Product Details

• Actors: Zeena LaVey, Charles Manson, James N. Mason
• Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Screen Edge
• DVD Release Date: September 17, 2002
• Run Time: 100 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00006FD9U
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #181,548 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Charles Manson - Superstar" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Studio: Music Video Dist Release Date: 09/17/2002 Run time: 90 minutes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but...., February 23, 2004

By 

Shawn Sutherland (Dallas, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Charles Manson - Superstar (DVD)

The best "review" of this film is found on the DVD casing itself, which includes filmmaker Nikolas Schreck's 2002 concession that, since having made the film in the late 1980s, "I have learned much more concerning the actual facts of the Manson murders than I knew when this film was made. In light of this more accurate information, it is obvious to me that I presented several wrong conclusions in 'Charles Manson Superstar.' Were I to make this film now, I would have asked Manson very different questions than I did at the time. For example, I have heard credible evidence that indicates that Manson may well have been present at the scene of the murders and may have been far more involved in the crimes themselves than even his most vociferous critics have claimed. Therefore, I no longer believe that Manson was the innocent martyr he presented himself to be."

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not what it tries to be, May 15, 2006

By 

East Bay Vinny - See all my reviews

This review is from: Charles Manson - Superstar (DVD)

In this interview, producer Nikolas Schrek frames Manson as an iconic and misunderstood victim. On that level, of course, this is pure bosh. Some of the supporting historical information presented here about the "Family" and the murders is accurate but available in more detail and better format elsewhere. In other places, the filmmaker either deliberately slants or just doesn't have his facts straight. The sound and video quality of this product are low-budget and nominal.

So, why did i give this four stars? Because it provides more or less unfettered access into the mind of a pure criminal psychopath, and a very influential one at that. Charles Manson has touched the minds of many people and it behooves us as a society to try to understand how such a person can influence others. The interview should be mandatory watching for criminal psychologists and anyone involved in gang prevention or caring for juvenile delinquents.

I should add a few caveats here. If you're not familiar with the Manson case, this is not a good place to start. Pick up the Bugliosi book, maybe watch one of the TV movies based on it (both are good, not great). There are other books out there, but Bugliosi's "Helter Skelter" presents what are accepted as the facts of the case better than any of them by far. Extremely sensitive or impressionable people should probably do themselves a favor and not watch this DVD at all.

The history of the Manson cult and murders is really a fascinating one: the Beach Boys, the Beatles, Summer of Love, Berkeley free speech movement, the hippie/commune lifestyle, and (of course) lots of LSD all come together in the grisly story which brought the 60's to a tumultuous close. This interview does provide a new vision into what made helter skelter happen in 1969.

15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but not "good.", June 14, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Charles Manson Superstar [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This documentary is for people interested in the person Charles Manson, not in actual facts about the case, since they tend to take Manson's word for fact. However, it is fascinating to watch Manson interact with the interviewer & prison guards; it gives a little insight into how he charms and/or frightens people. The video and audio quality are bad (sometimes you can't hear the narration above the booming bad music). The director/narrator/writer says that in researching Manson, "One is usually forced to read between the lines of the author's self-service." I couldn't have said it better myself.