Inside The Manson Gang (2007)

Load of rubbish!!

The first must-see film of the year.

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

This is terrible. It's worse than a made-for-TV movie. It is actually unwatchable. The narrator unbearable. His delivery is so contrived and overwrought it's ridiculous. I tried skimming through because the archive footage is interesting but he totally ruins it. Waste of time and potentially great material. If the original material can be reused then it would be worth your time, but in it's current state, it's laughable. I am amazed that an experienced filmmaker would make this, let alone think it was good. It doesn't shed any light, or provide any new insight into the mindset of the perpetrators or their daily life before or after the murders. It makes a mockery of the seriousness of the crimes and their impact, as well as the history of the "family".

Hendrickson's 1973 documentary "Manson" was very good, mainly for its interviews with key family members, and for keeping in mind that it was, precisely, a documentary. For me, this new attempt "Inside the Manson gang" was a huge disappointment. There is some good stuff, most of it looking obviously as unused footage from "Manson", and though it jumps too fast from one situation to another without resolution, it's good to see some outtakes. On the other hand, the riot scenes from anti Vietnam demonstrations seem like fillers. But what really spoils this is the director's voice over narration, who in my opinion treats the audience like idiots by attempting to turn it into a horror movie (music and all). And what's worse, whenever he claims to be in serious danger, nothing ever happens. Stick to the original "Manson" and you'll be OK.

This documentary is basically unused footage while Hendrickson was shooting the award winning Manson documentary in the very early 1970's.The documentary takes you from the beginning- right after the Barker Ranch Raid at Spahn Ranch right up after the convictions and penalty phases. Some of the most candid interviews and footage of Manson Family members that we never heard much about as they do daily things around the ranch including bathing, swimming, eating, garbage picking, dancing and playing music with an overdub of director Hendrickson telling you the story of what was going on at the time.During the documentary we get to spend time with people like Bruce Davis, Clem Grogan (both convicted murderers), Mary Brunner, Cappy Gillies, Nancy Pitman, Squeaky, Blue, and some of the lesser known members like Juan Flynn, Rocky Morglea, Mark Ross, and so on.All in all, it was a captivating film with a very ominous tone throughout. Sometimes Hendrickson's narration was a bit annoying, trying to make parks seem more eerie than they were, but it did not take anything away.This is an essential documentary for anyone who followed/follows the Manson case.

"Inside the MANSON Gang" has not been distributed to theaters YET. Instead, Tobann International Pictures is experimenting with a new method of marketing: Limited Edition, personalized and signed DVDs that can be purchased directly from the filmmaker. Each DVD and each cover insert is signed by Robert Hendrickson. Each cover will also have the name of the purchaser hand printed right along with the filmmaker. These exclusive DVDs are available right on Amazon.com. Just type in MANSON DVD in Amazon's search block. Plus, you can also purchase a Limited Editon DVD of the classic 1973 Manson documentary in the same way. This is the first authorized release of the 1973 MANSON on DVD and the only ones mastered in wide screen format, just as the film played in theaters all across America decades ago. You can also have these special DVDs issued personally to someone you want to gift for the holidays. IE: Their name will be hand printed right on the DVD covers. Just make sure you let us know, when you order through Amazon, what name you want on the DVD covers. What a gift for that someone special who wants to relive the wild and crazy 1960's. To everyone from Tobann International: Happy Holidays