General Magic

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General Magic

2019

1h 28m

Documentary

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General Magic is the story of the original creators of the smartphone, who after a great failure, changed the lives of billions. In 1990, at a secretive Silicon Valley start-up, a small and passionate group of innovators and engineers formed to build a magical device that would enable anyone to connect everyone to everywhere and everything -- a personal computer in your pocket. General Magic, though relatively unknown, is considered by many to be one of the most influential innovation startups in the history of technology. This pioneering team -- featuring visionaries like Tony Fadell (co-creator of the iPod and iPhone, founder of Nest, author of Build), Megan Smith (former White House CTO, founder of shift7), Marc Porat (original visionary of the smartphone), Andy Hertzfeld (software engineer, original Macintosh team), and Joanna Hoffman (marketing, original Macintosh team) -- created the first smartphone and laid the foundation for many of the 21st century's most transformative communication and digital technologies.‍ While the business of General Magic ultimately did not succeed, the groundbreaking technologies developed by this trailblazing startup and the subsequent ventures led by its team have profoundly impacted the lives of billions.

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Critics Consensus

General Magic offers up an affectionately detailed and remarkably inspiring meditation on success and failure in Silicon Valley.

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Bilge Ebiri

New York Times

07/11/2019

"General Magic" is engaging, but there's a tougher, tighter film in here struggling to get out.

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Adam Graham

Detroit News

05/31/2019

B+

"General Magic" shows how it may have never happened had the startup's timing not been a little bit off.

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Kenneth Turan

Los Angeles Times

05/09/2019

"General Magic" is such an involving documentary for so many reasons it's hard to know where to begin. The title itself, as it turns out, might be best.

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Nathan Mattise

Ars Technica

07/28/2021

The film does well to show that the talent assembled at General Magic seems truly staggering in retrospect.

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Doris Toumarkine

FilmDINGHY.com

02/11/2020

Beyond its informational and narrative value, a vigorously-paced, magnificently-produced doc that integrates some gorgeous aerial cinematography and a rich, lulling original score...

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Mark R. Leeper

Mark Leeper's Reviews

07/08/2019

7/10

GENERAL MAGIC is a look at the inside of the tech company by many of the people who were there. It is the story of the company as seen by insiders of General Magic

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05/28/2021

Enjoyed this movie on a recommend from a friend. I think he overhyped it, but I found it an interesting documentary. Amazing how early the Appley patented snobbery was evident. :)

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11/26/2020

one of the most inspiring tech documentaries I ever saw

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Bruce K

@RT58984777 05/13/2020

Should have been 30 minutes shorter. I love how many game changers came from this company. It is a decent Silicon Valley doc.

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02/06/2020

This probably would have been a great documentary if I could have been able to hear the dialogue and commentary over the music. The editors should be ashamed of themselves for allowing the music, which is supposed to be in the background, to egocentrically take up the film by prominently being in the foreground.

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John H

@jhritz 02/01/2020

A cautionary tale of visionary vs time and cunning

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01/02/2020

Wow, so informative yet emotional...the origin of a technological revolution that I've lived through. Loved it.

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Sarah Kerruish

Director

Matt Maude

Director

Sarah Kerruish

Screenwriter

Matt Maude

Screenwriter

Jonathan Key

Screenwriter

Michael Stern

Screenwriter

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Synopsis

General Magic is the story of the original creators of the smartphone, who after a great failure, changed the lives of billions. In 1990, at a secretive Silicon Valley start-up, a small and passionate group of innovators and engineers formed to build a magical device that would enable anyone to connect everyone to everywhere and everything -- a personal computer in your pocket. General Magic, though relatively unknown, is considered by many to be one of the most influential innovation startups in the history of technology. This pioneering team -- featuring visionaries like Tony Fadell (co-creator of the iPod and iPhone, founder of Nest, author of Build), Megan Smith (former White House CTO, founder of shift7), Marc Porat (original visionary of the smartphone), Andy Hertzfeld (software engineer, original Macintosh team), and Joanna Hoffman (marketing, original Macintosh team) -- created the first smartphone and laid the foundation for many of the 21st century's most transformative communication and digital technologies.‍ While the business of General Magic ultimately did not succeed, the groundbreaking technologies developed by this trailblazing startup and the subsequent ventures led by its team have profoundly impacted the lives of billions.

Director: Sarah Kerruish, Matt Maude
Producer: Sarah Kerruish, Matt Maude
Screenwriter: Sarah Kerruish, Matt Maude, Jonathan Key, Michael Stern, Ceri Tallett
Distributor: Gravitas Ventures
Production Co: Spellbound Productions
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 12, 2019, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 9, 2019
Runtime: 1h 28m