The movies' display of corporate greed is compelling even though Mr Shaw must have signed over any patent rights as a condition of his employment.The fact that Mr Shaw actually went to prison for attaching his equipment to the Bell system phone lines (are you kidding me?) for a misdemeanor demonstrates an example of obvious corporate influence.His relationship with organized crime is, I surmise, a combination of naivety and poor judgment and nothing more. Mr Shaw Sr is clearly a martyr but his son is definitely not. He is a life long criminal who appears to have reconciled with his father in order to exploit his unfortunate situation for financial gain. Think of Brian Williams, Al Sharpton; some things are so obvious.
8 Reviews
He could've been Jobs or Gates, but Bell wouldn't let him.
ammoncrossette21 February 2017
Aside from a clear favoritism of one political party, I found this documentary to be quite good. Yes there are some glaring omissions when it comes to what political parties did what. And clear favoritism of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, as the only time they are referenced they are shown with children or the elderly, with some kind of religious sounding music playing, even though the economic downturn of 2008 is at the heart of this films thesis. All that is really beside the point of the story of a man who should have been a very successful inventor of the twentieth century. But of course he wasn't, and that's the point heavily implied by the title Genius on Hold.
Give it a watch. Disregard your politics, and don't buy into heavily insinuated opinion in this film that all Republican Presidents have embodied the greed is good mentality. After all, the decades which this film covers the presidency was split 60/40 with more Democratic Presidents and lawmakers holding the majority of those years. But, that's not really what this film is about. It's about the man, Shaw, and his inventions.
Give it a watch. Disregard your politics, and don't buy into heavily insinuated opinion in this film that all Republican Presidents have embodied the greed is good mentality. After all, the decades which this film covers the presidency was split 60/40 with more Democratic Presidents and lawmakers holding the majority of those years. But, that's not really what this film is about. It's about the man, Shaw, and his inventions.
A Flawed Documentary About an American Tragedy
trescia-130 October 2015
Warning: Spoilers
This is a story that needs to be told, but the filmmakers could not keep themselves from turning it into a propaganda piece, and in so doing they undermined the message they were trying to promote. It is true that Walter Shaw was treated poorly by his employer, which happened to be the largest monopoly in the world, but the legal and technical intricacies of his situation are not explored in this film to the extent that they really need to be-- probably because the filmmakers knew that most people are about as interested in the legalities of the field of electronics as they are in the atmosphere of Jupiter.
The political bias in this movie isn't really such a huge problem. If you know how to spot a political bias, then most movies are dripping with propaganda and it's a surprise to find one that isn't promoting an agenda of some kind. What's wrong with "Genius on Hold" is that the propaganda content is poorly executed. It's not the propaganda that one objects to-- it's the poorly made propaganda. I mean, come on. I'll sit still for a good mental enema if the doctor orders it, but if the nurse is as sloppy as the makers of this film, I might end up in worse shape. It's important to keep focused on the plot and not lose track of it when making a film, documentary or otherwise. "Genius on Hold" fails to stick to the point, and, at times, sounds a bit like your weird uncle at the Thanksgiving table, rambling on and on about Vietnam or Nixon while the other family members roll their eyes.
I'm giving this movie a solid "8" despite the flaws, because it is a true story about the nature of capitalism, no matter how poorly the filmmaker pasted it together. It's still absolutely compelling. This is blood-chilling stuff. It's Halloween here tomorrow. I can't imagine a film more horrifying than "Genius on Hold." No scary movie ever made is more frightening than the image of Walter Shaw and his damaged family. I'll be seeing him sitting in the bus station in my nightmares.
Yes, it's flawed film. See it anyway.
The political bias in this movie isn't really such a huge problem. If you know how to spot a political bias, then most movies are dripping with propaganda and it's a surprise to find one that isn't promoting an agenda of some kind. What's wrong with "Genius on Hold" is that the propaganda content is poorly executed. It's not the propaganda that one objects to-- it's the poorly made propaganda. I mean, come on. I'll sit still for a good mental enema if the doctor orders it, but if the nurse is as sloppy as the makers of this film, I might end up in worse shape. It's important to keep focused on the plot and not lose track of it when making a film, documentary or otherwise. "Genius on Hold" fails to stick to the point, and, at times, sounds a bit like your weird uncle at the Thanksgiving table, rambling on and on about Vietnam or Nixon while the other family members roll their eyes.
I'm giving this movie a solid "8" despite the flaws, because it is a true story about the nature of capitalism, no matter how poorly the filmmaker pasted it together. It's still absolutely compelling. This is blood-chilling stuff. It's Halloween here tomorrow. I can't imagine a film more horrifying than "Genius on Hold." No scary movie ever made is more frightening than the image of Walter Shaw and his damaged family. I'll be seeing him sitting in the bus station in my nightmares.
Yes, it's flawed film. See it anyway.
Apt Comparison Made Between AT&T/Bell and Fascism
AudioFileZ23 April 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Those thirty-somethings probably don't know it but a part of your inheritance was systematically legally stolen from the previous generations of your family. They willfully entered into this devil's deal just by having a telephone. A phone, or phones, they rented because they couldn't own one outright. They paid rates they had no voice in even as our government claimed to regulate it on their behalf. This created the wealthiest corporation on the planet which would remain so until it was forced into divestiture. The employees of AT&T while being paid slightly better than many industries were just hired pawns who themselves did not share in this astronomical wealth. AT&T used every means necessary to maintain their "legal monopoly" short of outright murder. I say all of this because even in 2017 I have contempt for all that was and is AT&T. Even in their current day guise they still are masters at extracting the maximum amount of money from their customers by sneaking in rate increases, adding extra charges often claiming they are legally required to do so when no such thing exists, and rarely delivering the actual claimed service performance they sell. I say all of this because this isn't the only sordid tale of "The Bell System & AT&T". While they stole from the masses they also engaged in crushing individuals that stood in their way of maintaining an absolute stranglehold on all telecommunications. We don't know of these folks mostly because they're like us, individuals without the comparative power of the almighty corporate entity. Walter Shaw, we learn, is one of the casualties of corporation if they couldn't own or control you would make sure they ruined you.
Walter Shaw's story is as exceptional as he was a truly brilliant engineer. When he believed that while AT&T was free to use his inventions created under his employ he should retain the patents. AT&T was a "brick wall" as far as allowing one of it's engineers to retain patent rights and in time Shaw left AT&T. Shaw found that it was akin to professional suicide leaving AT&T and attempting to use his inventions by tying into AT&T's national telephone network. Not even by paying for the right to do so would AT&T yield any concessions to Shaw making his inventions worthless with no system to integrate them into. Shaw became desperate and he took a number of appointed projects on just to cloth, feed, and shelter his family. It even included a stint in Russia to bring their telecommunications to a standard that would work with AT&T. These projects never provided long-term financial stability for Shaw and he would vacillate between abject poverty and skirting legalities to find uses, and income, for his devices. It put him in a corner and that led to a federal prison sentence. Now this isn't the end of the story, nor does it do it justice the way only the movie shows. I think it paints the story of the good man who only wanted to be an inventor reduced to being a man in dire straights. Those dire things shattered his family even as they remained together. More bad things would happen to the Shows while AT&T literally wagged the tail of the government to continue to legally overcharge, thus steal, from every phone user in The United States...And, crush anyone who stood in their way. It would still take many years before this monopoly was shown to be what it actually was. They really never were held criminally responsible for all of this simply because they wrote the laws that protected AT&T while eliminating competition.
Of course the subject of the movie is Walter Shaw. He was without doubt a brilliant engineer who if he was ever given his just and humane treatment by AT&T would have had a radically different life. Instead he had a difficult life that sometimes had unbelievable ironies. This movie shows much of that without any kind of sensationalism. It's not for everyone as many folks see this kind of stuff as for geeks or just plain dry and not of interest. It's that very lack of interest and the disconnect between big corporations and our huge government on one side and the rest of us on the other that makes tragedies like this possible. It's definitely worth a look to see how corporatism over corporate responsibility won out in the economics affecting us all still today. For some, like myself, this will be a worthwhile watch showing the plight of talented and driven man - because in many ways Walter Shaw represents the best of us who were let down by the government that was suppose to be representing individual's interest and well-being. I say watch it because even if you think you would not keep looking you may find you watch it until the final credits. It's a good true tale.
Walter Shaw's story is as exceptional as he was a truly brilliant engineer. When he believed that while AT&T was free to use his inventions created under his employ he should retain the patents. AT&T was a "brick wall" as far as allowing one of it's engineers to retain patent rights and in time Shaw left AT&T. Shaw found that it was akin to professional suicide leaving AT&T and attempting to use his inventions by tying into AT&T's national telephone network. Not even by paying for the right to do so would AT&T yield any concessions to Shaw making his inventions worthless with no system to integrate them into. Shaw became desperate and he took a number of appointed projects on just to cloth, feed, and shelter his family. It even included a stint in Russia to bring their telecommunications to a standard that would work with AT&T. These projects never provided long-term financial stability for Shaw and he would vacillate between abject poverty and skirting legalities to find uses, and income, for his devices. It put him in a corner and that led to a federal prison sentence. Now this isn't the end of the story, nor does it do it justice the way only the movie shows. I think it paints the story of the good man who only wanted to be an inventor reduced to being a man in dire straights. Those dire things shattered his family even as they remained together. More bad things would happen to the Shows while AT&T literally wagged the tail of the government to continue to legally overcharge, thus steal, from every phone user in The United States...And, crush anyone who stood in their way. It would still take many years before this monopoly was shown to be what it actually was. They really never were held criminally responsible for all of this simply because they wrote the laws that protected AT&T while eliminating competition.
Of course the subject of the movie is Walter Shaw. He was without doubt a brilliant engineer who if he was ever given his just and humane treatment by AT&T would have had a radically different life. Instead he had a difficult life that sometimes had unbelievable ironies. This movie shows much of that without any kind of sensationalism. It's not for everyone as many folks see this kind of stuff as for geeks or just plain dry and not of interest. It's that very lack of interest and the disconnect between big corporations and our huge government on one side and the rest of us on the other that makes tragedies like this possible. It's definitely worth a look to see how corporatism over corporate responsibility won out in the economics affecting us all still today. For some, like myself, this will be a worthwhile watch showing the plight of talented and driven man - because in many ways Walter Shaw represents the best of us who were let down by the government that was suppose to be representing individual's interest and well-being. I say watch it because even if you think you would not keep looking you may find you watch it until the final credits. It's a good true tale.
Informative and full of surprises
logopolis23 October 2014
This excellent documentary provides new information about the Mafia, the FBI as well as AT&T. It shows the phone monopoly was far more ruthless than most of us knew. It shows what really went on with Joe Valachi and the FBI at the Kefauver hearings. My lasting insight from this film is the connection between corporatism and fascism.
It is also the story of a brilliant man brought down because he was too successful and his strange turn to the dark side in attempt to survive. The audience for this film is everyone interested in AT&T, the nature of monopolies, or power shift in America since the 1960's.
This film is well produced with lots of archive footage.
It is also the story of a brilliant man brought down because he was too successful and his strange turn to the dark side in attempt to survive. The audience for this film is everyone interested in AT&T, the nature of monopolies, or power shift in America since the 1960's.
This film is well produced with lots of archive footage.
Interesting but one-sided viewpoint
kands61917 August 2020
More than once we are told that Shaw was prevented from earning a living by Bell. I doubt he was hired without agreeing that he could not profit directly from any patents. Most engineers work under that agreement now, for understandable reasons. I think it was his ego that wouldn't allow him to give his invention to Bell who in turn would invest in it, build it, market it, and take the financial loss if it failed to be marketable. Some people forget that side of things. Bell would be taking all the risk and Shaw would be taking none. When he was unemployed, if he had such a passion for his work, he could have gone to Europe or other places in the world. The U.S. wasn't the only place that had phones. Also, I believe it was his ego again that prevented him from getting an engineering job in another industry. With his skill, that would have been easy to do and would have provided a good paycheck. Instead he let his family live in uncertainty while he chased his dream. He was willing to compromise his values and work with the Mob in order to display his genius. I think that his choices were very selfish. I fault this show for not questioning those choices and his motivation for his actions. Instead it presented a sob story about how he was wronged and what he had to resort to. People may come to that conclusion but they should not be spoon fed it. They should be given all aspects to consider as they reach their conclusion.
Confusing and Dull
beehague30 October 2014
What could have been an interesting bio was turned into a political propaganda piece probably written and produced by a few of the unwashed Occupy Wall Street crowd. Not quite historically accurate, very one-sided, confusing and worse - very dull. The story of Shaw is interesting but nothing new. Work done and patents applied for by individuals in corporations usually belong to the firm that provided all of the tools, supplies, equipment, money and benefits, and which is usually stipulated in the hiring contract. Shaw wanted it all for himself and in doing so ran up against one of the biggest companies in the world (at that time). Hubris kills. Shaw wanted to use his products with AT&T's system without any penalty. Think about that the next time you see the FBI warning on every DVD, or if you try to install your app on your iPhone without Apple's permission. Again, the story of Shaw would have been very interesting if the writer - director hadn't used this to promote his own distorted view of American business and capitalism. I enjoy a good story; I don't like propaganda.
Nothing but an excuse to bash America
yowilwasup5 August 2020
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
