History Film / GuyanaTragedyTheStoryOfJimJones

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: While this film was generally a good ShownTheirWork example, it stretched the truth a bit in some parts.
** A big one is that Stephan Jones,[[note]]Who was in the Guyanese capital of Georgetown competing in a basketball tournament on November 18, 1978 and became one of a handful of Temple survivors.[[/note]] the biological son of Jim and his wife Marceline, is written out of the story, which implies that Jim fathering a child out of wedlock might've been due to frustration over a childless marriage, and also has the secondary effect of making Marceline look complicit in her husband's activities, rather than going along with them out of fear for Stephan and her other adopted children.
** Joshua James Richie, the son of Jean Richie, is unquestionably said to have been fathered by Jones. In RealLife, his counterpart John Victor Stoen had unclear paternity. Both Jones and former Jones lieutenant Tim Stoen (the husband of Jean's real counterpart Grace Stoen) claimed to be the father, and Grace was having relations with both men around the time John Victor was conceived. Tim Stoen had signed an affidavit saying Jones was the father, but he later claimed that he'd been forced to sign it under pressure.

** A big one is that Stephan Jones,[[note]]Who was in the Guyanese capital of Georgetown competing in a basketball tournament on November 18, 1978 and became one of a handful of Temple survivors.[[/note]] the biological son of Jim and his wife Marceline, is written out of the story, which has the secondary effect of making Marceline look complicit in her husband's activities, rather than going along with them out of fear for Stephan and her other adopted children.

** Joshua James Richie, the son of Jean Richie, is unquestionably shown to have been fathered by Jones. In RealLife, his counterpart John Victor Stoen had unclear paternity. Both Jones and former Jones lieutenant Tim Stoen (the husband of Jean's real counterpart Grace Stoen) claimed to be the father, and Grace was having relations with both men around the time John Victor was conceived. Tim Stoen had signed an affidavit saying Jones was the father, but he later claimed that he'd been forced to sign it under pressure.

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: While this film was generally a good ShownTheirWork example, a big example of this is that it depicts [[spoiler:the mass suicide]] taking place in broad daylight, when it actually happened after sunset.

* NoHistoricalFiguresWereHarmed: While a lot of Jones' followers get the CompositeCharacter treatment, a few are specific fictionalizations of real people, like Clayton and Jean Richie for Tim and Grace Stoen (two disaffected Jones insiders who became Jones' main antagonists), David Langtree for Larry Schacht (the resident Jonestown doctor who masterminded the poisoning method) and Larry King for Larry Layton (one of the leaders of the Temple group that opened fire at the airstrip).

* AMinorKidroduction: After prologue scenes set in 1978, it starts out with Jones' childhood in rural Indiana, where he's shown to have a rather disturbing attraction to fire-and-brimstone religion while dealing with an overbearing mother and an ill, ineffectual father.

''Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones'' is a 1980 MadeForTVMovie centered on UsefulNotes/JimJones [[HowWeGotHere from his childhood up to his death]] following his leadership of Peoples Temple. Unlike the later documentaries ''Film/{{Jonestown}}'' and ''Jonestown: Paradise Lost'', it's more of a fictionalized take on events ([[ShownTheirWork although it does contain many of the most important parts of the story]]) with some characters who are equivalents to (or [[CompositeCharacter composites of]]) actual people involved with the Temple. The film stars Creator/PowersBoothe as Jim Jones, with Creator/NedBeatty as Congressman Leo Ryan.

* CastingGag: Father Divine, a black spiritual leader whose teachings influenced Jones', is played by [[Creator/JamesEarlJones an actor also named Jim Jones]].

* ProtagonistJourneyToVillian: Jim Jones goes from being an idealistic young man wanting a fairer and more just society to a cruel and corrupt cult leader who finally [[spoiler:orders his followers to commit mass suicide]].

* CastingGag: Father Divine, a black spiritual leader whose teachings influenced Jones', is played by [[Creator/JamesEarlJones an actor]] [[NamesTheSame also named Jim Jones]].

''Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones'' is a 1980 MadeForTVMovie centered on UsefulNotes/JimJones [[HowWeGotHere from his childhood up to his death]] following his leadership of Peoples Temple. Unlike the later documentaries ''Film/{{Jonestown}}'' and ''Jonestown: Paradise Lost'', it's more of a fictionalized take on events ([[ShownTheirWork although it does contain many of the most important parts of the story]]) with some characters who are equivalents to (or [[CompositeCharacter composites of]]) actual people involved with the Temple.

* CastingGag: Father Divine, a black spiritual leader whose teachings influenced Jones', is played by [[[[Creator/JamesEarlJones an actor]] [[NamesTheSame also named Jim Jones]].

* CastingGag: Father Divine, a black spiritual leader whose teachings influenced Jones', is played by an actor also named [[Creator/JamesEarlJones Jim Jones]].

* InfantImmortality: [[spoiler:Totally averted. Children can very clearly be seen amongst those taking the poison.]]

!! Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones contains examples of:

* ShutUpHannibal: During a meeting one night, [[OnlySaneMan Richard Jefferson]] openly speaks out against Jones who has laid claim to the former's girlfriend [[{{Hypocrite}} whilst also declaring relationships forbidden]].