The tragedy of Jonestown was the ultimate failure of the 'free love' commune lifestyle. In 1978, 913 followers of The Peoples Temple committed mass suicide. 18 years later that event is still in the popular conscience -- we've all heard the phrase "drink the kool-aid"; tasteless maybe, but the morbid never fails to fascinate. So on that note, the trailer for the documentary Jonestown: The Life and Death of The Peoples Temple is now online at Apple. The film was directed by Stanley Nelson, and attempts to explain how a group of people with only the best intentions for living in peace, harmony and all that good stuff could culminate in a shoot-out with government agents and mass murder. Thankfully, the film seems to steer clear of any wacky conspiracy theories about the tragedy and there are some winners, believe me. The film got favorable reviews on the festival circuit and while there was concern that the film would not get a theatrical release, a limited release began on October 20th. The director has also promised that the film will air on PBS in the future. [via Apple-Trailers]
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1. I would love to see this documentary. I checked out the trailer but it didn't give out much. It's good to know that it has kept away from wacky thoeries that would just ruin the historical value. I like keeping things factual. I think Jim Jones was a sick man. I don't mean "sick" as in disgusting; he was mentally ill. Probably came from his father being a Klan member, and he a closet homesxual struggling to live by his father's ideals.
Posted at 1:38AM on Nov 16th 2006 by Sebastian Berry