A & E Home Video | 2009 | 94 mins. | Not Rated
Forty years after Charles Manson and his “family” terrorized Los Angeles, committing the infamous Tate-La Bianca murders among others, their story still garners a lot of interest today. First aired earlier this summer on The History Channel, Manson: 40 Years Later examines the nine months leading up to the Tate/LaBianca murders. Part documentary, part dramatization, director Neil Rawles weaves reenactments with voiceover interviews to tell the tale, wisely avoiding any of the mythology that has sprung up around Charles Manson in the ensuing years.
Though titled Manson, the docu-drama is a firsthand account by former Manson family member Linda Kasabian. Kasabian was at the scene of the Tate murders, as lookout and getaway driver, as well as fellow Manson family member Catherine Share, and features interviews with Vincent Bugliosi, the lead prosecutor who wrote Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders, and Deborah Tate, Sharon Tate’s sister.
A more apt title for this film would be Linda Kasabian: 40 Years Later since it follows her and her young son’s meeting Manson and acceptance into his “family,” her experiences leading up to and during the murders, and ending with her press conference after Charles Manson and her accomplices were found guilty of murder.
Anyone looking for up-to-date photos of Manson best look elsewhere; he is only shown in old file tapes, along with other well known followers Tex Watson, Susan Atkins, Leslie Van Houten and others. Viewers with limited knowledge about Manson, his “family” and the events of August 9-10, 1969, will find this film of interest. For those that don’t know, it’s Manson’s quasi-showbiz connections that make him far more fascinating than he has a right to be. An aspiring songwriter, he was an acquaintance of Beach Boy Dennis Wilson; The Beach Boys actually released a Manson song, originally titled “Cease To Exist”, but reworked as “Never Learn Not To Love”, as a single B-side.
Further, Wilson introduced Manson to Terry Melcher, son of screen legend Doris Day and a successful record producer. Though Melcher gave Manson an audition, he didn’t sign him to a recording contract. Whether it was a coincidence or not, Melcher briefly lived at 10050 Cielo Drive which he shared with his then girlfriend, Candice Bergen (Murphy Brown), later the site of the Tate murder.
Manson: 40 Years Later suggests that Manson’s anger toward society was inflamed by his inability to break into the music business; therefore he sent Kasabian, Tex Watson, Susan Atkins and Patricia Krenwinkel to the Cielo Drive to kill anyone there, believing Melcher was still in residence.
His followers did as they were told. Over two horrific nights, the Manson “family” killed seven people. The first night’s victims included Tate, who was eight and a half months pregnant; Wojciech Frykowski and his girlfriend, coffee heiress Abigail Folger; hairstylist Jay Sebring; and Steve Parent, a friend of the estate’s caretaker.
The Manson “family” struck again the following night. Manson, Watson, Atkins, Kasabian, Krenwinkel and two others—Clem Grogan and Leslie Van Houten—entered the home of grocery store executive Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary. The couple was stabbed nearly 100 times. The brutality of the Tate-LaBianca killings is emphasized by the film’s use of real crime-scene photographs.
Manson: 40 Years Later is worth watching if you want a basic overview of the Manson family crimes. The film doesn’t delve deeply into Manson motivations or what led these women to take up with him and sacrifice so much of their lives; it’s mostly about how the horrific murders were planned and carried out, told from Linda Kasabian’s perspective.
For a nonanamorphic image, the picture is otherwise solid, with strong lines, rich colors and inky blacks.
The audio is delivered via a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack and does the job. No subtitles are available.
There are no special features.
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