this documentary is AMAZING...am i the only one who saw it???

"He hit me and it felt like a kiss"

Vikram Jayanti is not only an insightful interviewer, he's an insightful observer. It certainly helps that Spector is clear-eyed and coherent, a state in which I have seldom seen him captured.

I know more about music than most people and I've always associated Spector only with his doo-wop hits. I had no idea he had written and produced "You've Lost that Loving Feeling" or "River Deep/Mountain High." I was dimly aware of the Beatles album but didn't realize he'd done so much with John Lennon and George Harrison. Brilliant. BRILLIANT man.

I watched every televised minute of the first Lana Clarkson murder trial, the one that ended with a hung jury. I don't believe that the prosecution met its burden of proof in either trial, but I'm not convinced that Spector isn't guilty. I certainly wouldn't use the word innocent.

The documentary doesn't cover much testimony describing his bad behavior. There's plenty of it; I believe he was convicted based on those prior bad acts and not on the evidence.

But Vikram Jayanti doesn't clutter the film with extraneous evidence. He says in this audio interview
http://www.hosokinema.com/philspectoraudio.html
that he wasn't interested in Spector's guilt or innocence. (Loved the interview, btw.)

He does capture the witch's brew that makes up the artist, the genius, the self-centered child, the "damaged man." Spector deflects direct questions about what drives his creativity, but his dark side is drawn out in the dialogue and the music. I'm left thinking as I have so often that great pain generates great art.

And p.s. in case you've never dated a musician, the fact that a guy is unbelievably talented does NOT mean that he would be a great boyfriend.

Morag