Customer Reviews

Biography - Charles Manson [VHS]

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THIS IS ONE OF THE BETTER BIOS FROM A&E,IN THAT IT PROBES DEEP INTO THE BACKGROUND OF SOMEONE SO MYSTERIOUS AS CHARLES MANSON.THE VIDEO RELIES HEAVILY ON INTERVIEWS WITH FAMILY MEMBERS,INCLUDING LYNETTE FROMME, LESLIE VAN HOUTEN AND PATRICIA KRENWINKEL.TATE MURDER CASE PROSECUTER VINCENT BUGLIOSI IS ALSO FEATURED.THE FILMMAKERS ASSUME YOU KNOW LITTLE ABOUT MANSON,BUT BY THE END YOU FEEL YOUVE LEARNED QUITE A BIT IN THE 50 MINUTES IT TOOK TO WATCH IT.

Charles Manson speaks of his life and crimes; cocky, sneering, and unrepentent to the end. Profiled is his troubled childhood, his early prison days, his "Haight Ashbury" period, and the murders. Also included are recollections from a childhood neighbor and parole officer, as well as matronly-looking Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, Leslie Van Houten, and Pat Krenwinkel. Highlights include Manson's confrontations with the parole board; even he realizes that that's a lost cause. A good show with a lot of insight into Charlie's madness.

You know, watching this A&E Biography video about Charles Manson has helped me to realize that I don't really find Manson all that fascinating anymore. This isn't a complex individual at all; he's just a cowardly little man, a career criminal who convinced a bunch of empty-headed young people to do his evil bidding. I don't even buy the old story that he was trying to ignite a race war; forget Helter Skelter - I think he had some of his girls commit some of the most brutal murders imaginable as nothing more than an ultimate power trip - tangible proof that he held complete control over these individuals. What I don't understand is why this despicable man has enjoyed so much face time from the media over the years.

In my opinion, you won't find any sort of deep analysis of Manson's psychotic mindset in this documentary; in fact, once the narrative finishes recounting his troubled childhood and youth up to his arrival in San Francisco in 1967, the focus shifts noticeably to the women who did Manson's dirty work for him. Patricia Krenwinkle and Leslie Van Houten receive more interview time here than Manson himself. They are identified as ex-Family members, and you wouldn't even know Van Houten was in prison judging by her attire and the nondescript background behind her. She always rubs me the wrong way, sitting there acting so sweet and gentle, taking offense not at her own bestial actions in August 1969 but only at Manson's continued refusal to take his share of the blame for the murders.

Of course, we do learn a few interesting things about Manson's background, such as his very early turn toward crime and his pattern of being passed from one reform school to another (including Boys Town, if you can believe that - but not for long, as he ran away after four days). We're told that he had a habit of committing small crimes that routinely involved the breaking of federal laws, resulting in serious punishments (as if we're supposed to feel sorry for his bad luck). According to Roger Smith, his parole officer at the time of the murders, Manson did very well in a prison course on the power of positive thinking. Perhaps the most interesting thing of all, however, is the fact that Manson and the Family actually spent a few months in the summer of 1968 living in the home of Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys, with Wilson actually giving Manson the chance to record some of the songs he had written.

The video doesn't go into great detail about the gruesome Tate/Labianca murders, presenting it mainly through the eyes of killers Krenwinkle and Van Houten, but the mere facts of the cases speak volumes. Then we're on to the circus-like trial that resulted in Manson, Krenwinkle, Van Houten, Linda Kasabian, and (in a separate trial) Tex Watson receiving the ultimate sentence (which was never carried out thanks to a stupid Supreme Court decision the following year).

If you have a basic familiarity with Charles Manson, the Family, and their crimes, I'm not sure you'll learn very much from this documentary. Manson's shooting of drug dealer Bernard Crowe on July 1, 1969 is mentioned only briefly, described as the big impetus that led Manson to put Helter Skelter in action shortly thereafter. As far as we know, this is the only murder committed by Manson's own hand, and as such I think it deserved more than a brief mention. Then there's the torture and murder of Gary Hinman by Manson and his followers in late July, which isn't even mentioned at all here. In the end, I think this video is a decent place to start for anyone unfamiliar with Charles Manson, but you'll need to look elsewhere to fill in some of the significant gaps it leaves open.

The A&E show Biography used to be a class act. Then it discovered that the tabloid approach that worked for lesser programs could help boost its own ratings. So we get dung like "True Crime Week," "Serial Killers Week," etc. Have you ever dreamed of people buying a one-hour video biography all about you? Well, you must be too good a person, because Manson has earned it instead.

Notice we never hear the word "infamous" anymore. In this age of anything-for-fame, nothing is bad as long as it makes you a household word. If you paid money for this video, you might as well have been back there at the Spahn ranch yourself, vowing to do anything for your master.