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Waco: The Rules of Engagement

  • 1997
  • Not Rated
  • 2h 16m
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
3.8K
YOUR RATING
Waco: The Rules of Engagement (1997)
Using interviews, news footage, testimony before Congress, and infrared photographic analysis, ‘Waco: The Rules of Engagement’ chips away at the government's story that David Koresh and his followers were a dangerous cult involved in strange sex and drug practices who were preparing to slaughter their neighbors and that they immolated themselves a la Jonestown, rather than give themselves up peacefully. Nearly every element of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms' and the FBI's cover-up is exposed as fraudulent and the viewer is left wondering when, if ever, justice will finally be served.
Play trailer6:37
2 Videos
13 Photos
History DocumentaryDocumentaryHistory

A reassessment of the tragedy at Waco that left 76 members of the Branch Davidian religious sect dead.A reassessment of the tragedy at Waco that left 76 members of the Branch Davidian religious sect dead.A reassessment of the tragedy at Waco that left 76 members of the Branch Davidian religious sect dead.

  • Director
    • William Gazecki
  • Writers
    • William Gazecki
    • Dan Gifford
    • Michael McNulty
  • Stars
    • Dan Gifford
    • Jim Cavanaugh
    • Dick DeGuerin
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.8/10
    3.8K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • William Gazecki
    • Writers
      • William Gazecki
      • Dan Gifford
      • Michael McNulty
    • Stars
      • Dan Gifford
      • Jim Cavanaugh
      • Dick DeGuerin
    • 37User reviews
    • 19Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 4 wins & 4 nominations total

    Videos2

    WACO: The Rules of Engagement
    Trailer 6:37
    WACO: The Rules of Engagement
    WACO: The Rules of Engagement
    Interview 4:48
    WACO: The Rules of Engagement
    WACO: The Rules of Engagement
    Interview 4:48
    WACO: The Rules of Engagement

    Photos12

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    Top cast26

    Edit
    Dan Gifford
    • Narrator
    • (voice)
    Jim Cavanaugh
    Jim Cavanaugh
    • Self - ATF
    • (archive footage)
    Dick DeGuerin
    Dick DeGuerin
    • Self - Attorney
    • (archive footage)
    Clive Doyle
    Clive Doyle
    • Self - Branch Davidian
    Jack Harwell
    • Self - Sheriff
    Jeff Jamar
    Jeff Jamar
    • Self - FBI Special Agent
    • (archive footage)
    Joseph Penno
    • Self - Former Chief, Houston Fire Department
    Dick J. Reavis
    Dick J. Reavis
    • Self - Author
    Chuck Schumer
    Chuck Schumer
    • Self - U.S. Representative
    • (archive footage)
    James D. Tabor
    James D. Tabor
    • Self - Biblical Scholar
    David Thibodeau
    David Thibodeau
    • Self - Branch Davidian
    David Troy
    • Self - ATF Special Agent
    • (archive footage)
    Joe Biden
    Joe Biden
    • Self - U.S. Senate
    • (archive footage)
    • (uncredited)
    Sonny Bono
    Sonny Bono
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    • (uncredited)
    Howard Coble
    • Self - U.S. Congress
    • (archive footage)
    • (uncredited)
    John Conyers
    John Conyers
    • Self - U.S. Congress
    • (archive footage)
    • (uncredited)
    Graeme Craddock
    Graeme Craddock
    • Self (Branch Davidian)
    • (archive footage)
    • (uncredited)
    Dianne Feinstein
    Dianne Feinstein
    • Self - U.S. Congress
    • (archive footage)
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • William Gazecki
    • Writers
      • William Gazecki
      • Dan Gifford
      • Michael McNulty
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews37

    7.83.8K
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    Featured reviews

    9goom

    Very well made, eye-opening look at the Waco standoff

    Waco: Rules of Engagement does a very good job of not drawing conclusions for its viewers. It simply presents interviews, footage from the standoff, footage of the Congressional hearings, phone conversations, expert testimony, etc. and allows you to draw your own conclusion.

    I hardly intend to imply that the data presented here was done with 100% objectivity but it is very convincing. You won't like Koresh any more after you see this than you did before, but I tend to think that you will come to believe, as I now do, there is much that we were not told about what happened before and during the standoff.
    9supersocket7

    Amazing documentary

    When I began watching I thought I was watching some pro-Koresh amateur documentary. However, I had never seen 3/4 of the footage they used. They interviewed people saying that the FBI/ATF instigated all these things, which sounded so far fetched, but then followed in up with FBI video and testimony. I was amazed. The documentary followed up with the senate investigation after the fire, and after seeing the interview and video footage you will be shocked at how the Senate and Attorney General turn their backs on Davidians basically to cover up the aggression by the FBI/ATF. If you start watching this you must finish it. Otherwise you will think it is propaganda of something like that.
    10live_and_direct_at_network23

    This movie needs to be shown in every high school class

    If you want to see real evidence of what a misguided and unchecked government can do to "un-popular" people, this movie provides it. Read what some people are saying about the "Patriot Act" passed after 9/11 and then watch this movie. Is it worth it? Do we really want to give away our freedoms to these people? Regardless of what you saw on TV, you are not fully informed until you watch this movie. I apologize for quoting another reviewer, but it needs repeating: Roger Ebert of Siskel & Ebert said, "What's interesting is if you're looking for people who are unbalanced zealots... you don't find them among the Branch Davidians, you find them among the FBI and the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms; those are the people in this movie who deserve to be feared, I think." I think every person responsible for 9/11 needs to be brought to justice, but I think the government has not shown a history of honoring it's duty to protect people's rights, and this movie proves it in dramatic fashion.
    9naspen

    Should have won the Oscar for Best Documentary that year...

    Excellent documentary that still manages to shock and enlighten. Unfortunately, times haven't changed much since this was made and it is thus an important piece for all freedom-conscious Americans to see.
    senor_herer

    Missing footage?

    Just seen this great, and disturbing, documentary about the ATF and FBI essentially murdering dozens of people during the Waco siege.

    However, does anyone know why the public access footage of the Bradley tanks shooting fire into the compound and starting the fire (which everyone up to and including Janet Reno denied) when even I have a copy of on more than one Bill Hicks video?

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Based on the same real life events as Waco Cult (2012), Revelations of Waco (2018), Waco: The Inside Story (1995), Truth and Lies: Waco (2018), Waco: Madman or Messiah (2018), Waco (2015), Waco: A New Revelation (2000), Waco: Clive Doyle (2018), Secrets of Waco (2017), The Secrets of Waco (2018), Waco, the Big Lie (1993), Waco (2015), Waco (2018), David Koresh (2007), Witness to Waco: Inside the Siege (2009) and In the Line of Duty: Ambush in Waco (1993).
    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: A Thousand Acres/The Myth of Fingerprints/Going All the Way/Waco: The Rules of Engagement/Gravesend/Fire (1997)

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    FAQ19

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 19, 1997 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Official site
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Правила поединка
    • Filming locations
      • Waco, Texas, USA
    • Production companies
      • Fifth Estate Productions
      • SomFord Entertainment
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $2,500,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $142,193
    • Gross worldwide
      • $142,193
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 16 minutes
    • Color
      • Color

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