Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones (1980)

RELEASED 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-

As 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.

I 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.

This 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.