the saboteur who infiltrated the group of escapees. The final massacre is given a much more nuanced approach with more respect and less sensationalism given to the victims, but it's all missing a little something in being able to capture the sheer brutality and spooky psychology behind so much suicide concentrated into a few hours in the jungles of Guyana.
Historical nitpicks aside, this film has much to reward any viewers who last through the labored scenes showing Jones's youth as a deeply troubled boy preaching to a herd of dogs who seem to somehow be paying attention. Rosalind Cash, Meg Foster, Randy Quaid, and Albert Hall give strong performances as Jones's earliest disciples. A lot of emotional weight comes in Boothe's earnest portrayal of a deeply religious and (originally) moral man vocally out to empower the black community who (due to drug use and clouded morality by a visit to the nearly-as-nutty Father Divine) ironically winds up enslaving and murdering more of its members than the racists he had so bravely stood against could have ever dreamed. The presence of so many children coupled with the nonstop cacophony of lies (with most of Boothe's dialog taken from Jones's tapes verbatim), brainwashing, and eventual murder makes this experience so undeniably sad and fascinating at the same time. I'm amazed Boothe never became more of a leading star in the 80's outside the excellent EMERALD FOREST (1985).
The story of Jones is the ultimate morality tale of religion used as a salvation to many and gradually perverted into the weapons of destruction. Three hours can try so hard but inevitably fail to do such a saga true justice. So much more could be done with the premise though that I would imagine another, more in-depth series to come before too long. -
Lechuguilla9 January 2016As the true story of cult leader Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple, "Guyana Tragedy" is one of the most powerful movies ever made. The script is structured around Jones. The film begins and ends in Jonestown, with frequent and sometimes lengthy flashbacks to previous periods in his life.
As a kid in Indiana he preaches to fellow kids; then as an idealistic and charismatic young preacher in California, he works hard to build a church, and seems sincerely interested in helping the needy and the downtrodden. Yet, despite his efforts, he feels persecuted by enemies, resulting in his action to lead his followers out of the U.S. to "paradise" in the jungles of Guyana, wherein he morphs into a delusional, controlling madman.
With no sensationalism of any kind, the final thirty minutes, set in Jonestown in 1978, are as riveting and potent as any I have ever watched.
Powers Boothe gives a mesmerizing performance in the title role, helped along by strong support performances from Ned Beatty, Veronica Cartwright, Randy Quaid, and Diana Scarwid. The cast is large and there's not a weak performance to be found.
Sets and costumes are detailed and realistic for multiple time periods. As one would expect, the film has lots of gospel songs; otherwise, background music is largely absent, enhancing realism. If I had to make one criticism it would be the color cinematography. Images sometimes seem a bit blurry and less sharp than they could have been.
The runtime is lengthy but the entire story is gripping. What makes it so powerful is that it is true. And that ending is explosive. -
Made just a couple of years after the mass suicide-murder at Jonestown Guyana in 1978, "Guyana Tragedy" does a fairly good job of depicting the complicated rise and fall of Jim Jones and The People's Temple.
Powers Booth is mesmerizing as he portrays Jones from his younger days as a sincere preacher and civil rights leader until his descent into fraud, adultery,and drug abuse.
Veronica Cartwright is fine as Jones' wife Marceline although there is little explanation as to why she stayed married to man like Jim Jones.In the end, she is shown dispensing poison to other residents of Jonestown.
One problem that I have with the film is the fairly graphic depiction of the mass-suicide."Guyana Tragedy" would have been better without it. -
jcge8611 July 2003I've seen this film literally over 100 times...it's absolutely jam-packed with entertainment!!! Powers Boothe gives a stellar performance. As a fan of actors such as William Shatner (Impulse, 1974) and Ron Liebmann (Up The Academy, 1981)I never thought an actor could capture the "intensity" like Shatner and Liebmann in those roles, until I saw Boothe as Jim Jones! As far as I'm concerned, Powers Boothe IS Jim Jones...this film captures his best performance!!!
-
LuvSopr25 August 2017Boothe gives a tremendous performance, so much that during filming cast would come to him with their problems as if he were Jones. One especially powerful scene occurs after racism leads him to quit the church he's built up. His rage is righteous, all-consuming. It sets up just how many times Boothe can fill in the writing blanks through his charisma and force of will.
Other standouts include Cartwright (she does so much with her eyes, especially in the last years. When she ponders saying goodbye to her husband before killing herself - it's a masterpiece) Haynes (the first sexual outlet for Jones, pure and good and broken at the start, corrupt and dangerous and broken at the end, just like Jones); Cash (underwritten but vitally important, the one who fully accepts everything of him, the warm and firm hand of the "family," and a support system for Cartwright. Their small goodbye kiss is saddening and beautiful); Quaid and Foster (they never give in to Jones' vision but are helpless to stop him - taking you from quirky pet shop owner and luminous secretary to helpless husks).
The two main standouts are Dourif and Sinclair, who represent the strongest emotional scenes in the film and best show us what Jones represents to those outside his closest inner circle.
Dourif exquisitely underplays the role of the young heroin addict who unwittingly sets Jones onto his final path of complete sexual and psychological domination of those he deems worthy of his brand of salvation. He has nothing when Jones finds him, aside from a wife (well-played by Scarwid) who stands by helplessly as he claims ownership of her husband - mind, body and soul. The purity of the chemistry between Dourif and Boothe and a script which underplays the lurid factor of a sexual relationship between men means their scenes have a nuance which many other parts of the movie lack. Dourif to the end only sees the best and believes the best of Jones and his gifts, not because he is a fool or weak, but because he has been reborn and remade in "Father's" image. There's a sad scene near the end of the film where Scarwid attempts to reconnect with him, only for him to passionately, impotently repeat catchphrases about the good he does. The saddest part is he does help people, he does have a purpose for goodness, but it has been perverted into what will lead to mass murder. At the end, Dourif swallows his own poison and quietly stumbles off to die - one final reminder of how alone he truly is.
Sinclair has the difficult task of carrying the emotional burden of family material that seems very cookie cutter. What cuts through is, like Dourif, the purity of her belief in Jones. She's a strong, proud woman, so hearing her call Jones "Dad" and seeing her support him over her family has an extra anguish. She represents the love and compassion that Jones once had for black people. When Jones abuses her son, she walks away rather than face reality. Like Dourif, this doesn't make her weak - it simply shows how unable someone in a cult is to trust their own voice. Unlike Dourif, in the end, Sinclair does see the madness, begging Jones to try to get everyone to Russia rather than a mass suicide. In a change from the real life event, Sinclair is talked over not by a man, but by Cash, in a disturbing display of what happens when solidarity is destroyed. Unlike most of the others, Sinclair goes out literally kicking, trying to live life on her own terms in her final moments. It's a harrowing scene, and one which feels all too real.
Unfortunately, the script lacks the depth of the performances, starting with a childhood scene which feels more like an offshoot from Our Gang. Dewhurst, as a deeply religious neighbor, has a nice connection with him, but then the movie jumps forward about 20- 25 years. Dewhurst and his mother reappear once for his wedding, then are never mentioned again. This is an odd choice, but you can almost forget as the narrative is still engrossing. Only later do the script problems kick into high gear.
Burton gives a good performance, and it's also important that after material which mostly uses black people as props, we get material from their point of view. The problem is his material feels shoved into the narrative, and LeVar is such a familiar face so soon after Roots you don't see a character. The same goes for Brenda Vaccarro as a rich lady who succumbs after Jones promises to heal her dying mother. You are watching Brenda Vaccarro acting, rather than believing any of what you are seeing. Only one scene (where she learns her mother has died and lashes out before being sedated) works. Otherwise she comes across as a Fantasy Island episode gone horribly wrong.
The final act with Congressman Ryan going to Jonestown feels perfunctory. Only the small moments featuring Dourif, Sinclair, Cartwright, etc. have weight. Never is this more apparent than the gunning down at the airstrip, which you'd think would be what the entire movie has been leading to. Between the news cameraman desperately trying to get the pictures after everyone around him is being slaughtered, and Foster and Quaid appearing at the airstrip just so they could be killed off as Jones' loyal henchman shouts "Traitors!" - MST3K would be proud. Quietly realizing their son is gone would have been far more powerful, and truer to life. It pales in comparison to the much more genuinely disturbing genocide scenes unfolding simultaneously.
If you want to see some superlative acting that will stay with you a long time, then you may want to watch - just don't look too closely at the script. -
Ajtlawyer27 July 2002Certainly this is the best work Powers Boothe has done and he deservedly got an Emmy for it. As an aside, I can recall the awards night because there was a Screen Actors Guild strike or something and nearly all of the nominees failed to attend the ceremonies. But when Boothe's name was called out as a winner, he defiantly strode up to the podium to get his trophy.
People may want to read the book "Raven" which is a biography about Rev. Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple; this TV movie can only scratch the surface of the demonic goings-on in the Temple without demanding more censorship than a TV show could allow, at least back then.
Boothe is hypnotic as Jim Jones and you get the sense that he wasn't always whacked out and loony. A particularly good scene is when Jones stands in front of an abandoned synagogue in the black-ghetto part of town. The only white man there, he's soon surrounded by obviously skeptical blacks. "Will you pray with me?" Jones asks, and the bystanders do as Jones gives a heartfelt prayer that God will lift their burdens. The bystanders are impressed and in a short time the Peoples Temple is prospering.
Boothe perfectly recreates the candence and timbre of Jones' preaching and phony faith-healing and his lustful disposition towards the women of his congregation. Jones's sexual exploits don't end there and he later has an affair with drug-addicted Brad Dourif, as well (in fact, Jones had sex with plenty of his male followers). The end of the movie where the cult members all commit suicide is very frightening. All the more so because nearly all of the dialogue is exactly what was spoken---Jones had been tape recording his harangues and the tape ended probably not long before he was killed himself. By the way, Jones never took the cynanide-laced kool-aid, he was shot which led many to believe that Jones had no intention of going off into the hereafter but was planning his escape when one of henchmen decided to have Jones join his "flock". -
Wuchakk26 November 2017RELEASED TO TV IN 1980 and directed by William A. Graham, "Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones " chronicles the life of Jim Jones (Powers Boothe) from his childhood in racist rural Indiana to the launching of his church, The Peoples Temple in Indianapolis, to their move to northern California and, eventually, The Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, better known as "Jonestown" in northwestern Guyana. The last act, of course, involves the cult's infamous mass suicide and murders, which left 918 people dead.
The movie (a two-part "mini-series") shows that Jones started out with good intentions, but his obsession with the "social gospel" and its inherent socialism (i.e. communism with a smile), as well as his deviation from sound Scriptural hermeneutics, his many adulteries and his increasing drug problem destroyed him and any positive impact his ministry had in the early years. While the movie starts out with some contrived scenes (the black boy in the barber shop), it soon picks up steam and becomes gripping to the dismal, shocking climax. Remember: THIS REALLY HAPPENED.
The picture scores high marks on the female front with Meg Foster and her mind-blowing eyes, curvy blonde Linda Haynes and winsome cutie Diana Scarwid. Veronica Cartwright is also on hand as Jones' wife.
ADDITIONAL CAST: Randy Quaid plays Jones' accountant, Brad Dourif his drug supplier ("physician"), Michael C. Gwynne his bodyguard, Colleen Dewhurst his spiritual mentor grandmother and LeVar Burton an increasingly suspicious disciple. James Earl Jones has a glorified cameo as Father Divine. There are numerous others.
THE FILM RUNS 3 hours and 12 minutes and was shot in Atlanta, Georgia, and Dorado & San Juan, Puerto Rico. WRITERS: Ernest Tidyman wrote the script based on Charles A. Krause's eyewitness account of the events; he was a reporter who was traveling with Congressman Leo Ryan (Ned Beatty), who visits Jonestown in the last act.
GRADE: B+/A- -
dej35328 August 2022Quality Defines this 1980 TV Drama from it's excellent screen play to it's brilliant casting and unwavering acting. It's just the facts, it doesn't paint Jones as Bad or Good, you can figure that out for yourself. It just tells the story of his life and how Jonestown came to be and how it sadly ended. Originally this was a mini-series, now it's been combined as a long movie, either way, it's captivating and compelling. I saw it when it originally came out in 1980, then again, in 2000 and now again, in 2022. It's just so well done, anyone who enjoys a quality drama would enjoy this telling of the mass murder known as the Guyana Tragedy.
-
safenoe31 October 2023Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones tells a very horrific tale of religious cults gone wrong. That said, Powers Boothe is a revelation as Jim Jones, and it's like he is Jim Jones, such is the authenticity to his role. I don't know if he did method acting or what, but it's as though you really are watching Jim Jones leading the cult to their tragic ends in Guyana.
Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones is required viewing for all who are caught up in religious cults. One wonders what would have been if the cult had gone to the USSR to resettle after being in Guyana. Now that would have been an interesting chapter. -
Every time I see a TV movie or miniseries from the late '70s to early '90s, I am always impressed with the sheer production value and ambition of TV movies from that era. Beginning roughly with 1975's Kansas City Massacre and ending around 1988 with The Bourne Identity, and including such titles as Shogun (1980), The Day After (1983) and Noble House (1988), this era was a golden age of TV movies/miniseries.
The Guyana Tragedy was shown over two nights in 1980 on CBS. This was an effective format to tell a nonlinear story beginning right before the mass suicide/massacre in Jonestown, Guyana, with flashbacks covering Jim Jones's life, beside a concurrent storyline about a congressman traveling to Jonestown to investigate the situation for himself.
The movie depicts Jones's upbringing by an abusive Klansman father, the sort of thing that can literally warp one's amygdala, which regulates one's fight-or-flight response and diminishes one's ability to weigh risk vs. reward, which explains how Jones ultimately behaved when his social experiment came crashing down around him in his failed utopia in Guyana. We see how Jones started out with good intentions, and we even root for him for awhile as he stands up to institutional racism. We see him gradually become corrupted, as he engages in ethically questionable practices for the good of his community, then later for his own benefit, how once a line had been crossed, he was able to rationalize going further. He worked hard for the good of his flock, and he had to keep pushing himself to do more, which drove him to amphetamines. We understand how he did the wrong thing for the right reasons before doing the wrong things for the wrong reasons. Once he began using hard drugs, his underlying mental disorders came to the surface, and he began down a self-destructive path that unfortunately took nearly a thousand people down with him.
Guyana Tragedy is a well-made and truly disturbing film. It might also be the only movie about Jim Jones that actually features an actor named Jim Jones (James Earl Jones). I highly recommend tracking down a copy of this film. -
DavidsGuy1 December 2023Powers Boothe more than deserved the Emmy he won for playing crazed con artist/mass-murdering cult leader Jim Jones. His performance is riveting and disturbingly accurate. The only thing "tragic" about 'Jonestown' is the more than 300 children who were murdered by adults who forced them to drink cyanide, not to mention the other innocent victims such as Rep. Ryan and those in his party. The warped fanatics who put their children in such a setting and handed them over to a power-hungry madman should never have been allowed to breed to begin with. As far as I'm concerned, the adult cultists all got what they deserved. The world is better off without such nutjobs.
-
The Doomite15 April 2002When I first saw the video at the video store, I was fascinated. I remember seeing the Waco Branch Davidian cult compound burn and reading about Jonestown in Time and Newsweek in 1993, and I was intrigued as to why so many people would readily lay down their lives for some madman like David Koresh or Jim Jones. So, I rented Guyana Tragedy for some insight into the Peoples Temple cult. What I saw was very interesting to watch. Powers Boothe did an excellent job as Jim Jones, in my opinion. You can see how persuasive, demanding, and maniacal Jones really was. And the other characters in the movie are all well-played. James Earl Jones makes a small appearance as Father Divine, but he stands out as only he can, Darth Vader voice and all. Ned Beatty, Randy Quaid, LeVar Burton all shine here. This surprised me in that it was more watchable than I thought it would be. A VERY nicely-done movie, worth anyone's viewing.
-
"Guyana Tragedy" is one of the best miniseries about religious cults I have ever seen! Powers Boothe gave Jim Jones a charisma that made you understand why so many people basically followed this man to hell. The young actor who played Jim Jones as a boy was very good as well! I liked the back stories of the characters who followed Jones to their doom. I felt sympathy for Brad Dourif's naive doctor character who was brain washed by Jones. I also felt bad for LaVar Burton as Richard who saw what kind of monster Jones truly was and couldn't help anyone. The only criticism I had was the hiring of brown-haired Ned Beatty to play the white-haired senator, Leo Ryan. The real Ryan's assistant was a woman senator. Another semi-criticism I have is the fact that Stephan Jones, Jim and Marceline's biological son was left out of the movie, and so were Stephan's adopted siblings. On a personal note: I will miss Powers Boothe's compelling performances in every TV and movie project he has done since "Guyana Tragedy.". All of his fellow performers and I think all of us who have posted a review for his performance in this compelling movie will miss this great actor!
-
JohnSeal25 May 2000Sure Guyana Tragedy eschews sex scenes and four letter words...it still somehow manages to be totally convincing. I can't imagine anyone except Powers Boothe in the role of Jim Jones and his supporting cast is outstanding. There are a lot of familiar faces, but the film avoids the 'hey, look at LeVar Burton in a guest spot!' pitfall. Brad Dourif is particularly good as the young junkie turned Jonestown MD who cooks up the special Kool-Aid at the end. The best TV movie ever? Possibly. It certainly avoids some of the cliches of The Day After.
-
richard.fuller128 August 2004I remember well the newscasts that weekend, showing the man leap out from behind the truck. This clip would be shown over and over and over again.
What was I watching?
We would hear about the congressman, interviews with cameramen and reporters. One media fellow said his arm was hit, and he fell and the blood ran to his head, so they thought he had been shot in the head.
What was I watching?
Then the mass suicide was discovered.
What was going on?
All from cyanide poisoning. Jones and his secretary were found shot. Who shot them?
It would take the movie for me to understand what had occurred. I have not seen this thing in a while, but because I remember the suicides (for some reason this is the only way I look at that moment in November 1978) from back then, I have remembered everything about this movie rather well.
Standouts for me? It was a woman's show; Carol Lynley, Dianne Ladd, Meg Foster, Veronica Cartwright, Madge Sinclair (she fought back, but was stuck with a needle and then stopped resisting), the breaking down of Irene Cara, and I did like Randy Quaid as well.
I often wondered if Meg Foster and Quaid were based on real people and if they could have possibly survived.
The movie doesn't point out there was at least two survivors; I think it was a young girl who had her throat slit survived and a woman was found in the hospital ward.
The movie also doesn't point out who may have shot Jones (I always believed it was LeVar Burton!).
Since then I have seen things such as History Channel programs showing Jim Jones on that fateful final day, and the audio recording of the suicides is even played, which apparently was recreated for the movie.
In the late eighties I would cross paths with a young man who lost his mother to the Guyana tragedy.
Even 20/20 has shown a program of Jones two sons, one an actual son from his marriage to the woman portrayed by Veronica Cartwright (by chance he was out of the country, perhaps in America, when this took place, but he wasn't there) and the other, an adopted Black boy.
When they visited the site of the camp, now a desserted field and found only a piece of a bench was all that was left, the birth son became very upset. He would spend the night out in the woods where they stayed.
It's impossible to judge anyone who followed Jones and made this story true, because there but for the grace of God go I. -
johnclones18 May 2004I saw this in 1980 and 1981. It made me mad. It traces Jim Jones' early life to the mass suicide. It shows how he manipulated people and got in to drugs. I wish that it would have shown the aftermathe of the mass suicide.
This man was sick. I hope that that movie is a lesson to people. Last November there was little coverage of the 25th anniversary of Joneswtown. The only thing that they talked about was Lacy Peterson. I am sick of hearing about Lacy Peterson. THis in my mind is not news. It is more of tabloid trash. The acting in this movie was good and true to life. I hopethat it is on TV again. -
The movie revealed a lot of the circumstances of what went on at Jonestown in the late 70s, but in my opinion came short of portraying Jim Jones' eerie charisma and demonic persuasiveness convincingly. Unluckily, it suffered too much from the generic soap-opera-ized ensemble cast syndrome. We don't really get to connect with the characters of Jonestown and their plights because 1) for any reader of Jonestown history, the characters are not actually true-life victims of Jonestown, but composites of victims; and 2) even if the characters were true-life, we don't see enough of any of the characters and their personal stories--including Jim Jones himself--to relate to him all that well.
The movie tried earnestly--and too hard--to cram too many artificial composite characters into its framework to condense the personal stories of many into a relatively short and unforgiving miniseries. The tragedy of Jonestown could have taken up volumes of heartbreaking personal stories of the 900 who perished. To give the directors and writers of this miniseries the benefit of the doubt, recapturing the immense horror that was Jonestown was probably an undoable task for a 4-hour miniseries.
In her book "Seductive Poison," Deborah Layton gives an accurate (and deeply personal) account of life at Jonestown that totally engrossed me from Page 1. I recommend this book over the miniseries for anyone who wants to know just how destructive Jim Jones' cult was to the many lives he affected (and helped to end).