Produced for the BBC, the documentary The Agony And The Ecstasy Of Phil Spector builds on an exclusive interview with Spector during his first trial—the one that. Jun 28, 2010 In The Agony And Ecstasy Of Phil Spector, director Vikram Jayanti interviews the eccentric music producer in an attempt to unravel the man's contradictory.

If Phil Spector spends the rest of his life behind bars, one of the last enduring images of a man who described himself as 'the legend that the legends wanted to work with' will be the producer in a courtroom, sporting an afro of astronomical proportions. The odd choice of hairstyle — Spector relied largely on wigs — had many labeling him as a madman, an eccentric, a former musical great turned haunted recluse. The photo came from a pre-trial hearing when Spector was charged for the 2003 death of actress Lana Clarkson at his Los Angeles home; he was found guilty six years later. However, as Spector says in the new documentary The Agony and the Ecstasy of Phil Spector, that courtroom hairdo was just a joke, an innocent gag inspired by a Detroit Pistons basketball player.

'He said it wasn't a particularly important hearing, and at these things everyone is tired and bored — he thought it might've been nice to go with a humorous hairstyle,' the film's director Vikram Jayanti tells Rolling Stone. In the doc, which is screening at New York's Film Forum, Jayanti explores Spector's mind via his own words; Spector had granted Jayanti and producers BBC Arena a rare interview just two weeks before his first murder trial for Clarkson's death.

What emerges is a portrait of Spector that paints the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame legend as both a music genius and a troubled soul soundtracked by Spector Quasimoto The Unseen 320 Rar. 's own music, from 'Be My Baby' to 'You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling' to 'Let It Be.' Spector is known as a notorious recluse who avoids the press, but Jayanti tells RS plans to interview Spector in his mansion — the scene of the murder — came together in mere days. 'The few things he's done in public with a camera on, he was doing a schtick. I didn't want that, I wanted to have real people and get very direct and close,' Jayanti says. Ultimately, Jayanti and BBC Arena simply FedEx-ed a one-page letter to Spector's mansion, asking for permission to speak to him. 'It said, 'Dear Mr. Spector, I make films about larger-than-life characters, often geniuses, at a moment of tremendous stress in their lives.'

And he wrote back two days later with an e-mail, and he said, 'You sound like an interesting person, I know you're a good filmmaker, come to the castle.' ' Jayanti and his crew planned to spend five days interviewing Spector on camera. Their first session lasted three-and-a-half hours, covering topics like the birth of the Wall of Sound, Spector's tough childhood, and anecdotes of his time with John Lennon. But that would be the last time the crew got Phil on camera.