No, he most assuredly does not. Loves himself, though. In a weird, twisted sort of way. My thoughts on a fascinating but not really very good documentary, The Agony and the Ecstasy of Phil Spector, are up today at The Daily Notebook.
Phil Spector loves you
You May Also Like
Why "Pinocchio" never traumatized me
Why "Pinocchio" never traumatized me
An alternate source of childhood anguish...I have been remiss (I know, I know, I'm usually…
Glenn KennyApril 6, 2009
And then my mind split open...
And then my mind split open...
Do you know this man? If so, why? Whether you do or not, go on…
Glenn KennyMarch 5, 2010
Beg pardon please
Beg pardon please
Good afternoon. Please allow me to mix a couple of metaphors. Because I pretty much…
Glenn KennySeptember 14, 2009
That belt buckle is epic. And can we just cast Paul Reubens in the biopic already?
“Spector seems to have traded in his actual soul for a welter of resentments a long, long time ago.”
And he isn’t finished.
Yet.
How disappointing. I was actually looking forward to this doc until now. Sounds like a wasted opportunity not unlike (the probably better) “Sam Cooke: Crossing Over,” which at least has the excuse of having to hurdle the obstacle that was Allen Klein.
Were there at least any interesting anecdotes in the film you hadn’t heard before?
“…a fascinating but not really very good documentary…”
That’s the case with a lot of documentaries, I think. Most documentaries, in my opinion– even ones that are popularly acclaimed– aren’t really very good as films but they get a pass because of the subject matter (a pass that most fiction features are generally not awarded). An example would be JESUS CAMP, which I maintain is an absolutely terrifying, but not very good, film– the cut-aways to the radio show are there obstensiably to show both sides, but since the first side makes the other side’s argument so persuasively, there isn’t a need for it and it really detracts from the film.
Looks like this will do about as well for Spector’s rep as that misguided Polanski doc did.
@Tom – I agree. Curious your thoughts on filmmaker Brett Morgen’s (“June 17, 1994” which I enjoyed and mentioned here earlier) philosophy on documentaries in a Q&A here: http://www.aintitcool.com/node/45624
I also agree with Tom Russell, while the movie was, indeed, horrifying, it kind of rubs against one of my primary rules for documentaries, which is that they shouldn’t be about making statements as much as they should be about asking questions. And all questions were settled in the filmmakers’ minds far in advance of that film.