SYNOPSICS
The Six Degrees of Helter Skelter (2009) is a English movie. Michael Dorsey has directed this movie. Ron Hale,Craig Harvey,Nikki Medlin,Scott Michaels are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2009. The Six Degrees of Helter Skelter (2009) is considered one of the best Documentary,Crime movie in India and around the world.
"The Six Degrees of Helter Skelter" walks in the footsteps of the Manson Family, visiting over 40 locations related to the infamous Tate/LaBianca murders, and tying together the dozens of odd connections between Charles Manson and the Hollywood elite. Entertainingly led by famous Hollywood historian Scott Michaels (E!'s 20 Most Horrifying Hollywood Murders, Dearly Departed: Vol. 1, FindADeath.com), this epic documentary employs never-before-seen autopsy reports (analyzed with the help of the Los Angeles Department of the Coroner), dozens of rare photographs, original Manson Family music recordings, and modern-day visits to the locations where the action went down, in the most complete retelling of the Manson Murders ever put on film.
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The Six Degrees of Helter Skelter (2009) Reviews
The Six Degrees of Helter Skelter
The Six Degrees of Helter Skelter is a slightly non-linear documentary of the Helter Skelter scenario of August 1969, executed by the one and only Manson Family. It documents the lives of the victims, what the Manson Family were up to during this period of time and other odd tidbits of information. I was always fascinated by the Manson murders, and have watched a good number of documentaries on the subject, but this one in particular sparked my interest, as I think it would any Manson fan, due to the unique presentation of the film. I rate this 8 stars out of 10 due to the wealth of odd information I had not previously known but had acquired after watching this film (and I have read Helter Skelter). But if you know nothing on the subject and have barely even heard of Charles Manson or the Tate/LaBianca murders, then you may find this to be just a little bit confusing only because they focus a great deal on little bits of odd info (ex. interviewing a man who now resides at Jay Sebring's house, or how the rumor of Sharon Tate living right across Mama Cass' house turned out to be a false one). I don't know, if you're a Manson fan, watch it. If you like true crime, watch it. If you like history, watch it. If you're 5 years old...then I guess you shouldn't watch it.
Worth Watching for Those Interested in Crimes
The Six Degrees of Helter Skelter (2009) *** (out of 4) Scott Michaels, the creator of the website Findadeath, hosts this documentary, which goes through the details of the crimes committed by Charles Manson but the highlight is the tour of the actual locations. This is an extremely uneven documentary and there's no doubt that it was cheaply produced but I think there are enough interesting things here to make it worth viewing especially for those interested in the crimes. I'm sure most people going to this film are already going to know the details of the crime so they might not enjoy sitting through them again. A large portion of the running time talks about the careers of the victims, what they were doing the day of the crimes and of course we also look at the killers and how the crimes were committed. A current coroner in Los Angeles sits down over the death reports and gives us the details of all the wounds and which ones might have been the fatal blows. The stuff dealing with Sharon Tate is always hard to listen to simply because she was pregnant and there are some pretty graphic discussions about her baby and how it could have been saved had medical attention gotten to the body faster. A warning should also be given because actual crime scene photos are shown and obviously they are quite graphic. One of the most interesting things this documentary does is has Michaels pretty much give us a tour of the events. Coming forty-years after the actual events, obviously a lot of things have changed so nothing looks exactly the same. It's still interesting to see these places and how they stand today. the documentary even shows some apartments that Tate lived in when she arrived in Hollywood as well as other locations that she and Polanski stayed at.
Six Degrees of Helter Skelter
Thorough, heavily detailed, intricately well crafted document on the events and people surrounding the LoBianco/Tate murders, with great time and effort given to the Manson clan responsible for the heinous crimes and how they were committed; but what truly compelled me was the particular devotion to the victims, such as their activities and relationships (Tate and Sebring were an item at one point), before meeting gruesome fates. Not only that, but the areas where the Manson family (and those they were involved with at points prior to the murders) frequented or "patrolled" at one point or another are visited, with determined accuracy given to their importance to the murders and the Manson clan's connection to them. The autopsy reports, explained by a coroner willing to distill them into a form we can understand, really give us a real feeling for just how vicious and maddening the murders truly were. The host (Scott Michaels, who doesn't hide his enthusiasm and passion for all things Manson family and Hollywood Death) and materials used (Helter Skelter, the novel, is a source spoken about often) define an infamous period of American history with a scholarly approach. While the budget was shoestring, like others have already pointed out well, the major appeal would have to be the return to locations (like the neighborhoods, where the Spahn Ranch once stood, and most definitely, the Barker Ranch which still remained surprisingly intact if still a bit ravaged by time and campers visiting it to stay the night (I can't imagine I would ever do that, though!) before suffering an accidental fire that gutted it). Finding Tex Watson's truck (with Healter Skelter etched on it still!) was one of the documentary's more compelling moments and a listen to Manson's crooning "Cease to Exist" as it plays on a record left me with chills. While used as a criticism towards the narrative approach for Michaels, his "inability to stay on topic" felt rather natural to me, as if he were "in the moment" which was actually a nice change from the typical "organized" documentary form of a true crime show or A&E's Biography. I felt as if I was visiting places right along with him and reacting as he might have (maybe not as excitedly, because in the back of my mind, what these people did to innocents would still remain) at discoveries that could still remain. If I had a criticism it would be towards the crime scene photographs of the murder victims; I felt the coroner and autopsy charts were sufficient enough I think showing the actual bodies of those killed was a bit too exploitative and rather desperate for shock value. How producer Evans is mentioned (he was supposed to keep a protective eye on Tate while Polanski was away in preparation for directing Day of the Dolphin in England), along with Jack Nicholson, the members of Mamas and the Papas, James Dean, and even MGM producer (and husband of Jean Harlow) Paul Bern (who was found dead from a gunshot wound, with a report confirming his death a suicide, considered perhaps staged) in correlation with events prior to and after the Tate murders add credence to the "six degrees" part of the documentary's title. This isn't just about the murders and Manson, as host Michaels himself get a rub by the documentary, showing his home, pimping his "Dearly Departed Tours" business, and allowing us to see his morbid memorabilia concerning Hollywood's dead. Two particular deaths at Charlie's urging that left me rather haunted was the murder of Shorty Shea (a Hollywood stuntman married to a black woman (which repulsed racist Charlies), who worked at the Spahn Ranch) and Steven Parent, a teenage kid with a fascination in electronics offering a radio to a potential buyer staying in a guest house nearby the eventual Mansion Family kill zone involving the Tate murders. I think "wrong place-wrong time" just kept returning to my mind as I watched this. You just sense that if "this or that" had occurred, some of these lives might could have been avoided a fate most unkind. The document of a couple who discover Tex and the girls "hosing off" the blood from the murders, the husband of the house going so far as attempting to remove the keys from their car and confronting them hostilely, and living to tell about it, really just further signifies how fate deals some a good hand, while others get the shaft. To hear that Manson and his bunch were looking to kill others, eventually caught at Barker Ranch, just cements how dangerous they really were, and that the need to remove them from society was of vital importance. Fascinating was the details, regarding Polanski and his search for Tate's murderer (even accusing John Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas!), and how the Manson family remained untied to the pool of suspects for a period of time afterward, only add to the pop culture curiosity to this whole documentary. The mentioning of the paranoia and fear gripping Hollywood (by Michelle Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas) encapsulates what human monsters can do to the psyche of even the most famous and rich.
A morbidly fascinating and informative documentary
Hollywood death tour guide Scott Michaels takes us on a lively, thorough, and illuminating exploration of the infamous Tate/LoBianco murders committed by the notorious Manson Family. Among the stuff covered in this incredibly comprehensive documentary are autopsy reports (the inevitable crime photos of the victims are quite graphic and upsetting), background information on all the victims, visits to primary locations (the journey to the desolate godforsaken desert town of Battarat where the Barker Ranch is located proves to be genuinely eerie; ditto a late night walk down the street the killers went down on the anniversary of the murders), Manson's abortive recording career (we get to heart Manson sing the creepy ditty "Cease to Exist"), and connections to everything from the movie "Grease" to the folk-rock group The Mamas and the Pappas. Moreover, Michaels goes out of his way to debunk certain popular urban legends about Manson (for example, Manson couldn't have auditioned for The Monkees because he was in jail at the time). Michaels makes for an extremely enthusiastic, passionate, and engaging host. Recommended viewing for true crime buffs.
Good, Great
If you're expecting a movie, I wouldn't say you found the right film. This is more of a documentary. I liked this a lot because I learned some stuff that I didn't know. Of course, I'd like to verify the things I've learned just in case they're not 100% spot on. But it is entertaining and educational nonetheless. The Manson Murders have fascinated me ever since I started to learn, and the book shown inside the film, titled 'Helter Skelter', is a book I am looking forward to purchasing. I give this film a 7 because I learned from it and absorbed information from it, but I couldn't give it a 9 or a 10 because at times it felt a little too slow pace. But that's just me. I would have liked to see more Charles Manson, but others, like yourselves, might not want to. If not, this is your film. Again, pretty good film. Not the best, not the worst. Good.Educational.