
Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune (2010) on Netflix
NR20101h 36mBiographyDocumentaryHistory
Folk singer-songwriter Phil Ochs arrives in Greenwich Village in 1962, writing songs from the daily news and hoping to lead the folk movement. Bob Dylan is claiming that title.
- Netflix3.7/5
- IMDb7.8/10448 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes97%
Trailer

Plot summary
Phil Ochs, the folk singer-songwriter, is the subject of a documentary that moves from his college years at Ohio State University to Greenwich Village, where he settled in 1962. Archival footage of his performances, along with interviews, presents a songwriter who drew his material from the headlines of the day, addressing racial injustice, political oppression, the war in Vietnam and the struggles of working people. Musicians, record producers and movement organizers who knew him recall the folk revival and the protest politics they shared, and members of his family also speak. Commentators from later generations describe his influence. News clips of the civil rights campaigns, the Kennedy assassination, the antiwar rallies and the 1968 Chicago convention appear throughout.
Cast
Phil Ochsas Self (archive footage)
- Tom Paxtonas Self
Jello Biafraas Friend / Musician
Christopher Hitchensas Journalist / Author
Billy Braggas Musician / Activist
Joan Baezas Friend / Musician / Activist
Ed Sandersas Self
Pete Seegeras Self
Sean Pennas Self
Salvador Allendeas Himself (archive footage)
- Erik Andersenas Himself (archive footage)
- Lola Cohenas Friend / Activist
Show all 20 cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune (2010)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Joan Baez, the "Queen of Folk Music" of the early 1960s, had a hit with Ochs' song "There but for Fortune" and sang it with him as a duet at a concert.
- Pete Seeger took Phil Ochs and Bob Dylan to meet Sis Cunningham and Gordon Friesen just as the two were about to start Broadside, a magazine devoted to protest songs.
Stills
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