Rating: 
Summary: Big Brother Goes Berserk
Review: The federal government of the United States of America would never deliberately murder 86 men, women, and children as revenge for what amounted to a modern day Custer's Last Stand, would they? Don't be so sure. Before I saw this film, nothing anyone could have told me would have convinced me that the government willfully or deliberately contributed to the death of the Branch Davidians. However, damning testimony coming directly from congressional hearings and scientific analysis of infrared photography serves a chilling plate of reality that the image of the jack booted federal goon may not simply be the product of the militia movement's imagination. Whether you're pro-government, anti-government, or just plain neutral, you owe it to yourself to see this excellent documentary before you draw any final conclusions on what really happened at Waco. It'll make your blood run cold.
Rating:
Summary: excellent
Review: One of the best movies I've seen in a long time. An incredibly disturbing story of our government getting totally out of control and, in the end, murdering dozens of innocent people. The director has made an engrossing and moving documentary that left me almost breathless at its end as the magnitude of the atrocity unfolds before our eyes. As a student of the cinema, this movie would become a classic of the documentary genre if the subject matter better fit the prevailing political opinion in Hollywood. Even with that handicap, it was nominated for an Academy Award.
Rating: 
Summary: What Tom Brokaw Didn't Tell You.
Review: It is amazing the kind of dirt a simple Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request can dig up. That is, if you have the ability to sue the federal government for over two years and have a judge finally show his disgust with the delay tactics and ORDER the FBI and BATF to release the(some) of the information.It does my heart well to see government agent/thugs giving testimony to Congress juxtaposed to video and audio showing the storm troopers to be liars. "No helicopter gunships were used..."? Wellllll...maybe so Mr. Koresh, sorry. Watch the "compound" burn to the ground. Watch the BATF video of the opening assault. Watch them retreat with their hands up after they run out of ammo. See tanks not only inject toxic CS gas into the plywood structure but also drive all the way in, collapsing the building atop screaming (FBI audio) people trying to find a way out. Watch the government's own FLIR video showing two-man hit squads shoot into the building with M-16s as people try to escape even though the FBI claims that they never fired a shot (who did then?). Recall the BATF hostage negotiator promising the little Branch-Davidian girl that "no one was gonna come and kill her..." And still it burns... Sit quietly as the credits of this Oscar-nominated documentary roll. You'll feel numb. You'll become angry. Perhaps you'll order a few more copies and send them to friends and family across the country. Maybe you'll do as we did here in Arizona and pack an independent theater or campus hall. Just do something. Spread the word. Call HBO, PBS. Anything. The next installment of this documentary series is nearing completion by the producer who did work for McNeal/Leher and CNN. He has more FOIA information discovering just who manned those hit squads. If it is true that it was not the FBI "Hostage Rescue Team" (HRT) then who? Perhaps their training partners--known commonly by their movie moniker as "Delta Force." Can you say, "Posse Commitatus Act"? Can you say "Treason"?
Rating:
Summary: Shocking, insightful, well-made
Review: This is a frighteningly good documentary about the Waco siege and assault in 1993. The film is structured in three parts. Throughout the movie, footage from the congressional hearings is shown, to remind the viewer of how each segment relates to the whole. First, there is a history of the Branch Davidians, a sect of the Seventh Day Adventist Church. It shows the origins of the Davidians, their split from Seventh Day Adventism, and rise of David Koresh. This is the slowest part of the movie, but it is still interesting, and it is absolutely critical. The depiction of the Davidians as, alternatively, crazed cultists or brainwashed zombies is absolutely demolished here. This portion of the film is also key to understanding the ways in which the BATF and FBI chose to conduct the siege. The second part of the movie deals with the initial BATF raid and the first gunfire, as well as the subsequent siege and negotiations. The FBI's negotiating tactics are shocking, as they range from outright lies ("No, the helicopter above you is unarmed") to baiting and desecration (as they destroy a Davidian's grave by repeatedly running a tank over it). The third part is, of course, the ultimate tragedy -- the assault and the burning of the Waco compound. The official FBI story, quickly swallowed by the press, is that the Davidians set themselves on fire. The documentary does not prove otherwise, but it does suggest a few compelling reasons to think the fire was set (intentionally or not) by the FBI. Here extensive computer reconstructions are used to show the fire's origin and path. Finally, in one of the most appalling sequences, FLIR footage is shown. FLIR is an infrared scanning technique, and a FLIR-equipped plane was over the compound before and during the assault. The footage shows quite convincingly that FBI agents repeatedly fired on Davidians fleeing the inferno -- contradicting the statements of the agent in charge, who categorically stated to the press and in his testimony to Congress that FBI agents never fired a single shot at the Davidians. For the most part, the press and the FBI succeeded in smearing the Davidians as a fanatic group, who deserved what they got even if the whole affair could have been better handled. This video provides a very important view to the contrary.
Rating:
Summary: Disturbing, credible and well-researched
Review: I see this video is being attacked as "conspiracy theory" propaganda. Rubbish. It simply deals with the events. It is also claimed that the film was faked somehow -- making it appear as if things happened that did not. Parts of the film were supposedly debunked on TV. I find all this very, very difficult to believe. The important points of the documentary involve the contrast between the testimony of the FBI before Congress and the actual events at Waco. The FBI made infra-red videotapes of the injection of "tear gas" into the buildings, and foolishly made them available to the press. The documentary "Rules of Engagement" presents a detailed analysis of these tapes, done by the man who developed the technology that allowed the tapes to be made in the first place. Faked? I believe that is out of the question. The analysis of the infra-red tapes shows that there is excellent reason to believe that the FBI lied repeatedly to cover up its activities at Waco. If this documentary is a conspiracy theorist's dream, I am a white rabbit. The only conspiracy that could be involved in the Waco tragedy is the well-known wall of silence that police the world over maintain in order to avoid being held responsible for the excesses they sometimes commit.
Rating:
Summary: Smart, shocking documentary...
Review: Simply put, this is one of the most startling documentaries you will likely to see that will provide you with incredible insight into what really went on in the US government's stand against the Branch Davidians.
Expertly produced and edited, this one will keep you thoroughly engrossed from beginning to end.
Rating:
Summary: a must see -- regardless of how ugly it is
Review: I cannot say much more than what others have said -- our government is out of control -- from all branches and at all levels. (Why was the press so concerned with what happened inside Clinton's pants instead of how Clinton could have stopped this tragedy.)
And for those who believe reflections show up on infrared; infrared measures heat, not reflective surfaces. I have shot infrared film, mirrors will show up as white, if left in the sun to heat up. Which, in turn, don't flash.
CS gas has strict contingencies not to be used on citizens. The army has deaths from CS gas during training exercises. The stuff is meant to immobilize and kill.
Even if the documentary is not 100% truth, the u.s. government is still reckless and out of control.
Rating:
Summary: The Living Proof of our Government's Corruption
Review: Waco: The Rules of Engagement is without a doubt the scariest film I have ever seen. What disturbed me most about this true story is that before I saw this film, I too was one of the millions who swallowed the Government's sugar coated account of what happened in Waco. The Government portrayed Koresh as a gun-runner, child molester and cult leader. While there may have been some truth to the child molestation charges, the ATF Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) had absolutely no jurisdiction to arrest, engage or even serve a search warrant to Koresh on those charges. The ATF comes off as ultra-corrupt publicity hounds who tried to use the Branch Davidians to further justify their continued funding and existance. I mean, a high ranking ATF official contacted 2 different news stations and "alerted" them that "something big" may happen around Waco in the next two days. Under examination by Congress when asked if the sole reason for this action was to garner publicity for the ATF, the woman answers UNDER OATH "No, that was in no way the intention". The Branch Davidians had no choice but to defend themselves from the onslaught of ATF agents who randomly began firing on their compound. The result of 4 dead ATF agents set the wheels in motion for the biggest Government cover-up since the Watergate scandal. The horrifying images of the dead, charred women and children are some of the most disturbing pictures I have ever viewed. Bodies twisted, bones snapped from the CS gas that the FBI shot into the compound basically into the lap of the women and children who were hiding in the concrete kitchen. Yet, the FBI and ATF insist that the Branch Davidians committed mass suicide by starting fire to the compound. It is clearly documented that the combination of combustible chemicals shot into the compound along with the destruction of the structure by tanks caused fireballs to engulf the compound within seconds killing almost everyone inside. **WE NEED MORE FILMS LIKE WACO: THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT TO OPEN PEOPLES EYES AS TO HOW FAR REACHING THE CORRUPTION WITHIN OUR GOVERNMENT REACHES. I APPLAUDE THE MAKERS OF THIS FILM FOR HAVING THE GUTS TO TELL THE TRUTH...FOR THE TRUTH SHALL SET US ALL FREE.** This was no less than mass murder perpitrated by the American Government upon it's own citizens. If this is the REAL AMERICA, then I am ashamed to be an American. Highest Recommendation.
Rating:
Summary: U.S. government vs. the American people
Review: This excellent documentary leaves little doubt that the American government has metastasized into a monster that swallows up the property, liberty, and lives of its subjects. The America of Madison and Jefferson has been replaced by a militarized menace which permits ever diminishing dissent. As the film shows, there is no recourse to elected officials, and the news media are shills for government authority. In the aftermath of 9/11 government power has been further concentrated and militarized. It has happened here.
Rating:
Summary: Riveting but dull stretches
Review: This documentary seems a bit stilted but doubles the message I got from a book on the Branch Davidian episode in Waco, Texas in 1993. While sitting at my desk one day in 1994, where I edited a state government newsletter, I received an unsolicited book in the mail. That book was about Waco and presented an argument that David Koresh and his followers were essentially the victims of government intrusion because of their religious beliefs.
This documentary presents an argument that is similar to what I read in 1994. It shows how Branch Davidians moved to Texas from California and had been organized in Waco for 50 years prior to the deadly episode in 1993. It discusses their religious beliefs, which are somewhat different interpreting certain sections of the book of Revelations discussion on the Seven Seals.
It uses footage of Branch Davidians talking about their lives in Waco, and talks to the Waco sheriff about alleged crimes of child abuse among the Branch Davidians, which he says were never proven or justified. It presents Congressional testimony from the period following 1993 that presents a conflict between the government's illegal firearms case against the Branch Davidians, which was the basis of the ATF raids in February and April 1993.
I don't think it is possible to come to a swift conclusion on what happened in Waco on the basis of this film or any book. However, this movie raises questions in documentary form that, when asked in 1994, were thought only to be the ramblings of religious extremists.
Were the Branch Davidians the victims of government intrusion in the extreme? I don't know. What I do know is Waco in 1993, coupled with Ruby Ridge the year before and the hated Clinton national health care initiative of that time combined to result in that miserable backward-looking U.S. Congress of 1994. It was a time in American history when people en masse believed government intrusion was simply too great in personal lives. The Waco episode from 1993 strongly contibuted to that window in time in America and this film, while slow and very boring in some stretches, helps explain what happened.
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