Genius On Hold (2013)
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83% of critics liked it
(6 reviews) -
67% of users liked it
(111 ratings)
At the heart of GENIUS ON HOLD is the story of Walter L. Shaw-a brilliant inventor with an astonishing list of telecommunications patents to his name including call forwarding, touchtone dialing, speakerphone and voice recognition. His ground-breaking designs should have earned him great fortune and… More At the heart of GENIUS ON HOLD is the story of Walter L. Shaw-a brilliant inventor with an astonishing list of telecommunications patents to his name including call forwarding, touchtone dialing, speakerphone and voice recognition. His ground-breaking designs should have earned him great fortune and lasting fame, but for one thing-the power, greed, and oppression of AT&T, the largest, government-sanctioned, telecommunications monopoly in the United States which blocked him from realizing his dream. Punished, imprisoned, and eventually destitute, Shaw was drawn to the only organization that would reward him for his talent-the mob, whose bookies used his "black box" and "blue box" to run their gambling operations and evade the Feds. His son, Walter T. Shaw, embittered by his father's destruction, turned to organized crime and became one of the most notorious jewel thieves in American history. All to get back at the system that destroyed his family -- but at what cost?
- Directed By
- Gregory Marquette
- Written By
- Gregory Marquette
- Genres
- Documentary, Special Interest
PG,
- In Theaters
- Mar 1, 2013 Limited
- Studio
- Freestyle Releasing
Critic Reviews
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Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times
Marquette, aided by Frank Langella's precise narration, has crafted an engrossing and disturbing tribute.
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Nicolas Rapold, New York Times
This promisingly tragic tale is sunk by cartloads of context and an overbearing, slanted narration.
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Ernest Hardy, Village Voice
A far-reaching narrative of government venality and big-business greed that's all mapped succinctly but substantively.
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Brent Simon, Shockya.com
A movie that underscores that the winners and losers of some battles of capitalism aren't always confined to a single generation; its shadows are long ones.
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Doris Toumarkine, Film Journal International
A provocative side trip into Americana, as fascinating as it is tendentious.
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Cast
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Frank Langella
as Narrator
