On Nov. 18, 1978, more than 900 members of Peoples Temple died in the largest mass suicide/murder in history. What drew so many people across racial and class lines to the Peoples Temple? How could a ...( read more
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DVD Release Date: April 10, 2007
Stats: 245 reviews
This documentary is a shock to the heart. What words to use?
1978 was definately not a good year for America. First you have the assassination of George Moscone and Harvey Milk and then you have this. The mass suicide of the Peoples Temple. Which wasn't exactly a mass suicide a...( read more)
what interested me most was the testimony from survivors which i had never heard before. very powerful, and informative doc about a man who was obsessed with his power over life and death since he was a child. this tragedy happened in a time where no one had heard of anything lik...( read more)
An interesting look at a horrifying piece of history and at just how crazy religious fanatics (and their followers) can be.
Well. If you're gonna watch this movie, be aware of the fact that it's horrifying and depressing to the point of being mildly traumatic. I walked out of the theatre in a daze, and stayed that way for a day. It's unpleasant to see how easy it is to manipulate a beautiful idea i...( read more)
A great documentary with surviving members, member's families, and others involved with the People's Temple or Jim Jones in some way. This is the cult every knows about because of the "cool-aid drinkers." Jim Jones started the People's Temple in the mid 1950s as a revolutionary c...( read more)
a crazy story and in a way unbelieveable that people falls into this kind of thing. the ending is horrific
this movie gave me the chills. it was one of those rare documentaries that never loses your attention. the story is tragic & absolutely frightening. the fact that this "church" was started on idealistic beliefs (anti-materialism, community, racial equality, etc.) with amazing pot...( read more)
One of the most thorough, complete, illuminating and very best documentaries I've ever seen.
I absolutely love love love love love documentaries, and this one is a great example of what a documentary should be. Insightful, disturbing, factual account of the Jonestown massacre and it's even creepier to know that Jim Jones was born in and started his church in my state!
Like Arnaud de Selignac's 2005 TV movie "L'Ordre du Temple Solaire", "Jonestown" is a brilliant exploration of a cult leader?s personality, the sexual depravity or his order, and the ultimate mass suicide committed by its members. But whereas Selignac chose very effectively to dr...( read more)
The last half hour of Jonestown is almost unwatchable. Video footage of the assault on the congressman's delegation gives way to audio of Jones exhorting people to 'die with a degree of dignity' as ch... full review
... riveting documentary ... full review
...Collects declassified CIA photos, film and audiotapes made by Jones' followers to form an astonishingly complete picture of what happened. full review
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