Phil Spector

Play trailer

Phil Spector

TV-MA

2013

1h 33m

Drama

Biography

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

51%

Tomatometer

41 Reviews

32%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

Lawyer Linda Kenney Baden (Helen Mirren) defends music producer Phil Spector (Al Pacino), on trial for the murder of actress Lana Clarkson.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Critics Consensus

Its top-shelf script and terrific cast ensure that it's always watchable, but Phil Spector fails to provide truly compelling drama.

Read Critics Reviews

John Doyle

Globe and Mail

Pacino is excellent, savouring Mamet's script and disappearing into this figure who has a God-complex and is, at the same time, a god in the music industry.

Jun 11, 2020

Full Review

Jason Bailey

Flavorwire

Mamet's film isn't sure what the hell to make of Spector. But, strangely, that's part of what makes it so compelling.

Jun 21, 2016

Full Review

Alessandra Stanley

New York Times

Even with a Mamet screenplay and actors like Mr. Pacino and Ms. Mirren there is not much anyone can do to make the audience care.

May 22, 2013

Full Review

Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

…only David Mamet would be so deliberately obtuse as to make a feature-length film about a famous trial and halt the action before the trial even starts…Pacino is on top form, matched every inch of the way by Helen Mirren as attorney Linda Kenney Baden…

Rated: 3/5

Jul 11, 2024

Full Review

Stephen Marche

Esquire Magazine

Victims' rights groups have openly worried that the movie will call into question the nineteen-year sentence Spector received... They needn't worry. The film is no challenge to anything except the careers of those involved with it.

Oct 17, 2018

Full Review

John Powers

Vogue

Spector is almost the platonic ideal of the crazy showbiz madman. He makes a great fit for Pacino, who has for once found a character so charismatically odd that he doesn't need to overact to keep himself interested.

Jul 13, 2017

Full Review

Read all reviews

Michael W

This HBO movie was terrible. Al Pacino, Helen Mirren, Jeffrey Tambor, and the rest of the cast did a terrible job in this movie. The plot of the movie was tedious and dull. It's about trying to get a famous record producer acquitted of a murder charge. If you haven't seen this movie yet, don't waste your time. It's very boring.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

05/23/24

Full Review

Alec B

Mamet's central thesis about the importance of impartiality in the legal system is not without merit, however centering his argument around Phil Spector was a gross miscalculation especially since his exploration fictionalizes some of the facts of the case. This only undermines his argument and exposes him as something of a hypocrite.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/05/24

Full Review

Audience Member

....this is the most heinous piece of garbage I have ever had the displeasure of yawning my way through....David 'muppet' Mamet should be ashamed of himself...as should Pacino & Mirren....it's an abhorrent slur on the memory of Lana Clarkson....

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Why does Al Pacino keep playing people I have no interest in learning anything about?

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Murderer or not, Spector belonged in prison anyway for how he butchered "Let It Be"

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Probably compelled by the casting, only to find in correct satisfaction that both Mirren and Pacino performed excellently around the pre-courtroom drama without any spikes besides being minimally intellectual despite cutting it short at the end rather than telling the story in completion for finalization â" or it fears to enter conventional territory of conversing familiarity. (B) (Full review TBD)

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

David Mamet

Director

Al Pacino

Phil Spector

Helen Mirren

Linda Kenney Baden

Chiwetel Ejiofor

Mock Prosecutor

Jeffrey Tambor

Bruce Cutler

Rebecca Pidgeon

Dr. Fallon

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

You Don't Know Jack

83%

83%

You Don't Know Jack

Watchlist

Temple Grandin

100%

94%

Temple Grandin

Watchlist

My Dinner With Hervé

83%

80%

My Dinner With Hervé

Watchlist

TRAILER

for My Dinner With Hervé

Grace of Monaco

9%

25%

Grace of Monaco

Watchlist

The Girl

70%

41%

The Girl

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

Lawyer Linda Kenney Baden (Helen Mirren) defends music producer Phil Spector (Al Pacino), on trial for the murder of actress Lana Clarkson.

Director: David Mamet
Producer: Michael Hausman
Screenwriter: David Mamet
Production Co: HBO Films
Rating: TV-MA
Genre: Drama, Biography
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 10, 2016
Runtime: 1h 33m

Most Popular at Home Now