Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple (2006)

Director:

Stanley Nelson

Writers:

Marcia Smith (story)
Marcia Smith (teleplay)

Genre:

Documentary | History

Plot:

Featuring never-before-seen footage, this documentary delivers a startling new look at the Peoples Temple, headed by preacher Jim Jones who, in 1978, led more than 900 members to Guyana, where he orchestrated a mass suicide via tainted punch. |

Plot Keywords:

Jim Jones | Suicide | Guyana | Preacher | Mass Suicide

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Rebecca Moore	...	Herself
Janet Shular	...	Herself
Tim Carter	...	Himself
Stanley Clayton	...	Himself
Hue Fortson Jr.	...	Himself
Garrett Lambrev	...	Himself
Claire Janaro	...	Herself
Neva Sly Hargrave	...	Herself
Deborah Layton	...	Herself
Phyllis Wilmore Zimmerman	...	Herself
Chuck Wilmore	...	Himself
John R. Hall	...	Himself
Tim Reiterman	...	Himself
June Cordell	...	Herself
Eugene Cordell	...	Himself

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Company:

Firelight Media Inc.

Soundtrack:

Welcome

illuminating, but leaves so many questions ...

I saw this at the London Film Festival, and was impressed by what appeared to be a balanced picture - of both the Peoples Temple church and Jim Jones himself. The film is captivating in its chronological story telling, leading up to the tragic events in Guyana.

However I did find the repeat use of some archival footage a bit weak, and unless I missed it, it was never explained that the "Planning Commission" was part of the Peoples Temple itself.

Like any good documentary, it left me wanting to find out more, but I did think that it was an omission not to attempt any consideration of what led Jones to turn what had been a beneficial organisation, into a murderous one. Neither does the film attempt to look into how the organisation was run - presumably Jones couldn't have directly controlled the 1,000 inhabitants of Jonestown? The source of the poison and weapons is also a subject that doesn't feature, or the question of what happened to the money afterwards?

Overall this is a really interesting film, especially for those of us who were too young to remember the events.