Kenneth Bowser

As the country continues to engage in foreign wars, PHIL OCHS: THERE BUT FOR FORTUNE is a timely tribute to an unlikely American hero whose music is as relevant today as it was in the 1960s. Ochs, a folk singing legend, was moved by the conviction that he and his music would change the world. He loved his country and fought to honor it, in both song and action. Wielding only a battered guitar, a clear voice and the quiver of his razor sharp songs, he tirelessly fought the good fight for peace and justice throughout his short life. PHIL OCHS: THERE BUT FOR FORTUNE is buoyed by these anthems and melodies from humorous to haunting and throughout the film play the role of narrator, giving contextual depth to the unfolding saga of Ochsí complex political and personal life. In the film, Joan Baez, Tom Hayden, Pete Seeger, Sean Penn, Peter Yarrow, Christopher Hitchens, Ed Sanders, and others who knew or were inspired by Ochs tell stories of political passions that were equal parts idealism, conviction and fantasy mixed together with a big ego and often wild disorganization.

Through concert footage and interviews with Phil Ochs's contemporaries and admirers, this documentary paints a portrait of a uniquely American artist.