Guyana Tragedy: The Jim Jones Story (DVD)

Originally shown as a two-part TV movie, this is a gripping recreation of the horrible tragedy of the November 1978 mass suicide of 913 people at the South American religious "colony" of Jonestown. Powers Boothe's portrayal of the cult-leader Reverend Jim Jones earned him an "Emmy" and the film traces the life of Jones from his early activist period to his rise as a modern day messiah. The climatic suicide scenes are convincingly recreated in a near-documentary style, and the whole production benefits from a huge supporting cast of excellent players.

Starring: Powers Boothe, Veronica Cartwright, Rosalind Cash, Brad Dourif, Randy Quaid, Brenda Vaccaro, Cheryl Ladd, Colleen Dewhurst, Dimitra Arliss, Howard Culver, James Earl Jones, LeVar Burton, Michael Gwynne, Ned Beatty, Sam Manners, Irene Cara, Meg Foster, Diane Ladd, Ron O'Neal, Diana Scarwid, Madge Sinclair