Waco The Rules of Engagement - The Memorable TV DVD Review

A documentary looking at just what happened at the Branch Davidian compound in Mt Carmel, Texas in 1993 when the FBI and ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) created a siege with tragic results (86 members of the Branch Davidian organisation lost their lives) at the compound of a religious group who were believed to have apocalyptic beliefs and were supposed to have a huge stockpile of weapons.

SO IS IT ANY GOOD?

No one who saw the incredible events unfolding on live TV of the Waco siege back in 1993 will ever forget the images as they unfurled.

This stunning documentary made in 1997 manages to shed a lot of new light on the subject. The doco leans heavily on the side of the Davidians taking pot shots at every aspect of the Government’s angle that Koresh and his followers were highly dangerous, this seems to not be the case, yes the Davidians had views that didn’t match up to the norm but then so do an awful lot of religious groups. On the down side the doco is very one sided in favour of the Davidians but then again so much of what the FBI claimed to have as evidence has since gone missing(or they never really had it in the first place?)

There are a lot of uncomfortable moments in Waco especially in the footage of the burnt up Davidians which are difficult to sit through but it is a totally engrossing watch, still totally relevant especially in the wake of the Iraqi prisoners scandal when similar tactics were deployed, it all goes to show that your notion of freedom is just that, a notion and can always depend on your government to take the worst line possible in any given situation. One of the main conclusions you draw from watching Waco : The Rules of Engagement is that the ATF really mounted the operation to improve their dodgy image (and failed in spectacular fashion of course).

ANY SPECIAL FEATURES?

Plenty of extras including infra red footage of the raid, extended 911 calls from the Davidians, a look at some of those who survived, the theatrical trailer and a promo reel for other “True Stories” documentaries.