The story of a failure that was, in fact, a triumph, “General Magic” recounts the short but brilliant life of an early 1990s technology company that saw the future too soon. Populated by some of the field’s brightest young minds, General Magic was driven by charismatic founder Marc Porat’s groundbreaking vision for a personal handheld smartphone, which flamed out not for lack of ingenuity but, rather, on account of poor timing. Sarah Kerruish and Matt Maude’s documentary pays tribute to his and others’ pioneering work, along the way providing a window into the revolutionary, competitive, and precarious world of Silicon Valley. As a literal origin story about how we live today, it’s a captivating history lesson with global appeal.
As Porat tells it in hindsight, the idea for his device — with phone, messaging, note-taking, and game functions — came to him in 1989, and “General Magic” bolsters his...
As Porat tells it in hindsight, the idea for his device — with phone, messaging, note-taking, and game functions — came to him in 1989, and “General Magic” bolsters his...
- 5/9/2019
- by Nick Schager
- Variety Film + TV
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