Product Details

• Actors: Bill Gates, Biography
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: A&E Home Video
• DVD Release Date: August 10, 2004
• Run Time: 100 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0002V7NOS
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #52,783 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The emphasis on the personal side of Gates, February 23, 2004

By	Charles Ashbacher "([e-mail])" (Marion, Iowa United States([e-mail])) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Biography: Bill Gates - Sultan of Software [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Without a doubt, Bill Gates will go down in history as one of the most influential people of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. In this tape, he is rightfully compared to industry titans such as Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford and John Rockefeller. Each of these people led an industry that was essential to the development of the American economy. Certainly, computing should also be included in this category.
Although some of the events in the life of Microsoft are covered, the majority of the minutes are devoted to the personal life of Bill Gates. He was born into a wealthy family where competition was an essential activity, and it is clear that this is where he acquired his intensely competitive nature. It is hardly a surprise that Trey, which was his nickname, was at times difficult to handle. While he was fortunate in that he was able to work with computers at an early age, it is unreasonable to call him lucky. Clearly, even as a child he exhibited extraordinary vision, something that he retains as he reaches middle age. This is the primary reason why Gates was able to achieve much of his success. All indications are that he is a devoted family man as well. He is shown with his wife and child and there is no question that he is a doting dad.
While all this is interesting on the human level, that is not why we are interested in biographies of Gates. Our interest in him is due to his leadership of Microsoft, a company both admired and reviled. Nearly everyone in industrialized countries is affected by the decisions made by the Microsoft leadership, so we are interested in his business activity and how those decisions are made. This is where the tape is the weakest, as we do not learn enough about the professional side of Gates.
However, overall the tape is worth viewing. We are all the consequences of our childhood and so, to understand Gates and what he is, we start by looking at how he was raised. To out-compete someone, you need to learn about their personal characteristics and from this tape, you can learn some of the fundamentals of the richest person in the world.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Informative Viewing, January 16, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Biography: Bill Gates - Sultan of Software [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This video contains most everything one needs to know to have a basic understanding of the Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates. It chronicles his entire life to the date of filming. My favorite part was the heartfelt interviews with the father of the genius. What Bill Gates has accomplished with his life, is pretty amazing for a man still fairly young. The big question that looms over most of the philanthropic world, is what is Bill Gates going to do with the rest of his life? Possible answers to that question are addressed.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Inspirational, January 6, 2002

By	J. Thomas Dyess (Jacksonville, FL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Biography: Bill Gates - Sultan of Software [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I thought this was a very inspirational riches to extreme riches book on Bill Gates. Interviews from everyone except Bill Gates on Gates and Microsoft; from the beginning to the present release date. There were a lot of traditional Microsoft euphemisms, but good nonetheless.