Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine

2015 "Bold. Brilliant. Brutal."
6.9| 2h9m| R| en
Details

When Steve Jobs died the world wept. But what accounted for the grief of millions of people who didn’t know him? This evocative film navigates Jobs' path from a small house in the suburbs, to zen temples in Japan, to the CEO's office of the world's richest company, exploring how Jobs’ life and work shaped our relationship with the computer. The Man in the Machine is a provocative and sometimes startling re-evaluation of the legacy of an icon.

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Magnolia Pictures

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Reviews

Limerculer A waste of 90 minutes of my life
Bergorks If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.
Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.
Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.
gavin6942 A look at the personal and private life of the late Apple CEO, Steve Jobs. According to critics, a very biased and negative look at these aspects, but who knows? I personally didn't find it to be that negative. Yes, some bad things are said about Jobs, but those are the opinions of the speaker, and the fact is that he was involved in some shady things. Overall, I thought this was pretty fair.We get a good overview of computer history, phreaking and more. I have to compare to "Steve Jobs", the Oscar-nominated film. As good as that was, it did not touch on some of the best things of this documentary. The hacking? I would love to have known more. I also now see why Ashton Kutcher was cast in the other Jobs biopic. Fassbinder is the better actor, but wow, Kutcher actually bears a resemblance to Jobs. It is remarkable.
CyberZeus67 I hate to say it but Gibney seriously missed the mark here. I think his recent trips through Land O Lance and Scientology have gone to his head big time. It seems pretty clear that Gibney, who's become known for the revelatory nature of his films, sought to do a "here's the real deal behind the guy you thought you knew" piece - and he failed miserably. First of all, his mission is doomed from the outset due to one very simple reason - it's simply impossible to deconstruct anyone's character inside of a 2-hour documentary. With the Armstrong piece, the scope was limited strictly to the fraud that is integral to Armstrong and even then, only to how that fraud infected Armstrong's cycling career. But here, Gibney decided to go for the whole enchilada. Second, there's nothing at all new or revealing in this piece. Everything Gibney brings up is all well-known by virtue of two very recent Jobs bios as well as the public domain. Rounding out the trifecta, Gibney tried to get in a few shots through the proverbial heart by interviewing some apparently key individuals to help in his deconstruction debacle - but alas this was also a nogo...none of the folks he interviewed really have any creditability on the subjects they were being called on to discuss and even if they did, again, nothing revelatory at all.It's clear within the first few minutes that what Gibney is really trying to do, via deconstruction, is to understand why so many loved Jobs. The problem here is that the question is not that hard to understand nor answer. The connection we feel is disguised as being to Jobs when in reality it's to what he has given us. It's the exact same as with anything we become emotionally attached to - music, a movie, etc. Sometimes those things evoke a strong emotional reaction and that single thing is the seed from which the resulting attachment grows. Apple products have been, and continue to be, engineered (as Jobs himself said) at the intersection of art and technology. They are meant to change how we express ourselves and interact with technology. And through that interaction, they are meant to truly enhance (hopefully by orders of magnitude) how we experience life and the people around us. And while Jobs didn't directly design nor build every amazing product himself, he was definitely the backbone and driving force behind the ideas and culture from which all on the team derived direction and motivation. Christ man, how could we not have an emotional attachment to Jobs and the products his teams brought to us??? Frankly, people either get it or they don't - And if they don't then fine but don't spin too many cycles on it because as Billy from The Departed says "It ain't supernatural".Unfortunately, Gibney did spin the cycles. After telling us he's made literally zero progress toward answering "Why do we love Jobs?", he closes with what appears to be a soliloquy\wax poetic of the contradictions that are Jobs - as if Gibney had a clue. People that were far closer to Jobs and who knew him a lot longer and went through a lot more with him oddly arrive at far different conclusions - who you gonna trust??? Yeah - this is the part where you walk out, go to the ticket booth, and demand your money back.Net-net - to those yet to see this film, I strongly urge you to save your $$$ and wait for this thing to hit any number of free streaming outlets. To those who did pony up the cash - me included - BUMMER.
Sergeant_Tibbs Despite his over productivity and well-known biases, Alex Gibney is always an essential documentarian to watch, especially since his Oscar winning film. He's already made the best documentary of the year thus far with his attack on Scientology, Going Clear, anything else is icing on the cake. While that film is a revealing call to arms, his Steve Jobs film The Man In The Machine tries those same tricks but it's coming a little too late, especially as the film frames itself over the outpouring of grief over his death. Not that the film is a poor effort. As Going Clear illustrated what we already knew, so does this film. It's not a 2-hour attack as reported - along with the justifications to question society's hero worship towards him are all the reasons he's beloved and considered a visionary that changed the world. Those later Apple announcements with the awed cheers for Jobs earn a similar spine-tingle as the Scientology congregations in Going Clear. It's more endearing here.The negative reaction to this documentary's criticisms almost highlight that hero worship he still harnesses, but it's difficult to argue over the hard facts of his bullying, both minor and major as documented here. Ultimately, Gibney poses the film as a reflection on our emotional connection to our technology and how that extends to its creator, but while it's an interesting conversation it results only in vague existentialism asking similar questions that he started with. Yes, we've grown dependant on our tech and Jobs' death sparked fear that innovation will slow, that's more or less where the grief comes from and nothing to do with Jobs' life or business tactics. His image as an icon is Goliath and this film is a little David and it offers a small but fair chiseling of that towering statue. It's not Gibney's best work and it spends this year in the shadow of two significant films, but it's still solidly produced and worth a watch for an insight into Jobs' life, especially with Danny Boyle's biopic on the horizon.7/10
pullmyfinger85 Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine is being accused of not being a very uplifting view of Steve Jobs himself. The interviews and actually footage of Steve Jobs speaks for itself. It's not mean spirited; it's actual events, conversations and scandals that took place. Make no mistake, Steve Jobs was a brilliant man. This well-made documentary is self aware of his genius mind and how he controlled and oversaw every aspect from concept to completion of Apple corp, products and NeXT. It explored how he was David and took down Goliath (IBM) and now in the 21st century, has taken the rein as Goliath and isn't afraid to stomp on the little man.Director Alex Gibney poses the question(s): Why are we all so obsessed with Steve? Why did we all mourn for a man we've never met? What emotional connection ties us all with our products to the man himself? If you're interested in this type of pop culture, definitely check it out. Great perspective on a man and company that have changed/dominated our culture in many, many ways.