Rating: 
Summary: Great leap forward to DVD
Review: "Helter-Skelter", the excellent TV mini-series based on the Tate-LoBianco murders in 1969, has finally been released in its entirety on DVD and the result is worth waiting for. Technically, it's one of the better DVD's this reviewer has seen in quite a while. The format reproduces the 1.33:1 video aspect of the original TV film and the colors are true to life. The audio quality is clear and sharp. This DVD is a treat to watch and listen to.The film relates the horrendous events of the nights of August 8-9, 1969, when seven people turned up murdered for seemingly no reason: five people (six, if you count Sharon Tate's expected child, two months away from being born) at 10050 Cielo Drive, the home Tate shared with her husband, the movie director Roman Polanski, and Rosemary and Leno LoBianco the next night in the Los Feliz section of Los Angeles. The victims were shot and slashed to death, and political slogans were written on the walls and fridigaire in their own blood. There are no initial clues and no suspects, until the connection is made to a prisoner named Bobby Beausoleil who committed a similar homicide. Gradually, the trail leads back to a group of demented hippies living on a dilapidated ranch under the leadership of a charismatic drifter named Charles Manson. As the evidence builds and three young women are arrested, there is a lot of talk about "love" and "surrender" and "Charlie is Jesus Christ" to emphasize how completely these young people have fallen under Manson's domination, but the film pulls no punches and makes no excuses; this is a wolf pack of cold-blooded killers. This isn't some group of free-love hippies; these people can -- and do -- murder anyone who crosses them, including one of Manson's own defense attorneys, with about as much compunction as a killing machine. George DiCenzo ably plays the dual roles of narrator and lead prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi, who comes across in the film as more likeable and less full of himself than he does in his book from which this film was adapted. The actresses playing Susan Atkins, Leslie Van Houten and Patricia Krenwinkel are all excellent; we look into their eyes and see hell. But whoever cast Steve Railsback in the role of Charles Manson deserves a special award for the casting coup of the decade. Railsback is unbelievable as Manson, with whom he shares an almost frightening resemblance, staring at the viewer with those insane eyes. Railsback actually has little to say in the film, compared to some of the other characters, but those mesmerizing snake-eyes say everything. The film's coda is scary in itself; DiCenzo as the narrator, informing the viewer that California outlawed the death penalty that Manson and his crew so richly deserved and got, and that their automatic sentences of life imprisonment were up for parole review in 1978, or only two years from the date the film was shown on TV. Watching this movie again, and recalling the ghastly events of those two nights in August of 1969, we breathe a sigh of relief that almost 35 years later, the Tate-LoBianco killers are still behind bars.
Rating:
Summary: Great leap forward to DVD
Review: "Helter-Skelter", the excellent TV mini-series based on the Tate-LoBianco murders in 1969, has finally been released in its entirety on DVD and the result is worth waiting for. Technically, it's one of the better DVD's this reviewer has seen in quite a while. The format reproduces the 1.33:1 video aspect of the original TV film and the colors are true to life. The audio quality is clear and sharp. This DVD is a treat to watch and listen to. The film relates the horrendous events of the nights of August 8-9, 1969, when seven people turned up murdered for seemingly no reason: five people (six, if you count Sharon Tate's expected child, two months away from being born) at 10050 Cielo Drive, the home Tate shared with her husband, the movie director Roman Polanski, and Rosemary and Leno LoBianco the next night in the Los Feliz section of Los Angeles. The victims were shot and slashed to death, and political slogans were written on the walls and fridigaire in their own blood. There are no initial clues and no suspects, until the connection is made to a prisoner named Bobby Beausoleil who committed a similar homicide. Gradually, the trail leads back to a group of demented hippies living on a dilapidated ranch under the leadership of a charismatic drifter named Charles Manson. As the evidence builds and three young women are arrested, there is a lot of talk about "love" and "surrender" and "Charlie is Jesus Christ" to emphasize how completely these young people have fallen under Manson's domination, but the film pulls no punches and makes no excuses; this is a wolf pack of cold-blooded killers. This isn't some group of free-love hippies; these people can -- and do -- murder anyone who crosses them, including one of Manson's own defense attorneys, with about as much compunction as a killing machine. George DiCenzo ably plays the dual roles of narrator and lead prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi, who comes across in the film as more likeable and less full of himself than he does in his book from which this film was adapted. The actresses playing Susan Atkins, Leslie Van Houten and Patricia Krenwinkel are all excellent; we look into their eyes and see hell. But whoever cast Steve Railsback in the role of Charles Manson deserves a special award for the casting coup of the decade. Railsback is unbelievable as Manson, with whom he shares an almost frightening resemblance, staring at the viewer with those insane eyes. Railsback actually has little to say in the film, compared to some of the other characters, but those mesmerizing snake-eyes say everything. The film's coda is scary in itself; DiCenzo as the narrator, informing the viewer that California outlawed the death penalty that Manson and his crew so richly deserved and got, and that their automatic sentences of life imprisonment were up for parole review in 1978, or only two years from the date the film was shown on TV. Watching this movie again, and recalling the ghastly events of those two nights in August of 1969, we breathe a sigh of relief that almost 35 years later, the Tate-LoBianco killers are still behind bars.
Rating:
Summary: I wouldn`t use the word great or classic, but.....
Review: ... because the subject is a gruesome one.... However. It is an electrifying experience watching this movie... I saw it in the 80s... and it still is as potent as it used to be.... Steve Railsback may overplay at times but overrall - a GREAT achivement and it should be released over and over ..... It really speaks from the graves of Sharon, Voytek, Abigail, Steven, Jay, Hinman, the LaBiancas, Shorty etc... etc... Who KNOWS really... how long the "etc" goes on????
Rating:
Summary: A Chilling True-Crime Classic! First-Class DVD!
Review: 1976's "Helter Skelter" is an intense and quite suspenseful TV movie, starring Steve Railsback, who is so good as Charles Manson, it's rather eerie. The film also stars George DiCenzo, as Los Angeles prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi. The tele-film is based on Mr. Bugliosi's best-selling true-crime novel of the same title. The film is told in semi-documentary style (with DiCenzo doubling as narrator throughout the movie). It begins with a very spine-chilling scene in the early-morning hours of August 9, 1969, in Los Angeles, California. We hear multiple gunshots from a distance. Gunshots which emanated from nearby 10050 Cielo Drive, the home of movie director Roman Polanski and his pregnant wife, 26-year-old actress Sharon Tate. The gunshots were fired by a member of Charles Manson's so-called "Family". And so began one of the most bizarre chapters in the history of crime -- a senseless massacre, claiming the lives of seven innocent people, that became commonly known as the "Tate/LaBianca Murders". Manson's "zombie" killers racked up five murders at the Tate residence, and the next night went out and killed two more people they had never met, Mr. and Mrs. LaBianca, at 3301 Waverly Drive, in another part of Los Angeles (Los Feliz). (In my own view, Manson and his team of brainwashed murderers should *really* have been charged with EIGHT killings in August 1969. Number eight being the unborn child of Sharon Tate.) The film recreates the discovery of the two grisly murder scenes with nerve-wracking effectiveness, but without showing too much gore, which is all the better (as well as tasteful). But the fact that this was a 1976 made-for-TV feature no doubt limited the filmmakers with regard to showing material of an overly-graphic nature. The story of the brutal killings and the lengthy court trial that followed is detailed very well in this rarely-seen, full-length (184-minute) DVD version of "Helter Skelter". The previous video (VHS) release of the film only ran a paltry 119 minutes, with (obviously) many scenes cut from the original print. The movie was originally shown as a "2-Parter" on network television, with a total running time of 194 minutes (10 minutes longer than what we get on this DVD). But, despite missing ten minutes, we're not really losing any relative scenes or information. Because the ten minutes that are missing are simply "recap" scenes that were used for the network telecast in order to re-acquaint viewers with the storyline and previous "Part 1" scenes. Plus, also trimmed from the DVD version is a needless "end credits from Part 1" sequence. Therefore, this 184-minute version of the film *is*, in effect, the "complete" film (when taken in the context of a "one-part" motion picture, rather than a two-parter). The icing on this movie's cake is the brilliant and highly-effective music score by Billy Goldenberg. Goldenberg's unsettling score evokes a feeling of uneasiness and is downright scary in many instances during the film. Mr. Goldenberg was one busy music composer in the 1970s. He wrote musical themes to many TV shows during that era -- including: "Rhoda", "Night Gallery", "Banacek", "Kojak", "Harry O", and lots of others. The DVD's aspect ratio is Full-Frame (1.33:1), as originally shown on TV. Video quality on this disc looks very sharp and clear. I am extremely pleased with the picture quality. There's an occasional blemish, artifact, or dust speckle, but not very many. Certainly not enough to create a distraction. In fact, even the nighttime images in the film (which can often look "grainy" on an older movie) exhibit excellent clarity here, with very little grain visible. I've found that another good "test" of a DVD's picture quality (that's worked well for me) is the "Freeze Frame Test". Try "freezing" any image on the DVD. Does the stilled picture become blurry, distorted-looking, and fuzzy? If it can't be "frozen" without blurring (or minimal blurring), then I'd give that DVD video transfer a lower mark on the old "PQ Scorecard" than a more solid transfer where the picture can be paused and frozen in near-perfect clarity. "Helter Skelter", in my view, passes the "Freeze Test" very nicely. Non-moving images on screen can be paused with little or no blurriness resulting. In short, this DVD offers up a very good Digital transfer for a TV-Movie made in 1976. This snazzy-looking DVD version of "Helter Skelter" makes my ultra-poor, third-generation VHS copy of the film look mighty crummy indeed! Needless to say, that VHS video is now destined for the scrap pile. The soundtrack offered up here is a 1.0 Dolby Digital Mono track; and it's quite adequate (although a small amount of "ghosting" is evident during some parts of the film). Mr. Goldenberg's shiver-inducing musical score comes through just fine via this mono presentation. And all dialogue sounds distinct, clear, and is easily understood. Extra Features .... There are none (unless you want to count subtitles, which are included -- in English, French, and Spanish). But this lack of extras doesn't disappoint me greatly. Just getting this excellent TV film in top-quality Digital form on DVD is enough for me. (Although I would have *loved* a commentary by the real-life Manson prosecutor, Vince Bugliosi. But I figured that was too much to hope for. And it was.) Menus .... The menus for "Helter Skelter" are "static" (non-animated) ones, with the Main Menu being accompanied by a variation of the eerie music score. Unfortunately, this is one of those discs where the movie begins playing all by itself after the Main Menu has been on screen for 30 seconds (which is common, it seems, with a lot of Warner Bros. DVDs). If you're a fan of "true crime" tales, then this DVD should definitely find its way into your Digital Library. Part documentary, part thriller, part drama, part horror film, and ALL true -- "Helter Skelter" is a true nail-biter.
Rating:
Summary: A Chilling True-Crime Classic! First-Class DVD!
Review: 1976's "Helter Skelter" is an intense and quite suspenseful TV movie, starring Steve Railsback, who is so good as Charles Manson, it's rather eerie. The film also stars George DiCenzo, as Los Angeles prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi. The tele-film is based on Mr. Bugliosi's best-selling true-crime novel of the same title. The film is told in semi-documentary style (with DiCenzo doubling as narrator throughout the movie). It begins with a very spine-chilling scene in the early-morning hours of August 9, 1969, in Los Angeles, California. We hear multiple gunshots from a distance. Gunshots which emanated from nearby 10050 Cielo Drive, the home of movie director Roman Polanski and his pregnant wife, 26-year-old actress Sharon Tate. The gunshots were fired by a member of Charles Manson's so-called "Family". And so began one of the most bizarre chapters in the history of crime -- a senseless massacre, claiming the lives of seven innocent people, that became commonly known as the "Tate/LaBianca Murders". Manson's "zombie" killers racked up five murders at the Tate residence, and the next night went out and killed two more people they had never met, Mr. and Mrs. LaBianca, at 3301 Waverly Drive, in another part of Los Angeles (Los Feliz). (In my own view, Manson and his team of brainwashed murderers should *really* have been charged with EIGHT killings in August 1969. Number eight being the unborn child of Sharon Tate.) The film recreates the discovery of the two grisly murder scenes with nerve-wracking effectiveness, but without showing too much gore, which is all the better (as well as tasteful). But the fact that this was a 1976 made-for-TV feature no doubt limited the filmmakers with regard to showing material of an overly-graphic nature. The story of the brutal killings and the lengthy court trial that followed is detailed very well in this rarely-seen, full-length (184-minute) DVD version of "Helter Skelter". The previous video (VHS) release of the film only ran a paltry 119 minutes, with (obviously) many scenes cut from the original print. The movie was originally shown as a "2-Parter" on network television, with a total running time of 194 minutes (10 minutes longer than what we get on this DVD). But, despite missing ten minutes, we're not really losing any relative scenes or information. Because the ten minutes that are missing are simply "recap" scenes that were used for the network telecast in order to re-acquaint viewers with the storyline and previous "Part 1" scenes. Plus, also trimmed from the DVD version is a needless "end credits from Part 1" sequence. Therefore, this 184-minute version of the film *is*, in effect, the "complete" film (when taken in the context of a "one-part" motion picture, rather than a two-parter). The icing on this movie's cake is the brilliant and highly-effective music score by Billy Goldenberg. Goldenberg's unsettling score evokes a feeling of uneasiness and is downright scary in many instances during the film. Mr. Goldenberg was one busy music composer in the 1970s. He wrote musical themes to many TV shows during that era -- including: "Rhoda", "Night Gallery", "Banacek", "Kojak", "Harry O", and lots of others. The DVD's aspect ratio is Full-Frame (1.33:1), as originally shown on TV. Video quality on this disc looks very sharp and clear. I am extremely pleased with the picture quality. There's an occasional blemish, artifact, or dust speckle, but not very many. Certainly not enough to create a distraction. In fact, even the nighttime images in the film (which can often look "grainy" on an older movie) exhibit excellent clarity here, with very little grain visible. I've found that another good "test" of a DVD's picture quality (that's worked well for me) is the "Freeze Frame Test". Try "freezing" any image on the DVD. Does the stilled picture become blurry, distorted-looking, and fuzzy? If it can't be "frozen" without blurring (or minimal blurring), then I'd give that DVD video transfer a lower mark on the old "PQ Scorecard" than a more solid transfer where the picture can be paused and frozen in near-perfect clarity. "Helter Skelter", in my view, passes the "Freeze Test" very nicely. Non-moving images on screen can be paused with little or no blurriness resulting. In short, this DVD offers up a very good Digital transfer for a TV-Movie made in 1976. This snazzy-looking DVD version of "Helter Skelter" makes my ultra-poor, third-generation VHS copy of the film look mighty crummy indeed! Needless to say, that VHS video is now destined for the scrap pile. The soundtrack offered up here is a 1.0 Dolby Digital Mono track; and it's quite adequate (although a small amount of "ghosting" is evident during some parts of the film). Mr. Goldenberg's shiver-inducing musical score comes through just fine via this mono presentation. And all dialogue sounds distinct, clear, and is easily understood. Extra Features .... There are none (unless you want to count subtitles, which are included -- in English, French, and Spanish). But this lack of extras doesn't disappoint me greatly. Just getting this excellent TV film in top-quality Digital form on DVD is enough for me. (Although I would have *loved* a commentary by the real-life Manson prosecutor, Vince Bugliosi. But I figured that was too much to hope for. And it was.) Menus .... The menus for "Helter Skelter" are "static" (non-animated) ones, with the Main Menu being accompanied by a variation of the eerie music score. Unfortunately, this is one of those discs where the movie begins playing all by itself after the Main Menu has been on screen for 30 seconds (which is common, it seems, with a lot of Warner Bros. DVDs). If you're a fan of "true crime" tales, then this DVD should definitely find its way into your Digital Library. Part documentary, part thriller, part drama, part horror film, and ALL true -- "Helter Skelter" is a true nail-biter.
Rating:
Summary: THIS Is the Helter Skelter that most have been looking for!
Review: A few years ago, when a terrible DVD called "Helter Skelter Murders" was released many people purchased it thinking it was this version. This was made for T.V. as a mini-series in 1976 and while tame it managed to be explosive with right on portrayals of the imfamous Manson Family. I was so scarred of the actor playing Manson and his freakish eyes that I was literally traumatized (like some kids get when they watch their 1st horror movies). The sad AND Unbelievable part was, of course, that this all really happened. The funny thing is the timing for this DVD release, considering that Helter Skelter is being remade as a T.V. movie. Hopefully any review will remember it for the tragedy that it was and that to this day the victim's families have not forgotten that this crazy man was able to destroy their lives. Note: to any Manson "fans", please do not waste precious time and space with defending him, that would be truly pathetic and you know it! I felt compelled to add that after reading some of the "reviews" for the Helter Skelter Murders and for actually meeting someone who is family with one of the victims.
Rating:
Summary: One of The Best TV Mini-Series
Review: About time for this one to hit DVD (wonder when they will release James Michener's Space!!!!). Steve Railsback's portrayal of Manson was right on the money as was George Dicenzo's portrayal of the prosecutorial genius, Vincent Bugliosi. The look in Railsback's eyes is one that sends shivers up the spine. The true story of the end of the 1960's hippie movement.
Rating:
Summary: A Faithful Adaption
Review: After sitting through three hours of the horrible CBS remake of this movie (May 2004), I am pleased to see that the original is available on DVD. This movie more accurately portrays the details of the book and is more faithful adaptation. And, all of the actors do an outstanding job of portraying the real-life villains and heroes. Still, to really appreciate the horrors of the Tate-LaBianca murders and the subsequent efforts to find and convict the killers, you have to read the book.
Rating: 
Summary: What's With The Censoring???
Review: Bought this TV classic, which has been LONG OVERDUE for DVD release, and was EXTREMELY dissapointed to find it has been censored. Yes, censored. I have a copy of the original 2-part on VHS, and I was stunned to find out that this DVD release is censored. The cops raid Manson and his family at Spahn's Ranch and have gathered them up in a circle, with Charlie in the center. The cops bring in a handcuffed Shorty, who claims he's not part of the family. He offers to tell the police what he knows, which brings out jeers of SNITCH from the famlily. Charlie looks up an says, "It's not nice to snitch, Shorty." Shorty promptly replies, "Go f*** yourself, Charlie. This DVD version has Shorty instead saying "Horse manure." When Bugliosi is interviewing Paul Watkins (the man who first explains to Vince what Helter Skelter means), he says that people are "scared s***less." This is painfully dubbed over with a cough. The biggest dissapointment was in that during the trail, when Linda Kasabian is testifiying about the Tate murders, the scenes of carnage (which had previously been seen clearly) are shown with Kasabian and Bugliosi super-imposed. My question is, why? This DVD would have been an instant 5, but I felt as though I was watching a version of "Cannonball Run" on TV. This DVD release does not do this film justice. You do not get the full impact of this powerful film due to the censorship. Very puzzling.
Rating:
Summary: What's With The Censoring???
Review: Bought this TV classic, which has been LONG OVERDUE for DVD release, and was EXTREMELY dissapointed to find it has been censored. Yes, censored. I have a copy of the original 2-part on VHS, and I was stunned to find out that this DVD release is censored. The cops raid Manson and his family at Spahn's Ranch and have gathered them up in a circle, with Charlie in the center. The cops bring in a handcuffed Shorty, who claims he's not part of the family. He offers to tell the police what he knows, which brings out jeers of SNITCH from the famlily. Charlie looks up an says, "It's not nice to snitch, Shorty." Shorty promptly replies, "Go f*** yourself, Charlie. This DVD version has Shorty instead saying "Horse manure." When Bugliosi is interviewing Paul Watkins (the man who first explains to Vince what Helter Skelter means), he says that people are "scared s***less." This is painfully dubbed over with a cough. The biggest dissapointment was in that during the trail, when Linda Kasabian is testifiying about the Tate murders, the scenes of carnage (which had previously been seen clearly) are shown with Kasabian and Bugliosi super-imposed. My question is, why? This DVD would have been an instant 5, but I felt as though I was watching a version of "Cannonball Run" on TV. This DVD release does not do this film justice. You do not get the full impact of this powerful film due to the censorship. Very puzzling.
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