Latest news with #Chaos:TheMansonMurders
CBC
20-03-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Errol Morris on Charles Manson, mind control and the CIA
On August 9th and 10th of 1969, a series of brutal murders took place in Los Angeles. Seven people were killed, including actress Sharon Tate, who was married to director Roman Polanski. Members of the Manson family, a kind of cult, were found guilty for the crimes. Manson and four of his followers were convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to death. The prosecutor at the time said that Manson wanted to start a race war and trigger the end of the world. For decades, that was how the story went. But a new film by legendary documentary filmmaker Errol Morris asks the audience to reconsider that. It's inspired by a book called "CHAOS: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties" by journalist Tom O'Neill, which makes the case that Manson might have been connected to the CIA's mind control program, MK-Ultra. Errol Morris talks to host Jayme Poisson about "Chaos: The Manson Murders", unpacking the many theories about Charles Manson, and the culture of paranoia from that era of American history. The film is out on Netflix now.
Chicago Tribune
12-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Column: Filmmaker Errol Morris returns to the Manson murders in new Netflix documentary
Do you know these names: Abigail Folger, Wojciech Frykowski, Steven Parent, Jay Sebring, and Leno and Rosemary LaBianca? What if I add to that list the name Sharon Tate? Ah, there you go. Those are the names of the people killed by Charles Manson and some demented buddies on the nights of Aug. 8 and 9, 1969, Tate the most prominent because she was a beautiful movie star, married to filmmaker Roman Polanski, and eight months pregnant with their child. Long time ago, I know, but so bloody and weird and headline-grabbing were the killings and ensuing trial and most of all Manson that they have stayed through the decades, creeping into our dreams and nightmares and coming at us in a steady stream of rehashing in books, movies and documentaries, some interesting and some merely exploitative. Last time I remember remembering them was while watching 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,' Quentin Tarantino's 2019 movie that, among many things, presented a wild, fairy tale version of the real events of what was and still is called the Manson Family murders. Now they are on my mind yet again, courtesy of 'Chaos: The Manson Murders,' a new 90-minute documentary on Netflix. This would not ordinarily have grabbed my attention because I have over the decades had more than my fill of Manson-related subjects. But attached to 'Chaos' is the name Errol Morris, which gives it a certain credibility, since he is a distinguished documentarian whose decades-long career has included such films as 1978's 'Gates of Heaven,' on the pet cemetery business; 1988's 'The Thin Blue Line,' his controversial film about the trial and conviction of a man for killing a Dallas police officer; 2003's 'The Fog of War,' which focused on Robert McNamara, the secretary of defense during much of the Vietnam War, which won an Academy Award; and 'The Pigeon Tunnel' in 2023, about the life and work of novelist John le Carré. Here he is in collaboration (and in intellectual tussle) with the work of journalist Tom O'Neill, in essence adapting O'Neill's 2019 book, 'CHAOS: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties,' written with Dan Piepenbring. As I expected, there is much repetition of known facts in the film but a judicious use of vintage material as Manson, a failed musician, wild-eyed hippie and career criminal, gets released from prison and in 1967 gathers around himself a bunch of younger outcasts who are all living together on a rusted movie set of a rural ranch. He orders some of them to commit a series of gruesome murders and we get those bare details, effectively and vividly dramatized, but we don't get a lot of answers to some of the questions raised and there are plenty. Among them, and in no specific order: Why didn't law enforcement, such as parole officers, slap cuffs on Manson and send him back to jail when they had the chance? And how did Manson turn a group of peaceful hippies into savage killers? How was it that the Beach Boys' drummer Dennis Wilson and record producer Terry Melcher nearly gave Manson a record deal? We hear Manson play guitar and sing. What do the activist organization Black Panthers have to do with this? Why do we meet Lee Harvey Oswald's assassin Jack Ruby? And what is Louis Jolyon 'Jolly' West, a subcontractor for the CIA's Project MKUltra, doing as a court-appointed psychiatrist for Ruby? And what is Project MKUltra? How did the Beatles' 'White Album' get into the mix? There are more questions and plenty of talking, some of it from interviews of Manson by such TV personalities as Diane Sawyer, Geraldo Rivera and Tom Snyder. Among the most compelling conversations are those that take place between Morris and O'Neill. The filmmaker asks pointed questions, operating from an authoritative position. He is probing, curious, suitably skeptical. And he is able to get O'Neill to admit, 'Frankly, I still don't know what happened. But I know that what we were told isn't what happened.' The movie is held together more by its questions (for which there are no real answers) than facts, presented in a visually compelling manner, peppered with such things as old movie clips of Laurence Harvey in the 'Manchurian Candidate,' in which mind control is a chilling key. Morris and his compelling moviemaking is likely to get a bigger audience than most of his previous documentary work. That's a good thing even though this is not his finest work. It's still pretty good and one of the finer offerings of the massive Manson-inspired 'Helter Skelter' enterprise. And if you ask yourself why there is not much here from Manson prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi, know that his book, 'Helter Skelter' was published in 1974. It was subtitled 'The True Story of the Manson Murders.' And it is the best-selling true crime book of all time.
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Netflix Charles Manson doc, 'Righteous Gemstones,' 'Heretic': New movies, TV shows to see or skip this weekend
True crime lovers have an entertaining weekend ahead of them with the newly released Charles Manson documentary on Netflix, Chaos: The Manson Murders. Filmmaker Errol Morris uses Tom O'Neill book, "CHAOS: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties," as the foundation. For more fictional horror lovers, the popular film Heretic will be available to stream this weekend. The Righteous Gemstones enters its final season on Sunday, March 9, and Amanda Seyfried reunited with Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan for the movie Seven Veils, now in theatres. But what will be a best fit for your taste in TV shows and movies? We've scored this week's notable new releases to help you find what you'll most enjoy.I have been a fan of The Righteous Gemstones since Season 1, with creator Danny McBride truly crafting one of the most outrageously funny and unique shows in recent years. But the Season 4 premiere on Sunday marks the beginning of the last season of the series. While I'm not really ready to say goodbye, Season 4 is the most exciting in the series. It's the raunchy, obnoxious fun we've come to love in previous seasons, but McBride also dives deeper into the emotions of the show's character, in a way that makes the comedy feel even grander. This will forever be one of my favourite TV shows. A favourite from last year's the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), and its theatrical release in November, Heretic will be available to stream this weekend. Written and directed by Bryan Woods and Scott Beck, starring Sophie Thatcher, Chloe East and Hugh Grant, this religious thriller is incredibly captivating, but more importantly, even this many months later, still feels like unique and truly original storytelling. Yes, there are certain elements, like evaluation of Mormonism (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) that has been intriguing ground for storytelling for decades, but Heretic fully achieves interesting philosophical arguments, mixed with terror and fun. I believe Tom O'Neill book "CHAOS: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties" is actually a more compelling read than the 1974 book "Helter Skelter," by Vincent Bugliosi, prosecutor of the Manson Family. So I was particularly excited about this documentary. Filmmaker Errol Morris is able to unravel the details of Charles Manson and Manson Family conspiracy theories in a compelling way, but while really leaning into the chaotic battling of possible theories. Questions around mind control should have complex and alive discussions, leaning into our urge to come up with theories to explain what we don't know, and fear. It's not about finding an end to a quest for truth, but rather why things may be accepted as the truth. From Oscar-winning filmmaker Bong Joon-ho, Mickey 17 isn't without its faults, plot lines introduced and then never reconciled, and underusing actors Toni Collette and Steven Yeun, but watching this movie is ultimately fun and enjoyable. Yes, the performances are over-the-top, but it's a satisfying blend with Bong's social criticism. Robert Pattinson, Naomi Ackie, Ruffalo, Collette and Yeun make up a great cast and I haven't gotten Pattinson's Mickey 17 accent out of my head since watching this film. While I didn't leave Mickey 17 with the same enthusiasm that I did when I saw Parasite, it was still a satisfying trip to the movie theatre that provided entertainment and critical thinking long after the film concluded. Atom Egoyan is one of Canada's most notable filmmakers and has reunited with Amanda Seyfried for Seven Veils. Seyfried plays Jeanine, a theatre director who is remounting Richard Strauss' opera "Salome," years after she worked on an earlier production under her late mentor Charles, with whom she was having an affair. A film that explores sexual trauma, Seyfried gives an emotionally resonant performance and Egoyan has a clear style in this twisty story. But the film feels like it fizzles out when Seyfried isn't on screen. Voiceover is also used in a way that feels like too much handholding, hearing several details about Jeanine's perspective on her past and present, and it still doesn't make the lesser developed portions of the film any clearer. Seven Veils has the foundation to setup a captivating and gripping evaluation of power and misogyny, but doesn't quite land with the impact I craved.
Los Angeles Times
07-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Errol Morris' new Charles Manson documentary presents alternative theories about killings
One of the prevailing theories around Charles Manson is that the infamous cult leader had intended to incite a race war by orchestrating his so-called family's killing spree in the 1960s. But Errol Morris casts doubts on that narrative in his new documentary, 'Chaos: The Manson Murders,' out now on Netflix. Based on the book by Tom O'Neill with Dan Piepenbring, Morris' film presents alternative theories surrounding the 1969 Tate–LaBianca murders — including how Manson may have had links to government programs related to mind control and brainwashing. Featuring music by Manson, 'Chaos' presents these alternative takes primarily through interviews with O'Neill, Manson case prosecutor Stephen Kay and former Manson associate Bobby Beausoleil. The documentary also includes archival interviews with Manson and his followers. The film challenges the accuracy of (and the motivations behind) the 'Helter Skelter' theory presented by lead prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi in the Tate-LaBianca trial. Through separate interviews, both O'Neill and Beausoleil offer different theories about how and why the Manson-directed killings could have happened. Here's a breakdown of the alternative theories presented in 'Chaos: The Manson Murders.' Manson possibly had links to secret government mind-control programs While acknowledging that there are still some loose threads to this theory, O'Neill suggests that Manson possibly had connections to secret government programs researching mind control and brainwashing, such as the CIA's project MKUltra. According to O'Neill, Manson's time as a parolee in the Bay Area coincided with the time the government was conducting research into the effects of drugs such as LSD on individuals' mental states. During that time, Manson and his followers frequented the Haight Ashbury Free Clinic for treatment as well as to meet with his parole officer Roger Smith. Patients of the clinic were reportedly used as research subjects for these mind control studies. O'Neill also explains that psychiatrist Louis Jolyon 'Jolly' West, who is known to have ties to the MKUltra project, was conducting research on brainwashing in the Haight-Ashbury area at that time. Although he acknowledges there is no proof that Manson and West definitively crossed paths, O'Neill points out that the two men were within each other's orbit while Manson was gaining followers whom some could describe as 'brainwashed' at a time when the government was researching brainwashing. O'Neill also believes Manson having ties to these government research programs could explain Smith's leniency on Manson despite his breaking rules that should have jeopardized his parole. The attempt to pin the killings on the Black Panthers could have been personal or a government conspiracy Among the facts known about the 1969 killings is that words written in the victims' blood were left on various surfaces at the crime scenes. These words — including 'pigs,' 'rise' and 'Helter Skelter' — helped build the prosecution's case that Manson had intended to incite a race war. According to the documentary, around the time of the murders, Manson believed the Black Panthers were going to retaliate against him for killing one of its members. (Manson had shot Bernard 'Lotsapoppa' Crowe, who survived the encounter and was not a member of the Black Panthers, in July 1969. The Tate–LaBianca murders occurred in August.) Alternatively, O'Neill explains that secret government counterintelligence programs at the time were intent on discrediting left-wing political movements such as the Black Panthers. Manson was possibly just motivated by paranoia Beausoleil, a former Manson associate who was convicted of killing Gary Hinman for a drug deal gone bad, believes that Manson's motivation behind orchestrating the 1969 killing spree is much more simple. He suggests Manson urged his acolytes to commit these severe crimes because of his paranoia. According to Beausoleil, Manson probably intended to use these killings to keep his followers in line. (The Hinman killing is also cited as a motive for the Tate-LaBianca murders. It has been suggested that Manson orchestrated the subsequent killings in order to make it seem like all three incidents were connected.)
