Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999)

History of Apple and Microsoft.

Director:

Martyn Burke

Writers:

Paul Freiberger (book), Michael Swaine (book)

Stars:

Anthony Michael Hall, Noah Wyle, Joey Slotnick

Nominated for 5 Primetime Emmys. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Noah Wyle	...	Steve Jobs
Joey Slotnick	...	Steve Wozniak
J.G. Hertzler	...	Ridley Scott
Anthony Michael Hall	...	Bill Gates
Wayne Pére	...	Captain Crunch
Sheila Shaw	...	Mrs. Wozniak
Gema Zamprogna	...	Arlene
John DiMaggio	...	Steve Ballmer
Josh Hopkins	...	Paul Allen
Gailard Sartain	...	Ed Roberts
Allan Kolman	...	Therapist
Richard Waltzer	...	Homebrew Tech
Harris Mann	...	Longhair #1
Clay Wilcox	...	Longhair #2
Marcus Giamatti	...	Dan Kottke

Storyline

This is a semi-humorous biographical film about the men who made the world of technology what it is today, their struggles during college, the founding of their companies, and the ingenious actions they took to build up the global corporate empires of Apple Computer Corporation and Microsoft Inc.

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Plot Keywords:

male objectification | man wearing glasses | feet on table | barefoot male | bare feet on table | 

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Taglines:

Good artists copy... Great artists steal.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 June 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Szilícium-völgy kalózai

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Haft Entertainment, St. Nick Productions, TNT

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Writer and producer Michael Piller was so impressed by Anthony Michael Hall's performance as Bill Gates that he chose him to play the lead role of Johnny Smith in the television adaptation of the Stephen King novel The Dead Zone.

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Goofs

When the Microsoft crew arrive at Apple's headquarters, they pull the car in to a parking spot with no spaces left on the passenger side. When the camera angle changes, there is suddenly parking spaces seen on both sides of the car.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Steve Jobs: I don't want you to think of this as just a film - some process of converting electrons and magnetic impulses into shapes and figures and sounds. No. Listen to me. We're here to make a dent in the universe. Otherwise, why even be here? We're creating a completely new consciousness, like an artist or poet. That's how you have to think of this. We're rewriting the history of human thought with what we're doing.
Ridley Scott: Right. Well, Steven, at the moment I'm a touch more worried about getting...

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Crazy Credits

Janja Vujovich is credited as "Post Sound Goddess".

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Connections

Spoofs Saturday Night Fever (1977)

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Soundtracks

Collage
Written by Joe Walsh and Patick Cullie
Performed by James Gang (as The James Gang)

User Reviews

Made me want to know more

I thoroughly enjoyed this TV movie and have watched it every time it's been on. While I feel the movie left large gaps, it made me think about what I didn't know about these two men and made me want to learn more about them and their visions. With the exception of the intensely annoying Mr. Di Maggio (as Balmer), the other actors were, in my humble opinion, wonderful and Mr. Hall was positively spooky as Bill Gates. I must agree with a previous writer who said it should have been made a six-hour mini-series; even then, many things would have been left out by time constraints. I will definitely get and read the book (and other books recommended by comment writers). Thanks for allowing me to voice my opinion and thank you to TNT for a great stepping stone to learning more.