The Agony and the Ecstasy of Phil Spector

In life there are ups and downs, highs and lows, agony and ecstasy. This is true for everybody. Some weirdo geniuses have very high ups and the lowest lows. Does Agony bring the genius that gives ecstasy? Phil Spector was a musical savant. He came up with a sound big enough to be called "The Wall Of Sound." Everybody wanted to find out his secret that brought hit after hit. ( "He's A Rebel" "Then He Kissed Me" – The Crystals, "Be My Baby" – The Ronettes, "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling'" – The Righteous Brothers, "Imagine" – John Lennon, "Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?" – Ramones ) Not just hits, songs that are different but still linked with that "thing." This music that Phil heard in his brain he had to mach with what came out of the studio. How was he able to produce pure magic? Know one may ever know. He is not the first to be loved for one thing but despised for another. His music changes peoples lives even now 40 years latter. He helped shape Rock-n-Roll and forever changed the way we listen to the radio. Lots of good things come from bad people. This film shows that maybe Phil is not bad, just misunderstood like the Rebel in his songs. This exclusive interview done during his second trial for the murder of a struggling actress seems like a "I told you so" from Phil. In it he is as funny as he is serious. This interview is stuck together with courtroom footage, news reports, and vintage video from the 60's and 70's. The music with the muted courtroom in the background is Enough to look at without the subtitles to read, you find your mind missing the point of one if not all three. Other then that, this is an eye opening documentary for the BBC. Just what the music public wants, history with dirty laundry. This time he gets off, but the next time he goes to court he gets19-years-to-life in prison. We know he did not write it but "He Fought the Law and the Law Won."

Held Over through August 3 Only!

THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY OF PHIL SPECTOR at Film Forum -
http://www.filmforum.org/films/spector.html