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:

year 1995 | year 1993 | 2nd amendment | infrared | 1990s | 

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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)

Gross USA:

$142,193

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$142,193

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fifth Estate Productions, SomFord Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

136 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Infrared Footage (2003)

User Reviews

Very well made, eye-opening look at the Waco standoff

Waco: Rules of Engagement does a very good job of not drawing conclusions for its viewers. It simply presents interviews, footage from the standoff, footage of the Congressional hearings, phone conversations, expert testimony, etc. and allows you to draw your own conclusion.

I hardly intend to imply that the data presented here was done with 100% objectivity but it is very convincing. You won't like Koresh any more after you see this than you did before, but I tend to think that you will come to believe, as I now do, there is much that we were not told about what happened before and during the standoff.