Steve Jobs

The Aaron Sorkin-written, Danny Boyle-directed "Steve Jobs" is not, in the structest sense, a biopic; the movie is structured so that Jobs (brilliantly played by Michael Fassbender) and the same cohort of professional and personal connections interact, in real time, for about 40 minutes before the lanches of three major products in Jobs' legendary career.

The first -- the launch of the Apple II, in 1984 -- introduces many of the conflicts and personal conundrums the movie explores: Jobs' badly frayed friendship with Steve Wozniak (Seth Rogen), his tyrannical relationship with employees (including a bullied, but loyal Andy Hertzfeld, played by Michael Stuhlbrg), his tumultuous history with John Sculley (Jeff Daniels), and his affectionate (but tough) way of interacting with his assistant, Joanna Hoffman (Kate Winslet), who actually sort of succeeds in keeping him in line.

As the film progresses, leaping to 1988 (and the launch of Jobs' unsuccessful company Next, and then to 1998 and the start of the "i" devices empire with the iMac) the story of Jobs' career and the toll it has taken on those around him comes more clearly into focus. Most fraught is the ever-evolving, kaleidoscopic bond between Jobs, his daughter Lisa (played at ages 5, 9, and 19, by Makenzie Moss, Ripley Sobo, and Perla Haney-Jardine, respectively), and Lisa's Mother, Chrisann (Katherine Waterston).

The special features offer a wealth of trivia about the film's production, with an ebullient Boyle appearing on his own audio commentary track as well as in the featurette "Inside Jobs: The Making of Steve Jobs," a three-part documentary totaling about 45 minutes. The cast and some of the crew also contribute to this documentary, which explains how each of the films three segments was approached in different ways. For instance: The first third, set in 1984, was filmed on 16 mm and given a synth score by composer Daniel Pemberton; the second part, set in 1988, boasts an orchestral score and was shot on 35 mm; the third section, set in 1998, was shot on digital, while Pemberton created the music using a computer.

Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin and editor Elliot Graham are featured on a second audio commentary track; if you're keen to hear all about the fine art of what goes on in the editing suite, you'll find this track absorbing.

But the principle reason to purchase this release lies with Fassbender's performance, Sorkin's brilliant realized screenplay, and Boyle's energetic, inventive direction (not to mention Alwin H. K�chler's cinematography, which makes the confined real-world spaces used in the production from feeling claustrophobic).

"Steve Jobs"
Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack
$19.99
http://www.uphe.com/movies/steve-jobs