Films, TV shows (factual) and documentaries about the computer industry

[Elliot B.]

If you have more, please reply and I'll try to get them added to this post.

 

Apple-related

 

General Magic (2018)

 

The ideas that dominate the tech industry and our day to day lives were born at a secretive Silicon Valley start-up named 'General Magic', which spun out of Apple in 1990 to create the first handheld personal communicator (or "smartphone").

 

Steve Jobs (2015)

 

Biographical drama film, adapted from the 2011 book of the same name by Walter Isaacson as well as interviews conducted by Aaron Sorkin. The film is structured into three acts which cover 14 years (1984–1998) in the life of personal computing innovator and Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs, with each act taking place immediately prior to the launch of a key product – the Apple Macintosh, the NeXT Computer and the iMac.

 

Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine (2015)

 

A look at the personal and private life of the late Apple CEO, Steve Jobs.

 

Jobs (2013)

 

Biographical drama film based on the life of Steve Jobs, from 1974 while a student at Reed College to the introduction of the iPod in 2001.

 

iSteve (2013)

 

Parody biopic film on the life of Steve Jobs after his death.

 

Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview (2012)

 

Documentary that consists of the original 70 minute interview that Steve Jobs gave to Robert X. Cringely in 1995 for the PBS documentary, Triumph of the Nerds.

 

Welcome to Macintosh (2008)

 

Documentary film focusing on computer company Apple Inc. and its Macintosh line of computers.

 

Microsoft

 

Inside Bill's Brain: Decoding Bill Gates (2019)

 

Three-part documentary web television series that explores the mind and motivations of Bill Gates, former CEO of Microsoft and founder of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, together with his wife.

 

Facebook

 

The Social Network (2010)

 

Biographical drama film, adapted from Ben Mezrich's 2009 book The Accidental Billionaires. The film portrays the founding of social networking website Facebook and the resulting lawsuits.

 

Other

 

Valley of the Boom (2019)

 

American docudrama television miniseries which centers on the 1990s tech boom and bust in Silicon Valley.

 

Deep Web (2015)

 

Documentary film, chronicling events surrounding Silk Road, bitcoin and politics of the dark web.

 

Downloaded (2013)

 

Documentary film about the downloading generation and the impact of filesharing on the Internet.

 

The Startup Kids (2012)

 

Documentary about young technology entrepreneurs in the U.S. and Europe. Features interviews of notable startup founders and investors from the US and Europe about the startup environment, including the venture capitalist Tim Draper and MG Siegler, tech blogger at Techcrunch

 

Something Ventured (2011)

 

Documentary film investigating the emergence of American venture capitalism in the mid-20th century. It follows the stories of the venture capitalists who worked with entrepreneurs to start and build companies like Apple, Intel, Genentech, Cisco, Atari, Tandem, and others.

 

Codebreaker (2011)

 

TV film about the life of Alan Turing, one of the people who worked on the first computers.

 

Micro Men (2009)

 

One-off BBC drama television programme set in the late 1970s and the early-mid 1980s, about the rise of the British home computer market. It focuses on the rivalry between Sir Clive Sinclair, who developed the ZX Spectrum, and Chris Curry, the man behind the BBC Micro.

 

We Live in Public (2009)

 

Documentary film which profiles Internet pioneer Josh Harris. Its theme is the loss of privacy in the Internet age.

 

Babbage (2008)

 

Short film about the Victorian computing pioneer Charles Babbage.

 

The IT Crowd (2006-2013)

 

British comedy sitcom set in the offices of the fictional Reynholm Industries. The programme revolves around the three staff members of its IT department: a coding genius, a work-shy man and the department head/relationship manager who knows nothing about IT.

 

Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999)

 

Made-for-television biographical drama film spanning the years 1971–1997 and based on Paul Freiberger and Michael Swaine's 1984 book Fire in the Valley: The Making of the Personal Computer. It explores the impact that the rivalry between Jobs (Apple Computer) and Gates (Microsoft) had on the development of the personal computer.

 

Nerds 2.0.1 (1998)

 

American PBS television documentary that explores the development of the Arpanet, the Internet, and the World Wide Web in from 1969 to 1998.

 

Triumph of the Nerds (1996)

 

British/American television documentary, which explores the development of the personal computer in the United States from World War II to 1995.

 

The Machine That Changed the World (1992)

 

5-episode television miniseries on the history of electronic digital computers.

 

Hackers: Wizards of the Electronic Age (1985)

 

TV documentary about the hacker community.

Edited February 15, 2020 by Elliot B.

[Elliot B.]

Unable to edit the main post above, so here are some more:

 

Apple

 

Steve Jobs: Billion Dollar Hippy (2011)
 

The Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and other experts give their views on the rise, fall and come back of Apple with Steve Jobs at the helm.

 

Steve Jobs: One Last Thing (2011)

PBS documentary that examines how Steve Jobs' talent, style and imagination have shaped all of our lives and the influences that shaped and molded the man himself.

 

Other

 

Bitcoin: The End of Money as We Know It (2015)

Documentary that traces the history of money, from the bartering societies of the ancient world to the trading floors of Wall St. 

 

The Rise and Rise of Bitcoin (2014)

American documentary film; interviews multiple companies and people that have played important roles in the expansion of Bitcoin.

 

Halt and Catch Fire (2014-2017)

American period drama television series that takes place over a period of more than ten years, depicting a fictional insider's view of the personal computer revolution of the 1980s and later the growth of the World Wide Web in the early 1990s.

 

Mark Zuckerberg: Inside Facebook (2011)

With exclusive access to founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg and other Facebook bosses, BBC's Emily Maitlis examines the Harvard origins of the site and how Facebook wants to make sharing all kinds of digital content easier.

 

The Pixar Story (2007)

Documentary of the history of Pixar Animation Studios.

 

I'm surprised at the lack of Bill Gates / Microsoft documentaries, TV series and films.

[neufuse Veteran]

45 minutes ago, Elliot B. said:

 

 

I'm surprised at the lack of Bill Gates / Microsoft documentaries, TV series and films.

You're surprise that the film industry that loves apple products and use them for editing more then others haven't done more documentaries on Microsoft? 😛

 

btw, where's the documentaries on IBM, I know some exist but can't think of the names

[Elliot B.]

10 hours ago, neufuse said:

You're surprise that the film industry that loves apple products and use them for editing more then others haven't done more documentaries on Microsoft? 😛

 

btw, where's the documentaries on IBM, I know some exist but can't think of the names

Nor me 😂