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Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple

Play trailer Poster for Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple 2006 1h 25m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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94% Tomatometer 47 Reviews 89% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Filmmaker Stanley Nelson charts the rise and fall of Peoples Temple founder Jim Jones, whose followers drank poisoned punch at their South American commune in 1978. Using archival film footage and interviews with the few survivors, Nelson recounts the origins of the church's formation and its charismatic leader, and the events that led up to their doomsday in Guyana.
Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple

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Critics Consensus

Director Stanley Nelson avoids editorializing and sensationalizing in Jonestown, letting the CIA photos and film speak for themselves, and giving a voice to the surviving victims.

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Critics Reviews

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Terry Lawson Detroit Free Press 04/01/2007
3/4
Jonestown is a somber and non-exploitive reconstruction of the events that led the members of the Peoples Temple. Go to Full Review J. R. Jones Chicago Reader 04/01/2007
Stanley Nelson revisits the 1978 mass suicide of Jim Jones and his flock in Guyana, savoring the horror but offering no new insights. Go to Full Review Moira MacDonald Seattle Times 02/02/2007
3.5/4
Ultimately, the film doesn't entirely answer the massive 'why' at the center of this story -- that answer died on that day in 1978 -- but it's a haunting exploration of an event of unspeakable sadness, which still resonates decades later. Go to Full Review Kelly Vance East Bay Express 05/05/2010
Nelson's thought-provoking documentary investigation into the life and times of preacher Jim Jones raises a fistful of public policy questions that are still knocking around today. Go to Full Review Felix Vasquez Jr. Cinema Crazed 07/11/2007
Frightening, grueling, and needed in an age where religious fanaticism of all kind reigns... Go to Full Review Eric Monder Film Journal International 03/01/2007
The combination of these materials and the new interviews reconstruct a story few really know. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Thomas S 02/21/2024 By far the most moving documentary I saw in my entire life. See more 09/04/2014 This is a crazy story and the fact that it is true is even more nuts. The movie is good as Nelson did a great job of documenting the entire story. See more 05/08/2014 Great documentary, it's still hard for me to grasp how one man has the ability to talk 900+ to commit mass suicide. Total fanatism and it's power over the weak and powerless. This documentary makes you rethink everything you think is right and wrong about any religion. See more 04/30/2014 Fascinating documentary about a truly tragic event. See more 01/26/2014 Quite an informative documentary, that interviews former People's Temple Members and their surviving family members. It tries to explain how the final tragedy occurred, yet really just does a better job explaining what happened. See more 01/08/2014 Disturbing to the nth degree. The real footage and audio recordings as well as the accounts from real survivors add a nightmarish realism. See more Read all reviews
Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple

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Cast & Crew

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Stanley Nelson

Director

Marcia Smith

Writer

Mark Samuels

Executive Producer

Michael Chin

Cinematographer

Lewis Erskine

Film Editing

Aljernon Tunsil

Film Editing

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Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple

Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple (2006) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Filmmaker Stanley Nelson charts the rise and fall of Peoples Temple founder Jim Jones, whose followers drank poisoned punch at their South American commune in 1978. Using archival film footage and interviews with the few survivors, Nelson recounts the origins of the church's formation and its charismatic leader, and the events that led up to their doomsday in Guyana.
Director
Stanley Nelson
Screenwriter
Marcia Smith
Distributor
Seventh Art Releasing
Production Co
Firelight Media
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 20, 2006, Limited
Runtime
1h 25m