Chords of Fame is a 1984 feature-length documentary film about Phil Ochs, a US singer-songwriter of the 1960s and early 1970s. The film was directed by Michael Korolenko, written by Mady Schutzman, and produced by Korolenko, Schutzman, and David Sternburg. It was funded in part by grants from the American Film Institute and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Chords of Fame features ChalkZone co-creator Bill Burnett as Ochs in re-enactments of scenes from his life, and Martha Wingate (AKA Martha Taylor) as his wife, Alice Ochs.
The film includes interviews with people who had known Ochs, including Yippies Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin, manager Harold Leventhal, and Mike Porco, the owner of Gerde's Folk City.
Chords of Fame also includes performances of Ochs songs by folk musicians who knew him, such as Bob Gibson, Pete Seeger, Tom Paxton, Dave Van Ronk, and Eric Andersen. [1]
The film concludes with footage of Ochs performing "I Ain't Marching Anymore" at The Troubadour in Los Angeles.
As of 2017 [update] , Chords of Fame has not been released on DVD.
Reviewing the film in The New York Times , Janet Maslin wrote that by re-enacting scenes from Ochs's life, Korolenko took "an exasperating approach" in making Chords of Fame. She would have preferred photos and recordings of Ochs himself. "The singer's own voice is almost entirely absent from this biography," she wrote, "and this omission makes Chords of Fame seem, at the very best, incomplete." [1]
Eleanor Mannikka, writing at Allmovie, agreed:"This biographical documentary would have benefitted [ sic ] from more of the singer's own performances, allowing viewers to better judge his talent." [2]
Philip David Ochs was an American songwriter, protest singer, and political activist. Ochs was known for his sharp wit, sardonic humor, and political commentary. He wrote approximately 200 songs throughout the 1960s and 1970s, and released eight albums.
Martha Plimpton is an American actress and member of the Carradine family. Her feature-film debut was in Rollover (1981); she subsequently rose to prominence in the Richard Donner film The Goonies (1985). She has also appeared in The Mosquito Coast (1986), Shy People (1987), Running on Empty (1988), Parenthood (1989), Samantha (1991), Small Town Murder Songs (2011), Frozen II (2019), and Mass (2021).
Pleasures of the Harbor is Phil Ochs' fourth full-length album and his first for A&M Records, released in 1967. It is one of Ochs's most somber albums. In stark contrast to his three albums for Elektra Records which had all been folk music, Pleasures of the Harbor featured traces of classical, rock and roll, Dixieland jazz and experimental synthesized music crossing with folk, in hopes of producing a "folk-pop" crossover.
Chords Of Fame is a two-LP compilation from American folk singer Phil Ochs, compiled by his brother Michael Ochs shortly after Phil's death and released in 1976 on A&M Records. With the exception of 1969's Rehearsals for Retirement, all studio albums are represented, as well as a number of live releases.
The Rolling Thunder Revue was a 1975–76 concert tour by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan with numerous musicians and collaborators. The purpose of the tour was to allow Dylan, who was a major recording artist and concert performer, to play in smaller auditoriums in less populated cities where he could be more intimate with his audiences.
A Stranger is Watching is a 1982 American horror film directed by Sean S. Cunningham. The screenplay was written by Earl Mac Rauch and Victor Miller, based on the 1977 novel of the same name by Mary Higgins Clark.
Eric Andersen is an American folk music singer-songwriter, who has written songs recorded by Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, Linda Ronstadt, the Grateful Dead, Rick Nelson, and many others. Early in his career, in the 1960s, he was part of the Greenwich Village folk scene. After two decades and sixteen albums of solo performance, he formed Danko/Fjeld/Andersen with Rick Danko and Jonas Fjeld, which released two albums in the early 1990s.
Judith Anne Henske was an American singer and songwriter, dubbed "the Queen of the Beatniks" by producer Jack Nitzsche. Initially performing in folk clubs in the early 1960s, her performances and recordings embraced blues, jazz, show tunes, and humorous material. Her 1963 recording of "High Flying Bird" was influential on folk-rock, and her 1969 album Farewell Aldebaran, with husband Jerry Yester, was an eclectic "fusion of folk music, psychedelia, and arty pop".
Chu Chu and the Philly Flash is a 1981 American comedy film starring Alan Arkin, Carol Burnett, Jack Warden, Ruth Buzzi, Adam Arkin and Danny Aiello. It was directed by David Lowell Rich and produced by Jay Weston, with the screenplay being written by Arkin's wife, Barbara Dana. Arkin plays a down-on-his-luck former baseball player and Burnett plays a Carmen Miranda-style performer.
The Indian Tomb is a 1959 adventure film, co-written and directed by Fritz Lang. Produced by Artur Brauner, it is an international co-production of West Germany, France and Italy. It is the second film, after The Tiger of Eschnapur (1959), that comprise "Fritz Lang's Indian Epic" duology, which are based on the 1918 novel Das indische Grabmal, written by Lang's ex-wife Thea von Harbou.
I Want to Destroy America is a documentary film by Peter I. Chang which traces the life of the Japanese musician Hisao Shinagawa through his early years as a folk singer in Tokyo to his current occupation as a street performer in Los Angeles.
Annie's Coming Out is a 1984 Australian drama film directed by Gil Brealey. It is based on the 1980 book Annie's Coming Out which was written by Rosemary Crossley, with the assistance of Anne McDonald. The book tells the story of McDonald's early life in a government institution for people with severe disabilities and her subsequent release, as well as her therapist's attempts to communicate with her through the discredited method of facilitated communication.
Fort Saganne is a 1984 French war film directed by Alain Corneau and starring Gérard Depardieu, Philippe Noiret, Catherine Deneuve, and Sophie Marceau. Based on the 1980 novel of the same name by Louis Gardel, the film is about a soldier of humble beginnings who volunteers for service in the Sahara in 1911. After falling in love with the beautiful young daughter of the regional administrator, he is ordered to go on missions in the desert, where he engages in several successful campaigns and experiences severe loneliness. Later, while on a diplomatic mission to Paris, he has a brief affair with a journalist. Returning to Africa, he leads a gallant defense against a feared sultan and is awarded the Legion of Honour medal. He returns to his home a national hero and marries the young girl he has not forgotten, but their happiness is interrupted by the onset of World War I.
"Crucifixion" is a 1966 song by Phil Ochs, a US singer-songwriter. Ochs described the song as "the greatest song I've ever written".
Michael Andrew Ochs is an American photographic archivist best known for his extensive collection of pictures related to rock music dating back to the 1950s and 1960s. The Michael Ochs Archives, located in Venice, California, contained 3 million vintage prints, proof sheets and negatives which were licensed daily for use in CD reissues, books, films and documentaries.
Phil Ochs: There but for Fortune is a documentary film on the life and times of folk singer-songwriter Phil Ochs. The film, released theatrically in January 2011, was written and directed by Kenneth Bowser. Its title is taken from one of Ochs' best known songs, "There but for Fortune" (1963).