Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine Blu-ray Review

The Blu-ray presentation of "Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine" provides an engaging and technically robust viewing experience, harmonizing various visual sources with high proficiency. The disc delivers a 1080p, AVC-encoded video with a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. As is typical with documentaries incorporating extensive archival footage, there's a notable variance in image quality. New interviews, shot in high-definition, exhibit excellent detail, contrast, and color accuracy, showcasing first-rate video quality. In contrast, archival materials sourced from older home movies and videotapes reveal inherent limitations – lower resolution, frequent glitches, and artifacts. These are source-based issues and not faults of the Blu-ray encoding.

Magnolia has done an exemplary job in maintaining a high bitrate of 29.99 Mbps, ensuring sufficient bandwidth to handle the more challenging portions of aged footage without introducing new artifacts. While early periods depicted through 1980s videotape footage may manifest common flaws such as aliasing, crushing, noise, and lack of resolution, these are expected from such dated sources and do not detract significantly from the viewing experience. As the documentary progresses towards more contemporary content, the visual quality improves considerably. The newer interview segments and B-roll footage are crisp and clear with sharp details, natural flesh tones, vibrant colors, and consistent black levels, devoid of any bands, aliasing, noise, or artifacts.

"Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine" delivers its 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack with professional clarity and well-considered balance. The main focus of the audio presentation is the interview subjects' voices and Gibney's off-camera queries—all are rendered with outstanding clarity, free from interference. Gibney's occasional narration and the voiceover readings from Jobs's daughter Lisa's memoir are also easily intelligible, though Gibney's narration is noticeably quieter, requiring a viewing environment free of background noise. The musical score, credited to Will Bates, delicately supports the film's themes, featuring interspersed tracks by Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones, creating an engaging accompaniment, particularly notable during segments such as the iMac presentation.

However, the archival footage reveals its age and degradation through occasional blowouts and distortions, which can introduce a challenge in understanding some portions. Despite this setback, the newly recorded interview audio remains pristine and balanced across all channels. The score employs '80s computer sounds and synthesizer tones that are dynamically mixed to utilize the surround channels effectively. The spatial separation of elements provides an immersive audio experience, with certain score elements popping pleasantly through the audio space, ensuring that the film remains engaging while subtly supporting its documentary content.

Overall, while some archival segments show their age through audio imperfections, the majority of the audio experience in "Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine" is exemplary. The lossless encoding ensures that technical quality is maintained where possible, offering an enveloping soundscape that complements the film's visual narrative and thematic underpinnings.

The Blu-ray extras for "Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine" provide valuable insights about the movie and its making, enhancing the viewer's comprehension of the film’s broader context and underlying themes. The deleted scenes include 31 minutes of footage that didn’t make the final cut, featuring extended interviews and B-roll footage, offering additional perspectives particularly from notable individuals such as Richard Stallman. The nine-minute interview with director Alex Gibney is a solid primer on his motivations and thematic choices. A theatrical trailer is also included, along with promotional material from Magnolia Home Entertainment.

Extras included in this disc:

• Deleted Scenes: Eleven scenes including interviews and B-roll footage.
• Interview with Director Alex Gibney: Insights from the director summarizing the documentary.
• Theatrical Trailer: The official movie trailer.
• BD-Live Access: Check for updates feature available.

Alex Gibney’s "Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine" offers a distinct and probing documentary examination of the iconic Apple co-founder, setting it apart from other cinematic portrayals. Gibney's documentary initiates with the profound public mourning post-Jobs' death, illuminating the intense and widespread emotional connection people felt towards him. This sets the stage for a narrative that claims to explore what made Jobs so adored; however, Gibney’s examination tends to amalgamate Jobs' personal life with his professional exploits without thoroughly distinguishing between them. The film ultimately creates an impressionistic, rather than definitive, portrait of Jobs, paralleled in some ways to "Citizen Kane" but lacking the depth due to limited access to key individuals close to Jobs.

The documentary traces the well-trodden path of Jobs’ career from his early days with Steve Wozniak, through the establishment and triumph of Apple with milestones like the Macintosh, Pixar, and revolutionary products such as the iPhone and iPod. Yet, it highlights his more controversial aspects: a ruthless pursuit of success often cloaked in counter-cultural imagery like the "Think Different" campaign. Gibney critiques Jobs’ paradoxical nature—juxtaposing his Zen influences with Ayn Rand-esque behavior—but misses nuanced discussions on how much of Apple’s corporate actions were directly attributed to Jobs himself. Interviews, mainly from secondary sources and former insiders, lack the gravitas that more intimately connected figures could have provided, resulting in what some might see as a disjointed recounting of Jobs' life.

In essence, while Gibney's film touches on intriguing themes such as Jobs’ struggle with personal connections despite his innovations designed to connect people globally, it fails to draw a cohesive conclusion or present new insightful content. The lack of a clear narrative direction and reliance on peripheral voices means the documentary feels incomplete, especially when compared to dramatized versions that manage to cover similar ground more coherently. Hence, "Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine" reflects a conflicted portrayal, highlighting the duality of a revered yet controversial figure but stumbling in delivering a cohesive, impactful story.

"Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine" on Blu-Ray presents a decidedly mixed portrait of the iconic Apple co-founder. Directed by Alex Gibney, the film delves into various facets of Jobs' life and career, oscillating between depicting him as a visionary genius and a ruthless businessman. While segments such as the interview with Bob Belleville from the Macintosh design team and Chrisann Brennan provide valuable insights, the overall structure of the documentary lacks coherence. The narrative feels disjointed, sometimes substituting deep analysis with superficial judgment. Clocking in at 128 minutes, the film's episodic nature undermines its ambition to offer a comprehensive understanding of its subject.

Technically, the Blu-Ray release offers varied video and audio quality, contingent on the original source material's age. Archival footage suffers from noticeable wear and tear, whereas contemporary interviews and scenes display excellent clarity. Special features are a modest addition but fail to substantially enhance the overall value of the film. For those seeking an in-depth exploration of Steve Jobs' complex legacy, this documentary may leave much to be desired.

Although Gibney has made an interesting contribution to the growing portraiture of Steve Jobs, both written and cinematic, "The Man in the Machine" is a frustrating film, which too often substitutes reflexive value judgments for a detailed examination of the subject. Some segments, especially the interview with Bob Belleville, a member of the Macintosh design team, and with Chrisann Brennan, supply valuable perspective on Jobs' life and career, but at 128 minutes, the film feels too long for such an impressionistic creation—to use Gibney's term—and too episodic to cover the ambitious agenda that Gibney has set for himself. Worth seeing, but rent it.