This documentary, written and directed by Alex Gibney, may not be the boldest and bravest TV offering ever to probe, recount and question the basic tenets of Scientology (that distinction, believe it or not, still goes to an episode of
South Park), but it’s close. In this potent two-hour study, Gibney’s strongest and most memorable segments involve one of two factors: new interviews with former Scientologists, including Oscar-winning screenwriter Paul Haggis, and vintage interviews, unearthed by Gibney, with Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard himself. Tom Cruise is shown in vintage interviews and footage, but does not participate in this new documentary, which is thought-provoking and, at times, disturbing. For a full review, see
Ed Bark’s Uncle Barky’s Bytes.