Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple

I was completely absorbed by this, partially due to the subject, but mainly because the story was told so well. I learned quite a bit, too (such as the peaceful origins of the group, and all the good they did early on). I can see why people fell in line behind this guy; he did have a powerful charisma to him. Unfortunately, we don't find out what made Jones tick, but really, how could anyone know-paranoids don't freely give up info. I wish more was spent on the survivors and how they got away!

What a shocking documentary. I didn't know much about this, so I have learned a lot. I was so horrified at the ending with the images and the sound footages. I do wonder how some survivors got away.

Now this is a horror movie.

You can say a lot about Jones, but at least he wasn't a racist.

I liked how they alternated between Jones's respectable ideals and his despicable practices. They probably could have showed the two sides in an even more drastic back-and-forth kind of way, but it was interesting how they'd tell you all these good things about him and then throw in horrible things. I wish it had been able to make me understand just a little bit more why people worhipped him...while watching it, I was still thinking WHY? But that's pretty easy to do when you know the outcome.

Disturbing but good. The self-importance of Jim Jones is cloying. I feel as if I've spilled some on myself.

I've never seen a drier documentary in my life, but the information presented is what really counts. I've always been incredibly interested in Jonestown, and this film somehow makes an already harrowing event seem even worse. Of all the films made about Jonestown, this one is very good at showing what a psychopath Jim Jones really was.

Very informative and terrifying documentary. It shows the entire picture of Jim Jones and why people followed him so far: he was a very powerful preacher who radically fought racism in his community. It does have some incredibly powerful interviews with the survivors who explain how horrendous and surreal the mass suicide was. Though I wouldn't consider it ground breaking it's certainly well worth seeing.

(Why does this remind me of Aguirre: The Wrath of God?) A remarkable analysis of the small differences between religiosity, fanaticism, power and madness. The Last Day sequence is brilliantly constructed, thanks to the first-hand accounts that add a human voice and pathos to something we only see in nightmares. If it has a flaw, its that I would have liked to see/hear more of Jones' rhetoric to help explain why thousands of people would drink this man's Kool Aid.

Of course most of the focus is on that fateful day, almost to the expense of other information - but that's not really a bad thing, considering just how harrowing those events are. There's an incredible feeling of tension and dread going through this, since we full well know what will happen, something usually meant to be avoided in film experiences. Could have used more footage of Jones himself, his face tells so much just by look alone.

A shocking subject and emotional testimony make the film naturally riveting. But stylistically it never transcends the standard "talking head" model.

"If it's too good to be true, then run for your life" the movie

Becomes incredibly compelling once the documentary covers the actual Jonestown years. The massacre sequence is chilling.

Heartbreaking, not many ways to describe the seduction and horror that brings the cult of personality. A cautionary tale and a warning to all of us. This documentary has some incredible interviews which stay with you a long time after the film ends

Good documentary.

Too conventional a documentary. Where are his speeches? Where is his rhetoric? The interviews with the survivors were really interesting, but it felt like everything else was biographical filler.

Informative, interesting, and solidly good.