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The Manson Family (2004)
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Reviews Counted:32
Fresh:22
Rotten:10
Average Rating:6.1/10
Theatrical Release:Oct 22, 2004 Limited
Synopsis: August 9 & 10, 1969. This date annually marks the anniversary of two nights of murder and mayhem historically called the Manson murders. Since that time the public and the media have never ceased... August 9 & 10, 1969. This date annually marks the anniversary of two nights of murder and mayhem historically called the Manson murders. Since that time the public and the media have never ceased in their fascination with this bizarre case. Newspapers, magazines and television all follow the continuing saga of Charles Manson and his followers. Countless books and motion pictures declare to document, "just what happened". To varying degrees, most fail. Today the Manson phenomenon is more sensational and startling than it was 30 some years ago. Enter "The Manson Family." "The Manson Family" destroys myths surrounding the incredible tale of the Manson "family." For the first time a motion picture accurately, honestly and openly explores the family's life prior to the infamous murders. "The Manson Family" is much more than an exploitation film. It interweaves the complex tale of the family and Charlie by re-enacting life at the ranch and the murders with a near-present day view of the past through the eyes of Jack Wilson, fictional television producer, as he interviews aged family members for a contemporary and upcoming TV special. We are introduced to Charlie and the family and gain an insider's view as a young Tex is initiated into the group and ultimately becomes a willing leader. As never before, "The Manson Family" graphically depicts life in the family; the free lifestyle, the sex and drugs, which ultimately lead to violence. But "The Manson Family" doesn't stop there. It places the Manson mythology and notorious killings in historical perspective by enacting modern mock video interviews of former family members as they reflect on the past. Through the investigative journalism of Jack Wilson we see the misinformation and tall tales sensational storytelling has created. Finally, through exhaustive research, we are reminded that truth is far more horrible than myth. If we don't understand and accept this truth of history, we may be forced to relive it. -- © Zukor Entertainment [More]
Director: Jim Van Bebber
Director: Jim Van Bebber
Studio: Dinsdale Releasing
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Reviews for The Manson Family
You feel sick and indicted by it--and that's exactly how you ought to feel.
...grotesquely violent, but shouldn’t a film about the Manson atrocities disgust us?
Titillation and drive-in exploitation tactics are readily employed to keep the viewer watching, with a filmmaking approach coasting along in a psychedelic documentary mode.
Helter Skelter is a song by the Beatles, a slogan adopted by the Charles Manson 'family' and a description of how disorganized The Manson Family is.
Its own mythology aside, this flamboyant, graphic and disturbing quasi-docu reenactment of a notorious chapter in U.S. counterculture life is a fascinating if peculiar accomplishment.
Van Bebber's film is tough, difficult, sporadically brilliant cinema, to be sure, and I doubt he'd have had it any other way.
More work goes into mimicking the oversaturated colors, shrill organ music and goopy gore of Grade-C 1970s horror films in a lurid yet predictable stew of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll.
Van Bebber has delivered a stylistically vigorous and often insightful piece of work.
There's no real journalism here, just the sort of appalling revisionism that can turn a bloodbath into a beach party.
Represents some kind of crazed commitment of its own to slobbering cinema of the most relentless, unpleasant sort.
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