Steve Jobs documentary reveals his 'bold, brutal and brilliant' sides

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Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney says he didn't set out to vilify Jobs
But his documentary 'Man In The Machine' paints unflattering portraits
Contrasts his spectacular rise with bad treatment of family and co-workers
Jobs remains a fascinating figure since his death from cancer in 2011

Published: 12:09 EST, 6 September 2015 | Updated: 14:56 EST, 6 September 2015

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He once aspired to become a Buddhist monk, but later presided over a company that reaped billions in profits while paying Chinese iPhone makers a pittance.

Four years after his death, Apple founder Steve Jobs remains a fascinating figure - and a new documentary focuses on the dark side of the genius.

Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney says he didn't set out to vilify Jobs in Steve Jobs: Man in The Machine - which boasts the tagline: 'Bold. Brilliant. Brutal.'

But his documentary focuses on Jobs' tyrannical side - painting an unflattering portrait of a ruthless figure fueled by ego and ambition.

'He had the focus of a monk, but none of the empathy,' Gibney comments in the film.

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Filmmaker Alex Gibney (left) explored the dark side of Steve Jobs (right) in his film 'Man In The Machine'

A still from the documentary which charts the rise of the late Apple co-founder and explores his 'brutal and brilliant' sides

Jobs' death of pancreatic cancer in 2011 was mourned worldwide with an intensity usually afforded a rock star.

But for Gibney, it was the time to assess the hard-driving perfectionist who revolutionized the way people communicate but whose treatment of friends, family and co-workers was sometimes rife with contradiction.

His film charts the spectacular rise of the man who gave the world the iPhone, iPod and iPad but also reveals the steep price his friends, family and employees paid for that success.

'The imperative for me to make this film was why so many people who didn't know Steve Jobs were weeping when he left,' he said.

Jobs' ambition and greed hurt those around him, according to former employees and friends in the film

Apple, he added, has a cult aspect that fascinates him.

'There is a passion for the person and the products that is so deep that any criticism can't be tolerated. Why should that be?

'Is it not possible that we can discuss how pitifully paid are the workers in China... even as we may admire some of the technological aspects of the Apple product?'

Gibney, who previously took on the cult of Scientology in his film Going Clear, added: 'There seems to be a need to deify that stuff in a way that brooks all criticism, and that does verge sometimes on the religious.'

He added that there is one question he would have liked to ask Jobs, given the chance.

Gibney said: 'He kept talking about values, the values of Apple. I would have asked Steve Jobs, 'what are your values?' Please express your values. That is what I would have liked to hear from him in an honest and straightforward way.'

Released in U.S. movie theaters on Friday, it uses archival footage of Jobs as well as interviews with journalists, some former friends and ex-Apple employees.

The former Apple CEO gave the world the iPod and iPhone, but at a high cost to those around him

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniack (left) says he was hurt to discover his friend Jobs had ripped him off over an Atari video game

But both Apple and Jobs' widow Laurene declined to co-operate.

However, others close to Jobs candidly describe a man who, while brilliant and inspiring, was at times difficult, selfish and greedy.

'His stuff was beloved, but it wasn't that he was beloved,' said Jobs' high-school girlfriend Chrisann Brennan, the mother of his daughter Lisa.

She discusses the billionaire's denial of paternity of their daughter and his fight against paying child support.

The man was 'a study in contrasts', she said. 'Beautiful, haunting, brilliant.'

A USA Today review said: 'You walk away learning that the man was a revered monster, horrible to most everyone around him, someone who skirted the system, cheated credits and made his products as cheaply as possible, in inhumane conditions so horrible some responded with suicide.

'As we all know, in real life, there are always two sides to every story, and in this documentary, filmmaker Alex Gibney seems to have forgotten about that other side.'

And another major film about Jobs, titled Steve Jobs and starring Michael Fassbender in the role of the Apple founder, is due for release in October.