HP Origins
Let's start with the source. While a single, definitive feature documentary on HP is elusive, the company itself commissioned a film called "Origins" that serves as a fantastic primer. Using materials from the company's own archives, it tells the story
of Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard, focusing heavily on the philosophy that became known as the "HP Way." It features interviews with employees and company watchers who break down how a management style built on respect and decentralization became a blueprint for generations of Silicon Valley startups. It’s an affectionate, honest look at the convictions that helped build not just a company, but an entire industry's ethos.
American Experience: Silicon Valley
To understand HP, you have to understand the world it created. This PBS documentary may focus on the story of Robert Noyce and the founding of Fairchild Semiconductor, but it provides essential context for HP's role in the valley. It explores the region's transformation from orchards to the global hub of technology, driven by a new culture of risk-taking and innovation over stability. The film examines how this unique environment, which HP helped pioneer, made everything from the moon landing to the smartphone possible. For an HP fan, it’s a brilliant look at the ecosystem where the HP Way flourished.
Something Ventured
Innovation needs funding, and this film tells the story of the people who supplied it. "Something Ventured" profiles the first venture capitalists who took massive risks on unproven entrepreneurs with big ideas. It’s the story of how companies like Apple, Intel, and Atari got off the ground, backed by visionaries who provided not just capital but critical guidance. For anyone who admires how Bill and Dave built their company from a simple audio oscillator, this documentary showcases the financial engine that allowed the garage-startup model to become the defining economic force of the 20th century.
General Magic
This is the story of one of Silicon Valley's most important and brilliant failures. In the early 1990s, a secretive startup called General Magic, spun out of Apple, set out to build the world's first smartphone. The team was a who's-who of future tech legends who went on to create the iPod, iPhone, and Android. The film is a heartbreaking and inspiring look at what happens when a world-changing vision is simply too early. It’s a powerful companion piece to HP’s story of sustained success, illustrating the razor-thin line between revolutionary triumph and forgotten genius in the tech world.
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
To truly appreciate the integrity of the "HP Way," it helps to see what happens when a corporate culture rots from the inside. This Oscar-nominated documentary is a gripping account of one of history's greatest business scandals. It details how the leaders of Enron, once hailed as innovators, used fraudulent accounting and epic hubris to build a house of cards that ultimately collapsed, wiping out thousands of jobs and investors' life savings. It's a powerful cautionary tale about greed and a stark contrast to the people-first principles that defined HP in its golden era.
