First things first...I have been interested in the Manson Murders for over two decades. I tend to give movies, art pieces on Manson a wide birth. If I gave these things a narrow birth, this would still be a fantastic film.Everything these people say this film does it does.It is a portrait of very stupid people.It is scary.And it is like hanging out with a bunch freaky murderers...But there is more. This is the only film that captures the family at it's "height". (For those of you who say there was no family I use this term to encompass the entire group that worked with Manson.) It is also a fantastic vision for why people and countries need to think on their own. These sheep who were lead to slaughter were led there because of their inability to think for themselves. Most of these people were women. We must remember that this case pre-dates the modern feminist movement by five years. So it was more likely that certain women would be able to put under the influence of a manipulative genius...or a scummy little ex-con. Not that this couldn't happen today...(except for certain sociological reasons it really actually couldn't).There is more to this case but the problem is a lot of the books on this case are badly written...so be it...my recommendations are Taming the Beast and Helter Skelter...also The Family has a ton of information but is quite simply one of the worst written books on earth.The Film gets a little lost and the end and begins to meander but one can attribute this to the druggy feel of this film rather then the fact that the filmmakers may have run out of things to say on this film.What also makes this film interesting is that most of the women do seem extremely intelligent (Mary Brunner and Gypsy should be excluded). It is too bad that these filmmakers couldn't or wouldn't get interviews with the families of these women. This would have pushed this film towards perfection maybe even making it a perfect documentary.There are also a few mysteries that go along with this film. One is why is this not a really well known documentary? Another is Why have there never been a soundtrack released and why has this never been released on DVD officially? Also there is the murder of one of the filmmakers in the parking lot of an acting school that Sharon Tate had attended. Also there have never been any interviews of the filmmakers and there never seems to be any evidence of say the critical reviews of this film. We must remember this film was nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary so someone seems to have seen this film. I guess no one wanted to discuss it.If you are thinking of buying this film go for it...you wouldn't regret it... it will chill you to the bone and make you laugh because of it's narration...

"Manson" is a sad, disturbing film. It's horrible enough to hear the details of the Tate/LaBianca murders being recounted and to see the vicious, empty look in the eyes of Charlie's girls as they brandish guns and spout their guru's "philosophy"...but that's not all this documentary has to offer. Indeed, it poses a question of even greater importance than Manson's crimes: what happened in the '60s? Why did it all end so badly? The soundtrack, performed by former Family members "Little" Paul Watkins (at one time Manson's right-hand man) and Brooks Poston, consists of slow, slightly corny-sounding, but haunting and utterly apt acoustic songs. "Have you ever wondered what you were here for?" Watkins solemnly intones during the opening theme. "Have you ever wondered, 'Is there more?'" Later, talking about his involvement with Manson, Watkins says frankly, "I thought Charlie was Jesus." It is at this point that the sociological question which meanders its way through the film like a deep, dark river becomes apparent: what made these young people feel so lost and confused that they needed a Christ-figure, and what made them believe that Charles Manson was the messiah they sought? I'm afraid that we lost the last of our innocence and goodwill at the end of the '60s...and that if we do not examine how flower power, peace symbols and the Monterey Pop Festival led to sleaze, the Manson murders and Altamont in the space of just two short years, we'll never get it back.

While "Manson" does not contain any really new information about the infamous Manson murders, it does contain lots of new information about who the family is, their "Helter Skelter" plan, and what they are doing today (circa 1972)."Manson" is a bit hard to find on video, but when I found it, I bought it and loved it! I had read "Helter Skelter" about 8 times and knew just about everything about the Manson case. I finally was able to see the twisted Family members being interviewed, shown skinny-dipping and sewing, dancing around, and having sex! Squeaky Fromme, Sandy Good, Nancy Pittman, Capistrano, Mary Brunner, Clem, Bruce Davis, Charles Manson, and plenty of witnesses are interviewed, giving grotesquely fascinating details about life in the Family. This is just too good to miss, any true crime buff or anyone who wants to be scared by something that REALLY happened, see this. It will give you the shivers. Features Manson and his Family singing "Never Say Never to Always" and two former Family members doing the rest of the fantastic music.

This was a documentary and not a movie, but it was a damn good documentary. It really makes you think about Western Civilization and the problems of America. It was just sick, but also it was true.