The story chronicles the creation of Amiga computer by Silicon Valley mavericks in 1985, its downfall, and revival by fans, exploring its impact on multimedia digital art and expression defy... Read allThe story chronicles the creation of Amiga computer by Silicon Valley mavericks in 1985, its downfall, and revival by fans, exploring its impact on multimedia digital art and expression defying tech giants like IBM and Apple.The story chronicles the creation of Amiga computer by Silicon Valley mavericks in 1985, its downfall, and revival by fans, exploring its impact on multimedia digital art and expression defying tech giants like IBM and Apple.
Robert J. Mical
- Self
- (as R.J. Mical)
Jason Scott Sadofsky
- Self
- (as Jason Scott)
Featured reviews
10tammix
This docu was missed over years, i find it very important. One men do the right and took so many time for research and invited great peoples from the Amiga developer team for a lot interviews. I find the Viva Amiga Docu very good and cool. Zachary do a great job with this docu.
Thank you for 👍
Really good documentary focusing on the Amiga computer and the team that made their digital dream a reality. The film takes you on a journey of the story which is also further amplified by captivating 3d effects and music. Certainly a deeply emotional watch and recommended to anyone who has an interest in vintage computing. The film is a true testament that the director Zach Weddington that has worked so hard to put this masterpiece together.
This is of course coming from someone who grew up with 16 bit computers and although being an Atari ST man at heart, I always appreciated the Amiga for what a great machine it was.
This is of course coming from someone who grew up with 16 bit computers and although being an Atari ST man at heart, I always appreciated the Amiga for what a great machine it was.
First off, this is a great documentary. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
My generation lived through the "computer boom" of the 80's. We experienced first hand the frustrations of making them work; the joy and adulation when we did make them work and we bore witness to the giant leaps in technology that were being made. The Commodore Amiga was one such leap and this documentary charts its success and ultimate demise of the machine extremely well indeed.
The passion and enthusiasm on display from the people directly involved in its creation (RJ Mical, Dave Haynie, Dave Needle and so on) still clearly exists today and is almost palpable.
This documentary draws you into that enthusiasm and nostalgia and packs a lot into just over an hour. I was left wanting more but still very satisfied with what I got. Great Stuff!
I would highly recommend this documentary.
My generation lived through the "computer boom" of the 80's. We experienced first hand the frustrations of making them work; the joy and adulation when we did make them work and we bore witness to the giant leaps in technology that were being made. The Commodore Amiga was one such leap and this documentary charts its success and ultimate demise of the machine extremely well indeed.
The passion and enthusiasm on display from the people directly involved in its creation (RJ Mical, Dave Haynie, Dave Needle and so on) still clearly exists today and is almost palpable.
This documentary draws you into that enthusiasm and nostalgia and packs a lot into just over an hour. I was left wanting more but still very satisfied with what I got. Great Stuff!
I would highly recommend this documentary.
I was a proud Commodore user between 1985 and 1996, having owned an Amiga 500 since 1987 that was replaced by an Amiga 1200. I still own both, and they both still work! Furthermore, I was also part of the "Demoscene" and also part of a team that developed a commercial game.
I'm just telling you this so that you might understand that the Amiga was a very valued part of my youth, including visits to quite some Amiga fairs.
Unfortunately, this documentation only stays on the surface. There is nothing new, nothing surprising, and on top of that it even doesn't have a clear structure.
People that didn't know the Amiga and the hype accompanying this computer back then will not understand it and will be none the wiser after having watched this.
It was mentioned in other reviews that this documentation is very USA-centric, which is unfortunately true. Unfortunately, because it is agreed on that the Amiga had its biggest impact in Europe (in the UK and Germany, to be specific).
What is this documentation trying to achieve? To share some memories of people involved from the beginning like RJ Mical? To boast about its gfx/ video capabilities (by using the old but still impressive example with Deborah "Would you like to paint me?" Harry and Andy Warhol)? To prove that it's still being used by a few enthusiasts like the very valued 4Mat?
And where are the games and the demos? If I remember correctly, there's maybe 20 seconds of game footage or even less, and I didn't see any demos at all. (For me, demos is something that not only made the Amiga so special, but is one of the main reasons why the Amiga is still remembered by many and being used by some enthusiasts.)
The problem is, it never goes deeper. For example, especially for people that do not know the computer capabilities back then in the mid-80s - it's not enough to (wrongfully!) state that Apple was black & white, PC was green on black, and the Amiga had color and multitasking. There was nothing to help me as a viewer understand why the Amiga was such a breakthrough at that time. Sure, nearly all the interviewees mention it quite often, but if I didn't know the Amiga, I would ask myself: "OK, but - why was this such a sensation???"
The old advertisement footage was mostly nice, but in the end doesn't help the documentation.
And some things, like the "Revision" sequences filmed in Saarbrucken/ Germany, feel like completely out of place, just because the documentary never mentions the demo-scene, but all of a sudden we see a bunch of people sitting in a big, dark hall - "but what the hell are they doing there?" you might ask yourself...
I gave it a 5/10, because I recognize the effort that the director took to make this film, not being a professional filmmaker and such. But I certainly will not watch it a 2nd time. (And please don't quit your day-to-day job!)
And I really do not understand where the 30k funding money went into. Even in 2010, good and affordable equipment was available, and the travels couldn't haven been costly. (Maybe he had to pay fees for interviewing some of the people!?)
I'm just telling you this so that you might understand that the Amiga was a very valued part of my youth, including visits to quite some Amiga fairs.
Unfortunately, this documentation only stays on the surface. There is nothing new, nothing surprising, and on top of that it even doesn't have a clear structure.
People that didn't know the Amiga and the hype accompanying this computer back then will not understand it and will be none the wiser after having watched this.
It was mentioned in other reviews that this documentation is very USA-centric, which is unfortunately true. Unfortunately, because it is agreed on that the Amiga had its biggest impact in Europe (in the UK and Germany, to be specific).
What is this documentation trying to achieve? To share some memories of people involved from the beginning like RJ Mical? To boast about its gfx/ video capabilities (by using the old but still impressive example with Deborah "Would you like to paint me?" Harry and Andy Warhol)? To prove that it's still being used by a few enthusiasts like the very valued 4Mat?
And where are the games and the demos? If I remember correctly, there's maybe 20 seconds of game footage or even less, and I didn't see any demos at all. (For me, demos is something that not only made the Amiga so special, but is one of the main reasons why the Amiga is still remembered by many and being used by some enthusiasts.)
The problem is, it never goes deeper. For example, especially for people that do not know the computer capabilities back then in the mid-80s - it's not enough to (wrongfully!) state that Apple was black & white, PC was green on black, and the Amiga had color and multitasking. There was nothing to help me as a viewer understand why the Amiga was such a breakthrough at that time. Sure, nearly all the interviewees mention it quite often, but if I didn't know the Amiga, I would ask myself: "OK, but - why was this such a sensation???"
The old advertisement footage was mostly nice, but in the end doesn't help the documentation.
And some things, like the "Revision" sequences filmed in Saarbrucken/ Germany, feel like completely out of place, just because the documentary never mentions the demo-scene, but all of a sudden we see a bunch of people sitting in a big, dark hall - "but what the hell are they doing there?" you might ask yourself...
I gave it a 5/10, because I recognize the effort that the director took to make this film, not being a professional filmmaker and such. But I certainly will not watch it a 2nd time. (And please don't quit your day-to-day job!)
And I really do not understand where the 30k funding money went into. Even in 2010, good and affordable equipment was available, and the travels couldn't haven been costly. (Maybe he had to pay fees for interviewing some of the people!?)
Zachary Weddington's "Viva Amiga" is an exceptional documentary about the Amiga computer. Although it's heyday was in the 1980's, there are fans even today that are still modifying the software and running these revolutionary devices.
Spanning the globe to find those who worked on the original product, their passion, and rightfully so, their disappointment is revealed. When scales of economy ruled the day at Apple and Microsoft, this device, similar to the Commodore 64, tried its level best to enter a general market that just wasn't ready for it. Don't tell that to the legions of global fans who, much like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, were toying with their Amiga computers in their garages.
"Viva Amiga" is as much about the people who worked on the product as much as it is of the fans. Weddington's passion is on full display.
I cannot recommend "Viva Amiga" enough.
Spanning the globe to find those who worked on the original product, their passion, and rightfully so, their disappointment is revealed. When scales of economy ruled the day at Apple and Microsoft, this device, similar to the Commodore 64, tried its level best to enter a general market that just wasn't ready for it. Don't tell that to the legions of global fans who, much like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, were toying with their Amiga computers in their garages.
"Viva Amiga" is as much about the people who worked on the product as much as it is of the fans. Weddington's passion is on full display.
I cannot recommend "Viva Amiga" enough.
Did you know
- TriviaThere are some people visible in the trailer and in the end credits that have no part in the final movie.
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Viva Amiga: The Story of a Beautiful Machine
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 2 minutes
- Color
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