MovieChat Forums > Guyana: Crime of the Century (1980) Discussion > Guyana: Cult of the Damned Vs. The Story...

Guyana: Cult of the Damned Vs. The Story of Jim Jones

posted 14 years ago by PACman66
9 replies | jump to latest

Which one did you like better?
I think the Story of Jim Jones (Guyana Tragedy) was much better, it was made for TV, so you don't see any gore, but it was much longer... It fleshed out Jim Jones/Johnson past & really humanized a lot of the key players. This film almost plays out as a strange horror film, over a "true crime drama".
This film also has A LOT of long, boring-ass speeches. This film is only 115 minutes long, and it felt twice that length.
But I did LOVE what they did with Jim Johnson at the end! Like he turned into Satan! NICE touch!

Trust me,
Swan
My, you're nosey, aren't you?

[–] WarpedRecord 13 years ago

It's been too long since I've seen either, but "Cult of the Damned" was a exploitation flick rushed into theaters to capitalize on the tragedy, and "The Story of Jim Jones" was better researched and thought out. Where did you find "Guyana: Cult of the Damned"?

If you haven't seen it already, I highly recommend the 2006 documentary "Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple," which has interviews with several survivors and is practically excruciating to watch for the footage and audio at the end.

And happy Nov. 18 to you, by the way.

[–] PACman66 13 years ago

I found it used @ secondspin.com! Cost me like 8 bucks.
Check it out!

Trust me,
Swan
My, you're nosey, aren't you?

[–] WarpedRecord 13 years ago

SecondSpin is a great site. Thanks for the recommendation!

[–] edgein15 13 years ago

I got this movie on Netflix. Aside from the last 10 minutes or so, this film really drags. I wouldn't consider Guyana Tragedy any stunning achievement either, but it's better.

[–] rudeboy8080 12 years ago

You and your Johnson..town.

[–] MrsMonroe74 12 years ago

only saw it once. butchered on a sunday afternoon tv movie. it's too much like the story of jim jones. they showed them back to back or something. been so long since I seen it. but from what I remember it was kind of slow moving.

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Hubba Hubba, my name is Bubba.

[–] rudeboy8080 12 years ago

I bought this movie on DVD today. Guyana Crime of the Century(1979) is a Spanish/Panama/Mexican co-production filmed in English. There's a 90 minute US version, the 115 minute Mexican version, and the 108 minute DVD version. Guyana Crime of the Century/Cult of the Damned gives us a straight forward, superficial version of the Jonestown Massacre. The 2007 documentary Jonestown: The Life and Death of the People's Temple gave us more real life facts.
Stuart Whitman is quite decent as Reverend Jim Johnson/Jones! There's some trippy, Behind the Green Door(1972) photography during the Jonestown Massacre scene! Powers Boothe played Jim Jones in the TV movie Guyana Tragedy The Jim Jones Story(1980). Roger Ebert gave zero stars to Guyana Cult of the Damned. I though the film was decent, albeit tasteless.

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] kamikaze-4 8 years ago

I will probably get shot, but I thought this version was more to the point of what was going on In Jonestown than the watered down miniseries CBS presented. What's disturbing is all those people who complain about this film are probably the people who made the Miniseries the highest rated miniseries of all time.