Guyana: Crime of the Century - Cult of the Damned (1980)

Nearly 1,000 people - even tiny babies and children - lay dead and rotting in the morning sun in the South American country of Guyana, all victims of cult leader Jim Jones, who had ordered the mass execution of his followers in the 1978 incident called by many "The Crime of the Century". An horrific dramatization of the Guyana tragedy where the names have been changed to protect the "innocent," "Guyana: Crime of the Century," traces the steps of Rev. Jim Johnson (Jim Jones - portrayed by Stuart Whitman), a highly charismatic, but profoundly paranoid man of the cloth, who, after years of evangelism and good deeds, starts his own church in the United States. When Johnson becomes increasingly obsessed with the belief that the CIA is "a wicked enemy" who is out to get him, he emigrates with his congregation to Guyana where he plans to create a utopia. But Johnson's "utopia," consists of a society where he demands his followers turn their minds, bodies and possessions over to him, and a lifestyle that is rife with orgies, physical violence, mental torture, and sexual abuse of children and adults. When Congressman Lee O'Brien (portrayed by Gene Barry) makes a special trip to Johnsontownship in Guyana to investigate allegations of Johnson's bizarre activities, Johnson's paranoia reaches a fever pitch that culminates in him taking savage action against the congressman and ultimately, against his own congregation. From the director of "Survive," "Cyclone" and "Treasure of the Amazon". Bonus Features: Scene Selection Menu| Trailers| Bios. Specs: DVD5; Dolby Digital Mono; 115 minutes; Color: 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio; MPAA - NR; Year - 1979; SRP - $5.99.

Oh The Humanity: This Was Bad

I first watched Guyana: Crime of the Century back in the early 90's when Guyana Tragedy:The Jim Jones Story(Powers Boothe) was getting lots of airplay. I was convinced then as a high school kid as I am now that in comparison/contrast to other attempts to dramatize and explore the Jonestown Massacre of Novemeber '78...the stale acting, painfully predictable plots, senseless/purposeless/overexaggerated acts of violence, and the rediculously uncreative attempts to change the names of the "innocent"(ie, Alla Kazan) leave viewers with little more than a makeshift horror/docudrama/exploitation film based on the Jonestown Massacre, little to no nutritional value, and based on little to no fact.

This production is everything that the better film, Guyana Tragedy:The Jim Jones story, is not. While Guyana Tragedy detailed Jim Jones' life and progression from evangelism and humanitarianism into drug addiction, paranoia, and insanity...Crime of the Century comes off as a stale, innacurate attempt to scare people out of their wits(and money)...a bad horror film as opposed to a docudrama as "James Johnson" is "led by God" to lead his flock to paradise. A keeper only because the movie picks up(and parallels the historical account of the Jonestown Massacre) during the last 40-50 minutes of the film...which features the Congressman and the press's visit, the cover-up, the notes, the stabbing of the Congressman as he was rallying defectors for a return to the U.S., culminating with a chilling recreation of mass cuicide/murder,reminscent of the news footage following the massacre...but that's only enough to merit a star from me(considering the airstrip shooting had "Johnsontown" gunmen massacring defectors on the airstrip while armed Guyanese officers stood in plain sight and just watched...get real) . I strongly recommend Guyana Tragedy:The Jim Jones Story and Jonestown:The Life & Death of the People's Temple over this one(or purchase all 3 if you're as big a completist as I am). Peace & prayers to the families and friends of those affected by this tragedy. October 30, 2007

RIPP OFF, NOT THE UNEDITED VERSION!!!!

This movie has parts cut out of it, don't waste your money on this inferior product!!! September 12, 2007

Interesting for the morbidly curious.

This film was made very soon after the Jonestown tragedy and the names of the characters are slightly changed, but I do think it tells the story pretty much the way it happened. This is a European exploitation film, but don't expect it to be some sort of gore fest or horror film, because it's not. It also does not have the depth of the TV film, "Guyana Tragedy - the story of Jim Jones". Without excuses or mercy, this film shows what happened, without analyzing the events. If watching movies is an act of voyeurism, this film appeals to your morbidly voyeuristic side (if you have that side, and I admit I do). To use and old cliché, I suppose you could compare the film to the proverbial car wreck; you don't want to look but you can't look away.

I'm sure this does not appeal to everybody, but with all my deepest respect and sympathies for the victims of this tragedy, I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy this film. But those looking for a deeper look into the events and what lead up to it, check out "Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones" instead (or get both). July 1, 2006

cult of the crap

this has got to be the worst dvd I ever purchased. I saw this on the big screen when it played the theaters in 1979 or 80. so I was familiar with the story and the screen version. when I saw this originally it rather disturbed me. I found the whole jim jones story creepy and the films fleshed out disturbing images for me.so I bought the dvd thinking it was the one I had seen on screen.no way what was on the disc looked liked a butchered copy of the late late late show. the editing was obviously censorship so it appears the dvd was taken from a televison print.what a rip off. the cuts where very apparent. like the film was being toned down. not that I am praising the gore and violence in the movie,but I feel if a movie is for sell it should the whole movie in its orginal form. or at least warn the public they are buying an edited version which shouldnt be for sale in the first place. January 17, 2006

Utter tripe

Ahhh, we're finally seeing the oeuvre of famed Mexican director Rene Cardona, Jr. arrive on DVD. Such an event gives horror/exploitation fans the world over reason to cheer--or let out a huge raspberry as a show of defiance. Cardona burst on the scene back in 1964 with the smash hit "El Raspado" before moving on to a career in rancid, cheese infested exploitation fare like "The Night of a Thousand Cats," the horrifically boring "Tintorera: Bloody Waters," "The Bermuda Triangle," and "Guyana: Crime of the Century." Cardona had a knack for assembling recognizable talent from the United States and Europe, putting them in truly dreadful pictures, and then sitting back and waiting for the pesos to roll in. I suspect he saw precious few pesos if the two movies I've seen are any indication. After sitting through this tasteless account of the Jim Jones massacre followed by the two-hour plus cerebral novocaine that is "Tintorera," I'm thinking about heading down to Old Mexico for a refund. But, alas, such will not happen. Director Cardona passed away in 2003. One hopes that he spends his time in purgatory watching his films on a perpetual loop, preferably while suffering a chronic case of Montezuma's Revenge.

"Guyana: Crime of the Century" opens with the Reverend James Johnson (Stuart Whitman in a "I wonder who he's supposed to be?" role) preaching to a packed church crowd. This opening monologue, which runs on for what feels like forever, sees Johnson railing against the CIA, the FBI, the government at large, and anyone else in a position of authority. It's dreadfully dull, and definitely not a good sign of things to come. Anyway, we soon see some poor soul run over by a train. Huh? The next few scenes offer an explanation. Some folks show up at Congressman Lee O'Brien's (Gene Barry) office complaining about Johnson's religious organization. Grim stories of murder, extortion, and terrorism permeate the conversation. O'Brien expresses concern but does nothing initially. Meanwhile, we head on down to Guyana in time to see Johnson and his flock setting up quarters in the jungle. The people, a nice mix of black and white, seem to get along together quite well. Johnson, on the other hand, comes off as a raving lunatic with sunglasses. Who would follow this clown? Well, we know the answer to that little question already, don't we? The movie rapidly bogs down at this point, or I should say bogs down even more than it did as soon as it started.

Nothing much happens for the next couple of hours. We see lots of footage of Johnson haranguing his followers intercut with scenes depicting Congressman O'Brien's growing concern over the activities down in Guyana. Reverend Johnson runs a pretty tight ship down on the Guyana farm if what we see is any indication. Those children and adults unfortunate enough to get caught breaking the rules suffer punishments you wouldn't wish on your worst enemies. Check out what happens to the couple caught catching a few hugs in private--boy, talk about a strict stance on out of wedlock relationships! Then there's the kid and the electric shock therapy. When James Johnson says, "thou shall not," thou better listen. At some point in this glacial film, O'Brien assembles a team of local journalists and launches a fact-finding investigation in Guyana. He meets up with Johnson's legal team, Dave Cole (John Ireland) and Richard Gable (Joseph Cotten), in an effort to get to the bottom of the charges leveled against the settlement. Remarkably, he finds little to dislike despite a number of people wanting to leave with him. The group heads off to the runway only to die when Johnson's followers open fire. What happens next is shown in nauseating detail--grape kool aid and all.

"Guyana: Crime of the Century" is a crime, but not in the way Cardona imagined onscreen. It's a crime a filmmaker could make a piece of tripe like this and pass it off as serious cinema. No opportunity for grisly kicks goes missing here--Cardona's camera recreates the tortures and mass murders in extreme close up. The conclusion especially plumbs new lows in exploitation cinema. We've got babies crying while someone injects them with cyanide, people screaming and fighting to live, and bodies collapsing and writhing on the ground in agony. Wow! People went to the theater to see this? Even worse are the things Cardona forces his talent to go through. I felt nothing but pity for Joseph Cotten, an actor who once appeared in the greatest films ever made. Watching him in "The Thin Man" and then this dreck really hits where it hurts (and hurts where it hits). I'd swear Cotten was quite ill when he made the film, too. He's always leaning against a wall, and in one scene he nearly drops a cup before he can set it down. It's quite sad. John Ireland, Stuart Whitman, Gene Barry, and Yvonne De Carlo should also have known better than to appear in this movie. Oh, the lure of a paycheck!

Actually, I don't have a problem with making a film based on a human tragedy as long as there is some attempt made to gain an understanding about the event. For instance, check out the made for television miniseries about the Jonestown tragedy starring Powers Boothe. The miniseries is a far better project in terms of production values and performances, and one that tries to understand why Jim Jones did what he did. Cardona's film, on the other hand, is nothing but pure schlock filled with cardboard cutout characters and scenes designed for cheap shocks. Of course, I'm a huge hypocrite who went on to watch another Cardona picture, and I'll probably watch more. Why? So I can report back here to tell you not to watch them! So...er...uh...don't watch this, okay? Thanks!


July 10, 2005

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