DVD

***1/2

In this graceful documentary, director Margaret Brown searches for the essence of the late singer/songwriter who gave the world classic songs like "Pancho & Lefty" and "If I Needed You." Interviews with friends like Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris and Steve Earle shed light on the subject, but the mercurial, self-destructive genius at the center of the story remains as elusive as ever. Still, home movies offer unexpected moments of intimacy, while rare performance clips demonstrate exactly why, nearly a decade after his untimely death, so many remain under the spell of Townes' music.