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General Magic

Play trailer Poster for General Magic 2019 1h 28m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 22 Reviews Popcornmeter 0 Verified Ratings
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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General Magic

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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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Critics Reviews

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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. Go to Full Review
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. Go to Full Review
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. Go to Full Review
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. Go to Full Review
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... Go to Full Review
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 Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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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. :) See more 11/26/2020 one of the most inspiring tech documentaries I ever saw See more Bruce K 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. See more 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. See more @jhritz 02/01/2020 A cautionary tale of visionary vs time and cunning See more 01/02/2020 Wow, so informative yet emotional...the origin of a technological revolution that I've lived through. Loved it. See more Read all reviews
General Magic

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Movie Info

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
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