The documentary
Revolution OS explores the human side of the open source and free software movements, illuminating the behind-the-scenes story of the hackers and programmers rebelling against the corporate machine.
Story
This 90-minute film begins with Richard Stallman's quest to create a free operating system. It then follows the movement through its two-decades-long evolution in interviews with Stallman, Linus Torvalds (creator of the open-source operating system Linux), Eric Raymond (author of The Cathedral and the Bazaar), Bruce Perens (author of the Open Source Definition), Brian Behlendorf (leader of the Apache Web server project), Michael Tiemann (founder of the first open source company) and Larry Augustin (founder of VA Linux Systems). Revolution OS also depicts the culture of the open source movement by documenting the Installfest parties where people can bring their computers to get free, expert Linux tech support; and the Refund Day protest marches, where Linux users demand reimbursement of the extra fees that get tacked onto the purchase price of new computers for pre-installed Microsoft applications.
Direction
Revolution OS was the brainchild of J.T.S. Moore, who was totally unfamiliar with the open source community when he started the project. To capture what he saw as the epic nature of open source's ideas and struggle, Moore worked with the old Hollywood epic format of anamorphic 35mm film (Cinemascope). Most documentaries are shot in a square format to fit TV screens, but Revolution OS is shot in the wide, rectangle format of the movie theater and the effect is striking. Back to the subject matter: ultimately Moore has Revolution OS end on a high note. With the market valuations of Linux-based companies near their peak, each of the interviewees stated that while the enormous success of Linux came as a great surprise to them, it hadn't really changed what they would've done in the first place. And Moore, should he direct another documentary, shouldn't change the format of what he's done in his first one.
Bottom Line
Revolution OS enlightens and informs, but sometimes gets bogged down in the technical jargon a little too much. However, a documentary is meant to be a snapshot of a specific slice of life, and Moore achieves this admirably.