Waco: The Rules of Engagement. USA 1997. Directed by William Gazecki

Like the William Gazecki's Crop Circles : Quest for Truth, his directorial debut Waco: The Rules of Engagement left me quietly think for a long time what I had just seen. In both cases, some of my beliefs and prejudgments dramatically changed. First I thought that every crop circle on earth is made by human touch. Second I thought David Koresh was a total lunatic. Now I think quite differently.

In 2 hours and 16 minutes, William Gazecki constructs a amazing, strong documentary with a story media never told us in 1993, when David Koresh and his followers burned alive in Davidians' commune Mt. Carmel in Waco, Texas USA. First the viewer gets impression that Davidians are cult religion wacko's but after a while you're about to realize that they were and are pretty harmless bunch of religious sect. Then, one by one, Gazecki shows facts and interviews a variety of persons with different beliefs of Koresh and his friends. Some questions left answered, like the incest / pedophile accusations but everyone can make their own conclusions on the basis of this film. The conspiracy before, during and after the siege of Mt. Carmel is the prime subject of Waco : The Rules of Engagement. When you see the court room scenes, you are forgetting the fact that this really happened. In real life.

What's important, is that the director uses the research material by Michael McNulty as basis for the film in a way that there is nothing left to say. The amount of proofs and facts is astounding. Gazecki's film was nominated for best feature documentary in 1998 Academy Awards. It is no wonder, W:TROE is that good. One of the most important documentaries of our time.

DVD release of New Yorker Video includes also interesting extra material like the disturbing 9/11 call of one of the Davidians and additional FLIR (infrared camera) footage.