The Agony and Ecstasy of Phil Spector (2008)
Phil Spector is a pioneer of American music, a legendary producer to John Lennon and Tina Turner, and, as of April 13th 2009, a convicted murderer. Yet the Spector who appears in Vikram Jayanti's documentary is not the severe, outlandishly coiffed defendant seen in sensationalistic accounts of his trial, but a charming, savvy music executive with a generous, but arguably accurate, estimation of his place in the history of popular music.
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Phil Spector was a musical genius. He is also crazy. This documentary uses a two-hour interview of the man set to the very soundtrack of modern pop music that he created. His contribution to culture in the last 40 years is as undeniable as it astonishing, from the Teddy Bears to The Beatles. We all know his music. And yet we all know how he doomed himself with paranoia and guns. Poor Lana Clarkson fell victim to Spector's demons. The Gun Nutters always tell us to "Blame the person." Ba-loney. If Phil Spector had been obsessed with baseball bats instead of guns Lana Clarkson would be alive and he would be free. This film is as compelling and sad as any Greek tragedy.