Startup.com
Artisan Entertainment
Cast: Tom Herman, Kaleil Isaza Tuzman
Extras: Commentary Track, Trailer, Production Notes
Rating:
The Internet opened up new business opportunities to countless entrepreneurs, and ’DVD Review’ itself is a perfect example for this spirit. Artisan’s film ’Startup.com’ documents the attempts of Kaleil Isaza Tuzman and Tom Herman, two childhood friends, as they try to start up their own Internet business, a website called GovWorks.com, which allows visitors to do business with municipal government. The idea is a success and the company skyrockets to millions of dollars, but the cutthroat mentality of the Internet, the sharks, the exploitation and ultimately the collapse of Internet business as a whole, puts a quick end to their dream.
Although a real documentary, ’Startup.com’ is a fascinating look behind the scenes of an Internet business and more than once did I find myself watching events unfold that happened to us here at DVD Review just the same – although we are fortunately still around.
Artisan presents the movie in its original fullscreen format in a very clean transfer. The print is free of defects and the quality is stable and clean. Colors are well reproduced, although some of the footage is inherently limited by the recording technologies used. However, seen as a whole, the DVD creates a good and lively presentation of the film that is free of compression artifacts.
Obviously, ’Startup.com’ is not a film that uses aggressive surrounds, but nonetheless, the DVD comes with a 5.1 channel Dolby Digital audio track and a Dolby Surround mix. Both are clean and clear and well-produced, fully serving their purpose.
A great addition to the disc is the commentary track by director Jehane Noujaim and Chris Hegedus, who are able to share a great deal of additional information on the subject matter and the people involved. Also covering more technical aspects, this is a well-rounded commentary track that nicely adds to the package. Further extras on the disc include the theatrical trailer, cast & crew information and production notes.
There are many make-belief stories going around as to how Internet companies success and fail, and still many people surfing the Web are under the impression that banner advertising makes webmasters rich. The facts behind these ridiculous rumors are laid out very plainly in ’Startup.com,’ a great film that finally sheds some light on the myth surrounding Dotcom businesses.