The Agony and Ecstasy of Phil Spector

In October of this year, the second trial against the legendary music producer Phil Spector began in Los Angeles. Spector stands accused of murdering the B-movie actress Lana Clarkson in 2003. Last year, the first trial against him ended in a mistrial after the deadlocked jury couldn't come to a decision. is based on an interview that Spector gave to BBC producer Vikram Jayanti, and consists of interview footage intercut with music videos of songs Spector produced. Jayanti refrains from asking about the murder, possibly a demand that Spector made himself. The man who worked with both Elvis and The Beatles and says that he once had the power to destroy Martin Scorsese's career is a closed book. That's not surprising, considering Spector lives like a hermit in his 30-room mansion just outside of Los Angeles and is not one to share his thoughts. For someone who has had so much influence on modern culture, he has always remained a peculiar outsider. Interviews with Spector are rare, and Jayanti refers to them as the holy grail for documentary filmmakers. So despite Spector's reticence, this film is a chance to catch a glimpse of this unusual individual.