| | |  | PANAMA | Home » » Guyana: Crime of the Century - Cult of the Damned | | | | | | | Description: | | Available at last on video, the notorious exploitation shocker from Mexican director Rene Cardona, Jr. that purported to show the gruesome events leading up to the November 1978 mass suicide of cult leader Reverend Jim Jones and over 900 of his People's Temple followers in the South American jungle. Stuart Whitman stars as the fanatical "Rev. James Johnson"; with Gene Barry, Joseph Cotten, Yvonne De Carlo, John Ireland. AKA: "Guyana: Cult of the Damned." 115 min. Widescreen; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; biographies; theatrical trailers. | | | Product Details: | | | Actors:
| Stuart Whitman, Gene Barry, John Ireland, Joseph Cotten, Bradford Dillman | | Director:
| René Cardona Jr. | | Format:
| Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC | | Language:
| English | | Number of Discs:
| 1 | | Studio:
| Vci Video | | Run Time:
| 90 minutes | | DVD Release Date:
| February 15, 2005 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 14 reviews |
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| $4.67+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $4.68+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $4.80+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $4.95+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $5.02+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $5.06+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $5.09+ $4.62 *Shipping | New | | | $5.78+ $4.12 *Shipping | New | | | $5.81+ $4.62 *Shipping | New | | | $5.86+ $4.62 *Shipping | New | | | $5.99+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $6.45+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $6.47+ $3.99 *Shipping | New | | | $6.50+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $6.73+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $6.94+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $6.98+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $7.00+ $4.62 *Shipping | New | | | $7.36+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $7.63+ $8.13 *Shipping | New | | | $8.68+ $4.62 *Shipping | New | | | $8.80+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $9.53+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $9.56+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $9.99+ $2.98 *Shipping This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | New | | | $9.99+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $10.35+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $119.99+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | |
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| $5.94+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $6.49+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $6.50+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
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- Mint | | | $7.27+ $2.98 *Shipping This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | Used
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| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 14 customer reviews )
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22 of 23 found the following review helpful:
 cult of the crapJan 17, 2006
By anonymous
this has got to be the worst dvd I ever purchased. I saw this on the big screen when it played the theaters in 1979 or 80. so I was familiar with the story and the screen version. when I saw this originally it rather disturbed me. I found the whole jim jones story creepy and the films fleshed out disturbing images for me.so I bought the dvd thinking it was the one I had seen on screen.no way what was on the disc looked liked a butchered copy of the late late late show. the editing was obviously censorship so it appears the dvd was taken from a televison print.what a rip off. the cuts where very apparent. like the film was being toned down. not that I am praising the gore and violence in the movie,but I feel if a movie is for sell it should the whole movie in its orginal form. or at least warn the public they are buying an edited version which shouldnt be for sale in the first place.
29 of 35 found the following review helpful:
Utter tripeJul 10, 2005
By Jeffrey Leach
Ahhh, we're finally seeing the oeuvre of famed Mexican director Rene Cardona, Jr. arrive on DVD. Such an event gives horror/exploitation fans the world over reason to cheer--or let out a huge raspberry as a show of defiance. Cardona burst on the scene back in 1964 with the smash hit "El Raspado" before moving on to a career in rancid, cheese infested exploitation fare like "The Night of a Thousand Cats," the horrifically boring "Tintorera: Bloody Waters," "The Bermuda Triangle," and "Guyana: Crime of the Century." Cardona had a knack for assembling recognizable talent from the United States and Europe, putting them in truly dreadful pictures, and then sitting back and waiting for the pesos to roll in. I suspect he saw precious few pesos if the two movies I've seen are any indication. After sitting through this tasteless account of the Jim Jones massacre followed by the two-hour plus cerebral novocaine that is "Tintorera," I'm thinking about heading down to Old Mexico for a refund. But, alas, such will not happen. Director Cardona passed away in 2003. One hopes that he spends his time in purgatory watching his films on a perpetual loop, preferably while suffering a chronic case of Montezuma's Revenge.
"Guyana: Crime of the Century" opens with the Reverend James Johnson (Stuart Whitman in a "I wonder who he's supposed to be?" role) preaching to a packed church crowd. This opening monologue, which runs on for what feels like forever, sees Johnson railing against the CIA, the FBI, the government at large, and anyone else in a position of authority. It's dreadfully dull, and definitely not a good sign of things to come. Anyway, we soon see some poor soul run over by a train. Huh? The next few scenes offer an explanation. Some folks show up at Congressman Lee O'Brien's (Gene Barry) office complaining about Johnson's religious organization. Grim stories of murder, extortion, and terrorism permeate the conversation. O'Brien expresses concern but does nothing initially. Meanwhile, we head on down to Guyana in time to see Johnson and his flock setting up quarters in the jungle. The people, a nice mix of black and white, seem to get along together quite well. Johnson, on the other hand, comes off as a raving lunatic with sunglasses. Who would follow this clown? Well, we know the answer to that little question already, don't we? The movie rapidly bogs down at this point, or I should say bogs down even more than it did as soon as it started.
Nothing much happens for the next couple of hours. We see lots of footage of Johnson haranguing his followers intercut with scenes depicting Congressman O'Brien's growing concern over the activities down in Guyana. Reverend Johnson runs a pretty tight ship down on the Guyana farm if what we see is any indication. Those children and adults unfortunate enough to get caught breaking the rules suffer punishments you wouldn't wish on your worst enemies. Check out what happens to the couple caught catching a few hugs in private--boy, talk about a strict stance on out of wedlock relationships! Then there's the kid and the electric shock therapy. When James Johnson says, "thou shall not," thou better listen. At some point in this glacial film, O'Brien assembles a team of local journalists and launches a fact-finding investigation in Guyana. He meets up with Johnson's legal team, Dave Cole (John Ireland) and Richard Gable (Joseph Cotten), in an effort to get to the bottom of the charges leveled against the settlement. Remarkably, he finds little to dislike despite a number of people wanting to leave with him. The group heads off to the runway only to die when Johnson's followers open fire. What happens next is shown in nauseating detail--grape kool aid and all.
"Guyana: Crime of the Century" is a crime, but not in the way Cardona imagined onscreen. It's a crime a filmmaker could make a piece of tripe like this and pass it off as serious cinema. No opportunity for grisly kicks goes missing here--Cardona's camera recreates the tortures and mass murders in extreme close up. The conclusion especially plumbs new lows in exploitation cinema. We've got babies crying while someone injects them with cyanide, people screaming and fighting to live, and bodies collapsing and writhing on the ground in agony. Wow! People went to the theater to see this? Even worse are the things Cardona forces his talent to go through. I felt nothing but pity for Joseph Cotten, an actor who once appeared in the greatest films ever made. Watching him in "The Thin Man" and then this dreck really hits where it hurts (and hurts where it hits). I'd swear Cotten was quite ill when he made the film, too. He's always leaning against a wall, and in one scene he nearly drops a cup before he can set it down. It's quite sad. John Ireland, Stuart Whitman, Gene Barry, and Yvonne De Carlo should also have known better than to appear in this movie. Oh, the lure of a paycheck!
Actually, I don't have a problem with making a film based on a human tragedy as long as there is some attempt made to gain an understanding about the event. For instance, check out the made for television miniseries about the Jonestown tragedy starring Powers Boothe. The miniseries is a far better project in terms of production values and performances, and one that tries to understand why Jim Jones did what he did. Cardona's film, on the other hand, is nothing but pure schlock filled with cardboard cutout characters and scenes designed for cheap shocks. Of course, I'm a huge hypocrite who went on to watch another Cardona picture, and I'll probably watch more. Why? So I can report back here to tell you not to watch them! So...er...uh...don't watch this, okay? Thanks!
11 of 13 found the following review helpful:
 Interesting for the morbidly curious.Jul 01, 2006
By NoWireHangers
This film was made very soon after the Jonestown tragedy and the names of the characters are slightly changed, but I do think it tells the story pretty much the way it happened. This is a European exploitation film, but don't expect it to be some sort of gore fest or horror film, because it's not. It also does not have the depth of the TV film, "Guyana Tragedy - The Story of Jim Jones". Without excuses or mercy, this film shows what happened, without analyzing the events. If watching movies is an act of voyeurism, this film appeals to your morbidly voyeuristic side (if you have that side, and I admit I do). To use and old cliché, I suppose you could compare the film to the proverbial car wreck; you don't want to look but you can't look away.
I'm sure this does not appeal to everybody, but with all my deepest respect and sympathies for the victims of this tragedy, I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy this film. But those looking for a deeper look into the events and what lead up to it, check out "Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones" instead (or get both).
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
RIPP OFF, NOT THE UNEDITED VERSION!!!!Sep 12, 2007
By William C. Stanton
This movie has parts cut out of it, don't waste your money on this inferior product!!!
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
 Guyana: Crime of the CenturyApr 26, 2010
By Carl Manes
Rene Cardona Jr. presents this disturbing look at the tragedy that occurred in Guyana in 1979, when the Reverend Jim Jones (here renamed James Johnson) commanded his wayward religious sect to commit mass suicide when they faced extradition by the American government for their cult-like beliefs. The film follows the trail of events leading up to that last horrific night in grim detail, while closely adhering to the factual evidence that was left in the wake of the disaster. Stuart Whitman commands the role of Rev. Johnson, with an authoritative voice and deathly seriousness that make him as frightening as he is convincing. Johnson professes peace, love, and happiness to his warped congregation while demonstrating nothing but hatred, terror, and tyranny. In a few moments of pure exploitation, Johnson exacts a series of horrible tortures on the few members of his group that are daring enough to oppose him, including a scene where a man is bisected by an oncoming train, and one where a child is repeatedly held under water while his friends are tossed in a pit of snakes. Cardona Jr. employs his typical static filmmaking, but unlike in his other genre efforts, the dry cinematography adds to the raw, gritty documentary look and feel that sells the films' believability. Johnsonville is recreated to perfection, complete with the slave-like living conditions and fearful but subservient followers. The film is also very careful in faithfully retelling the story of the events without exploiting or exaggerating them for the sake of monetary gain. GUYANA is unquestionably Cardona Jr.'s strongest film, and a harrowing viewing experience that recalls other True Crime Dramas like HELTER SKELTER.
-Carl Manes
I Like Horror Movies
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