PHIL OCHS: There But For Fortune - THEATRICAL TRAILER

Opens January 5, 2011 at the IFC Center in New York!

http://firstrunfeatures.com/philochs/

As our country continues to embroil itself in foreign wars and pins its hopes on a new leader's promise for change, Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune is a timely and relevant tribute to an unlikely American hero. Over the course of a meteoric music career that spanned two turbulent decades, Phil Ochs sought the bright lights of fame and social justice in equal measure - a contradiction that eventually tore him apart. From youthful idealism to rage to pessimism, the arch of Ochs' life paralleled that of the times, and the anger, satire and righteous indignation that drove his music also drove him to dark despair. In this brilliantly constructed film, interview and performance footage of Ochs is illuminated by the ruminations of Joan Baez, Tom Hayden, Pete Seeger, Sean Penn, Peter Yarrow, Christopher Hitchens, Ed Sanders, and others.

• Category

  Film & Animation

[protestfolk]

Hope film reflects what Phil wrote in his "Bound For Glory" song: "Now they sing out his praises on every distant shore, but so few remember what he was fighting for. Why sing the songs and forget about the aim? He wrote them for a reason, why not sing them for the same?"

[kazywaz]

Well I've always thought that his music reflected "what was in his heart" but the remark in the trailer implied that his music reflected his social, political and moral leanings but in "his heart' he saw himself as the likes of John Wayne - which exemplifies more of what is wrong with our culture. Yet, when you think about it, there's not a conflict. He knew that our "democratic process" was corrupted, failing us, frustrating us, making us wish we could kick some ass like John Wayne.

[Ben10HetaliaGirl]

Going to watch this movie soon it looks good

[7areegaa]

dylan is an idiot. ochs > dylan hands down.

[laneese1970]

Great trailer I cannot wait to get the DVD. Thank you for posting!

[booper521]

I saw Phil back in 1968. Listened to his songs for many, many hours and I will always love Phil. May he rest in peace..................

[allenshepard]

Is this easy to find? the dvd I mean

[Seasass]

(*gulp*) turns out that guy WAS Wickham :) Didn't go so far as to say Ochs was a closet conservative, though--at least, not in the footage that made it into the film.

[Seasass]

Great movie, but I'm really bummed that the DVD didn't include any complete performances. I read somewhere that royalties (none of which went to the Ochs estate) took up 80% of the cost of producing this documentary, so that would explain the paucity of bonus materials. I imagine Phil is somewhere laughing and writing a song about the irony of corporations steadfastly protecting their right to make a buck off a dead protest singer.

[Seasass]

DVD is available--just got mine!

[Gary Kennedy]

My wife & I saw the movie tonight at the Museum of Fine Art Houston. A good film, lots of Ochs performance videos, newsreels to set the time, and interviews with contemporaries. Well worth the $6 ticket.

To me, Ochs was the ultimate "protest" singer. More so than Dylan (who plays a big part in the movie and was a better song writer), or anybody else. "Draft Dodger Rag" is an alltime favorite of mine.

PS - Go see Todd Sniders "Thin Wild Mercury" here on YouTube, about Ochs.

[LV89101]

Available on DVD July, 2011.