Waco: The Rules of Engagement (1997)

A reassessment of the tragedy at Waco that left 76 members of the Branch Davidian religious sect dead.

Director:

William Gazecki

Writers:

William Gazecki, Dan Gifford

Stars:

Dan Gifford, Clive Doyle, Jack Harwell

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Dan Gifford	...	Narrator (voice)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Clive Doyle	...	Himself - Branch Davidian
Jack Harwell	...	Himself - Sheriff
Joseph Penno	...	Himself - Former Chief, Houston Fire Department
Dick J. Reavis	...	Himself - Author
James D. Tabor	...	Himself - Biblical Scholar
David Thibodeau	...	Himself - Branch Davidian

Storyline

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...

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Plot Keywords:

branch davidian | atf | fbi | texas | fire | 

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Genres:

Documentary | History

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

official site Official site; reviews; showings; images

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 September 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Правила поединка

Filming Locations:

Waco, Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fifth Estate Productions,SomFord Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

136 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

References Rambo (1987)

User Reviews

A Must See!

I'm neither a Lawyer or a Law Enforcement Officer but as a fellow Filmmaker I must recommend this Documentary for many reasons. First off, a government controlled press kept America briefed during the so-called seige. The FBI & ATF spun the Korish Story into making us believe he was out of control and a cop killer. My take is that Korish had started to believe too much of his own preachings and lost control of his flock and p***ed off City Officials in WACO, Texas... leading to possible gun possession charges but to come down on the guy like they did is a dark day I'll never forget. This Doc from lots of footage from a WACO TV Station shows our Government in a post Ruby Ridge environment again making up its own "Rules" to "Engage" the so-called enemy, in this case mainly Women & Children. The fire that develops and finalizes the case for Janet Reno is as disgusting as the reality of the hundreds of chard remains of innocent christians that couldn't find their way. For any of us Americans that think that Law Enforcement is set up to work within the laws better think twice after WACO and hopefully this will be a lesson for all to learn from so it won't ever happen again.