Waco: The Rules of Engagement

Waco: The Rules of Engagement (DVD) (*)

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Screened, competed or awarded at:
Oscar Academy Awards
Vancouver International Film Festival
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )

Product Origin/Format:
United Kingdom ( PAL/Region 2 )

Running Time:
132 min

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen (1.78:1)

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Scene Access
Black & White

Movie filmed in 1997 and produced in:
United States ( USA, Canada )

Directed By:
William Gazecki

Written By:
William Gazecki
Dan Gifford

Actors:
Dan Gifford ..... Narrator (voice)
Clive Doyle ..... Himself (Branch Davidian) (also archive footage)
Jack Harwell ..... Himself (sheriff)
Dick J. Reavis ..... Himself (author) (also archive footage)
James D. Tabor ..... Himself (Biblical scholar)
David Thibodeau ..... Himself (Branch Davidian)
Joe Biden ..... Himself (US Senate) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Sonny Bono ..... Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Howard Coble ..... Himself (US Congress) (archive footage) (uncredited)
John Conyers ..... Himself (US Congress) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Orrin G. Hatch ..... Himself (US Senate) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Jim Jones ..... Himself (in Jonestown) (archive footage) (uncredited)
David Koresh ..... Himself (Branch Davidian leader) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Tom Lantos ..... Himself (US Congress) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Janet Reno ..... Herself (US Attorney General) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Steven Schiff ..... Himself (US Congress) (archive footage) (uncredited)
David Troy ..... Himself (ATF) (archive footage) (uncredited)

Synopsis:

This controversial documentary about the stand-off between an unorthodox Christian group - the Branch Davidians, under the leadership of the young, charismatic David Koresh - and the FBI and ATF in Waco, Texas, from February to April 1993 presents a different spin on the events from that of the United States government, which held that the Branch Davidians set the fire that destroyed their compound, and killed the vast majority of them, on April 19, 1993. Using footage from the 51 day siege, from the congressional hearings afterwards, from people involved in all aspects of the siege, and from experts technical, psychological, and religious, the movie suggests that the Branch Davidians were not a cult, but a valid religious group practicing under First Amendment freedoms who fell victim to first the ineptitude of an ATF raid designed to garner the agency positive attention and later the cruel, methodical work of the FBI, who over-saw the murder of the Davidians and then quickly covered it up.

Director William Gazecki's documentary on 1994's 51-day siege at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, TX, which ended with the destruction of the compound by fire and the death of 70 members inside, is a strong and compelling piece of journalism that raises reasonable and troubling questions about how the FBI and the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms) handled the matter. The film gives a brief history of the Branch Davidian sect and biographical data on David Koresh, their leader at the time of the debacle, before laying the groundwork of the events that led up to the Waco standoff and the FBI's eventual attack on their compound. While the film presents both sides of the issue, Gazecki makes clear that the FBI's own evidence can be used against them as often as for them, and asks why so much key evidence that could have determined what exactly happened (for example, whether the shots that killed many of the Davidians were fired from within the building or from outside) was either destroyed or simply lost. Neither an attack on Koresh and his followers as armed lunatics nor a conspiracy theorist's mass of wild conjecture, Waco: The Rules of Engagement carefully and meticulously presents facts that escaped most mainstream reports on the Branch Davidians, making the case that the FBI's conduct was at best ill-considered and at worst a reckless violation of the rights and safety of the people involved.

This controversial documentary carries shocking revelations behind the tragic series of events in Waco, Texas, which resulted in the death of four federal agents and 76 men, women and children of the Branch Davidian religious sect. Amongst the allegations made in the film are that government agencies firstly provoked war with a group whose apocalyptic religious beliefs and rumored manufacturing of illegal weapons made them easy targets and secondly they methodically covered up any evidence that the government were culpable for the deaths that ensued.

This product was added to our catalog on Wednesday 30 June, 2010.

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