''A.T.F.'' is a 1999 American

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

directed by

Dean Parisot Aldo Luis "Dean" Parisot (born July 6, 1952) is an American film and television director. He won the 1988 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for ''The Appointments of Dennis Jennings'', which was co-written by and starred comedian Ste ...

and written by Patricia Cornwell and Michelle Ashford, based on a story by Cornwell. The film stars

Kathy Baker } Katherine Whitton Baker (born June 8, 1950) is an American actress. Baker began her career in theater and made her screen debut in the 1983 drama film '' The Right Stuff''. She received the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Suppor ...

and Amy Brenneman as

ATF The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as the ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and preven ...

agents who work to infiltrate an armed

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

, a group which the film describes as akin to the

Branch Davidian The Branch Davidians (or the General Association of Branch Davidian Seventh-day Adventists) were an apocalyptic new religious movement founded in 1955 by Benjamin Roden. They regard themselves as a continuation of the General Association of ...

s, a religious group held off ATF agents and were later set siege to by the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the st ...

in the

Waco Siege The Waco siege, also known as the Waco massacre, was the law enforcement siege of the compound that belonged to the religious sect Branch Davidians. It was carried out by the U.S. federal government, Texas state law enforcement, and the U.S. ...

of 1993. ''A.T.F.'' was produced by

Columbia TriStar Television Columbia TriStar Television, Inc. (abbreviated as CTT) was an American television production and distribution company that was active from 1994 to 2002. It was operated as the third name of the early television studio Screen Gems and the fourth ...

as a

television pilot A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distr ...

for

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

, on which it aired on September 6, 1999.

Plot

Following the infamous tragedy in Waco, Texas, in which the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (A.T.F.) found themselves in a battle with an armed militia, the organization, led by director Maggie Hale (Kathy Baker), finds itself in a new fight. Agent Robyn O'Brien (Amy Brenneman) goes undercover to infiltrate a militia selling illegal street-sweeper guns, dismissing Hale's orders to stay away. When O'Brien gets held prisoner inside the militia's compound, the A.T.F. is left with the decision to start another Waco and attack the militia, or come up with another way to save her.

Cast

as A.T.F. Director Maggie Hale * Amy Brenneman as Agent Robin O'Brien * Vincent Angell as Agent Reeve Aquilar * Michael O'Neill as Asst. A.T.F. Director Ben Walker *

Keith David Keith David Williams (born June 4, 1956) is an American actor. He is known for his signature deep voice and commanding screen presence in over 300 roles across film, stage, television, and interactive media. He has starred in such films as '' T ...

as F.B.I Director Richard Long *

Mark Boone Junior Mark Boone Junior (born Mark Heidrich; March 17, 1955) is an American character actor, best known for his TV roles as Bobby Munson in ''Sons of Anarchy'' (2008–14) and Patrick "Pat" Brown in '' Last Man On Earth'', and film roles in Christopher ...

as Jake Neill * William Richert as Patrick McKennan * Sarah Trigger as Carol * John Philbin as Randy *

Raphael Sbarge Raphael Sbarge (born February 12, 1964) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Jake Straka on ''The Guardian'' (2001–04), Jiminy Cricket / Dr. Archibald Hopper on '' Once Upon a Time'' (2011–18) and Ins ...

as Director Hale's Assistant * John Beasley as Secretary Robert Edwards * Coby Bell as Agent Dinko Bates *

Sean Bridgers Sean MacKenzie Bridgers (born March 15, 1968) is an American actor, screenwriter, and producer, known for his role as Johnny Burns on the HBO series '' Deadwood'' and on the SundanceTV original series ''Rectify'' as Trey Willis. Additional to m ...

as Smitty

References

External links

* 1999 television films 1999 films 1990s American films 1990s English-language films ABC network original films Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in fiction Films directed by Dean Parisot Television films as pilots Television pilots not picked up as a series {{US-tv-film-stub

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links