Review of Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune (2011) by Liz Braun for Jam! Movies — 18 Feb 2011

More than just a biopic of the famed troubadour, Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune is also a brief, brisk, brilliant history of social turmoil in America in the '60s.

You can read the full review where it was originally posted online.

This review of Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune (2011) was written by Liz Braun and published by Jam! Movies on 18 Feb 2011.

Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune has generally received very positive reviews.

Was this review helpful?

Yes

More reviews of this movie:

More Reviews of Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune

Review of Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune (2011)

By Gerald Peary (163) for Boston Phoenix (1,372) on 10 Mar 2011

Ken Bowser's film biography of a seminal American protest singer of the '60s and '70s is conventionally told but also informative and moving…

Read Review

Review of Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune (2011)

By Jane Stevenson (47) for Jam! Movies (2,396) on 18 Feb 2011

First-time filmmakers Wes Orshoski and Greg Olliver trained their cameras on Lemmy for three years and the results paid off…

Read Review

Review of Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune (2011)

By Cassandra T (25) on 21 Mar 2011

A somber, heartbreaking film that renders the artist, his stinging lyrics, and his talent in helpful historical context…

Read Review

Review of Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune (2011)

By Peter Rainer (2,575) for Christian Science Monitor (3,788) on 07 Jan 2011

Many of the interviews in the film – conducted with everyone from family members to Christopher Hitchens and Tom Hayden – look to be 10,…

Read Review

Review of Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune (2011)

By Generoso F (106) on 14 Mar 2011

Solid bio doc on the late legendary 60s folk singer, Phil Ochs which shines during the moments that feature Ochs' live performances, interviews…

Read Review

Review of Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune (2011)

By Lisa Schwarzbaum (1,672) for Entertainment Weekly (6,953) on 20 Jan 2011

At once an unsentimental portrait of the ambitious singer who thought himself bound for glory, and an affecting elegy for a time when song…

Read Review

Review of Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune (2011)

By Brucenelson (6) on 04 Mar 2011

Did a good job of his protest years, but didn't really delve much into his change of style or what really caused the break down…

Read Review

Review of Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune (2011)

By Enrique L (17) on 17 Dec 2011

Good 60's (US) history review and interesting revelation of one side of Bob Dylan's personality…

Read Review

Review of Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune (2011)

By Dennis Schwartz (5,456) for Ozus' World Movie Reviews (5,456) on 04 Aug 2011

Top-notch documentary on edgy protest singer-songwriter of the 1960s and 1970s Phil Ochs…

Read Review

Review of Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune (2011)

By Rob Thomas (1,118) for Capital Times (Madison, WI) (875) on 12 May 2011

Kenneth Bowser's loving but honest documentary gives him his proper due as an important artist, without sugarcoating his troubled, and eventually…

Read Review

More reviews of this movie

More Reviews by Liz Braun

Review of A Bad Moms Christmas (2017)

By Liz Braun (961) for Toronto Sun (419) on 02 Nov 2017

For festive fun, A Bad Moms Christmas is right up there with coal in your stocking…

Read Review

Review of Unsane (2018)

By Liz Braun (961) for Toronto Sun (419) on 22 Mar 2018

Unsane starts out as a psychological thriller and then moves into the B-movie physical realm with gusto…

Read Review

Review of Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)

By Liz Braun (961) for Toronto Sun (419) on 19 Jun 2017

Transformers: The Last Knight is an incomprehensible pile of scrap…

Read Review

Review of Sicario: Day of the Soldado (2018)

By Liz Braun (961) for Toronto Sun (419) on 27 Jun 2018

It's a given that sequels are never as good as the original movie, but Sicario: Day of The Soldado, is worth seeing…

Read Review

Review of Free Fire (2017)

By Liz Braun (961) for Toronto Sun (419) on 19 Apr 2017

Free Fire devotes itself to a whole hour of flying stuff -- bullets, barbs, quips, broken glass and other detritus, some of it human…

Read Review

Review of Goon: Last of the Enforcers (2017)

By Liz Braun (961) for Toronto Sun (419) on 16 Mar 2017

Violent, crude and really funny, Goon: Last of The Enforcers, works for the same reason the original Goon worked -- you will love the characters…

Read Review

Review of Lady Bird (2017)

By Liz Braun (961) for Toronto Sun (419) on 09 Nov 2017

Lady Bird is a coming-of-age story distinguished by a great script and a perfect cast…

Read Review

Review of Dunkirk (2017)

By Liz Braun (961) for Toronto Sun (419) on 19 Jul 2017

The film is a wonder to experience (especially in Imax), but it's not perfect…

Read Review

Review of It Comes at Night (2017)

By Liz Braun (961) for Toronto Sun (419) on 07 Jun 2017

Writer/director Trey Edward Shults is a dab hand at creating an atmosphere of uncertainty and menace and does a fine job of showing how people…

Read Review

Review of It (2017)

By Liz Braun (961) for Toronto Sun (419) on 06 Sep 2017

It, on the page or the screen, is a complex mix of coming-of-age elements with ideas about childhood fears, memory and human nature - good and bad…

Read Review

More Reviews by Liz Braun

Popular Movies Right Now

Gone Girl

2014

81%1,229 Reviews

John Wick: Chapter 4

2023

78%170 Reviews

Ford v Ferrari

2019

81%171 Reviews

Top Gun: Maverick

2022

82%272 Reviews

War for the Planet of the Apes

2017

78%1,656 Reviews

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

2014

79%1,167 Reviews

Ghostbusters: Afterlife

2021

66%228 Reviews

The Voyeurs

2021

58%19 Reviews

The Gentlemen

2020

70%170 Reviews

A Quiet Place

2018

76%1,685 Reviews