Nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary in 1997, Waco: The Rules Of Engagement is a muckraking condemnation of the government's handling of its 1993 raid on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas. By now, most people are familiar with the ATF's account of the raid, but Waco: The Rules Of Engagement makes a vivid and convincing argument that it lied about the case's details to the American public, then conducted an illegal raid that resulted in the wholesale slaughter of dozens of innocents. Cautiously and painstakingly ripping apart the ATF's case, filmmakers William Gazecki and Dan Gifford argue that what the Branch Davidians were doing was, while odd, creepy, and unethical, nonetheless largely within the boundaries of the law. By illustrating how language and context can have a profound effect on the way the public perceives a situation—it's a lot easier to explain away the killings of a "charismatic cult leader" and his band of "crazed cultists" than it is to explain the mass deaths of an eccentric Christian preacher and his followers—the film illustrates how the government engaged in a conspiracy to slander the Davidians while protecting itself. Masterfully using both extensive expert testimony and terrifying footage of the standoff itself (and the stomach-churning carnage it produced), director Gazecki has produced a stinging and unforgettable portrait of a government willing to trample the rights of Americans for the sake of publicity. Waco: The Rules Of Engagement is fierce, potent stuff, but for anyone concerned about the tragic consequences of governmental brutality and corruption, it should be required viewing.