Double Feature!

PHIL SPECTOR - THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY
Documentary. A once-in-a-lifetime portrait of Phil Spector captured during his first trial for the murder of B-movie actress Lana Clarkson. Phil riffs on everything—his father's suicide, his loner status, the music industry, the Beatles, Tony Bennett, drugs, the media and much more. There is priceless 1977 interview footage of Phil alone in his mansion, talking about himself and playing acoustic guitar while singing, "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling." Also, amazing audio of Phil's demo version of Spanish Harlem featuring only Phil on guitar and vocal.

"He Hit Me (And It Felt Like a Kiss)" is one of the more obscure songs heard on the soundtrack and it encapsulates the paradox of Phil Spector: a catchy performance by the great girl group, the Crystals, with a message so dark, disturbing and inappropriate that it was quickly removed from radio playlists. Throughout we are reminded just how wonderful his musical legacy is, then your breath is taken away by his megalomaniacal pronouncements.

This is essential viewing for any pop-music fan and student of celebrity pathology. Spector, despite his immodest comparisons of himself to Bach, da Vinci and Galileo, is surprisingly entertaining, not simply the mad recluse with crazy hair that was seen during the trials.

He is exceedingly quotable, weighing in on the Woody Allen-Soon Yi Previn scandal: "I could have introduced him to a lot of women." His analysis of why Hitchcock's "Rebecca" is a better film than "Psycho" is priceless: "Psycho" is an "edit film," the same way Brian Wilson's classic "Good Vibrations" is an "edit record." Spector also discusses his collaborations with the Beatles—his John Lennon impression is amusing—and he insists that his production of the album "Let It Be" salvaged a mess, no matter what Paul McCartney says to the contrary.

During the first trial, Spector's attorney seemed to make a good case that, based on the forensic evidence; Clarkson killed herself—a defense that resulted in a hung jury. The second trial brought a guilty verdict and a sentence of 19 years to life.

Plus this bonus selection...

PHIL SPECTOR - TV TALK SHOW GUEST 1965
Oct-21-65. This is weird. Phil was not scheduled to be a guest on this show but, nonetheless, he walks out of the audience and looking rather scruffy takes a seat on the stage and begins to argue with actor Phil Foster who takes none of Phil's eccentricities in good humor and instead insults the heck out of him. Phil says, "The new Beatles song was written just for you...Nowhere Man." He then storms off the set.

PHIL SPECTOR - THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY documentary on DVD

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