The movie
Music Film Festival: The Agony and The Ecstasy of Phil Spector
The dark side of pop music. Documentary about the legendary music producer Phil Spector. Pop journalist Bram van Splunteren (VPRO) interviews director Vikram Jayanti in Tilburg.
Length: 90 min
Country: Groot-Brittannië
Language spoken: Engels
Language subtitles: Nederlands
Cast:
Director: Vikram Jayanti
Release date: 20/09/2025
Description
The dark side of pop music. Documentary about the legendary music producer Phil Spector. Pop journalist Bram van Splunteren (VPRO) interviews director Vikram Jayanti in Tilburg.
When you say Phil Spector, you say: Be My Baby, Imagine, Let It Be. As a revolutionary music producer, he was at the cradle of the iconic ‘Wall of Sound’. He worked with greats such as The Beatles, Tina Turner and The Ronettes. But behind the genius lurked a man full of darkness and paranoia — who was convicted of murder in 2009.
In this fascinating documentary by Vikram Jayanti (including When We Were Kings) you get a glimpse into the mind of a musical visionary who was both revered and feared. Based on candid conversations with Spector himself, recorded during his first trial, a portrait unfolds that is both hypnotic and disturbing. As his music blasts through the film at full force, we see footage of his career, his public persona — and the courtroom in which his downfall was sealed.
The Agony and the Ecstasy of Phil Spector is not a standard music documentary. It is a psychological portrait of a man who put his soul into every note, but who also destroyed himself.
For those who love music, stories with moral layers, and the uncomfortable tension between artistic mastery and human failure — this is a must-see.
Screening at the Music Film Festival – discussion by pop journalist Bram van Splunteren (VPRO) with director Vikram Jayanti.
When you say Phil Spector, you say: Be My Baby, Imagine, Let It Be. As a revolutionary music producer, he was at the cradle of the iconic ‘Wall of Sound’. He worked with greats such as The Beatles, Tina Turner and The Ronettes. But behind the genius lurked a man full of darkness and paranoia — who was convicted of murder in 2009.
In this fascinating documentary by Vikram Jayanti (including When We Were Kings) you get a glimpse into the mind of a musical visionary who was both revered and feared. Based on candid conversations with Spector himself, recorded during his first trial, a portrait unfolds that is both hypnotic and disturbing. As his music blasts through the film at full force, we see footage of his career, his public persona — and the courtroom in which his downfall was sealed.
The Agony and the Ecstasy of Phil Spector is not a standard music documentary. It is a psychological portrait of a man who put his soul into every note, but who also destroyed himself.
For those who love music, stories with moral layers, and the uncomfortable tension between artistic mastery and human failure — this is a must-see.
Screening at the Music Film Festival – discussion by pop journalist Bram van Splunteren (VPRO) with director Vikram Jayanti.
