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:

Pirates of Silicon Valley

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

In an early scene, where Woz and Jobs were chatting about the future (in Captain Crunch's bedroom or dorm room), there is a Star Trek poster hanging on the wall. The Enterprise shown is the earliest version from the original TV show, but the poster ("All I need to know about life I learned from Star Trek") was produced in the 1990s. The words above "Star Trek" have been trimmed off.

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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

Referenced in Birdemic: Shock and Terror (2010)

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Soundtracks

Get Down Tonight
Written by Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch
Performed by KC & The Sunshine Band

User Reviews

Entertaining and Informative

I found the film to be both entertaining and informative. This is a nice little history lesson about the sometimes tense relationship between Apple and Microsoft. This movie did a good job of showing the genius of Jobs and Gates, as well as the missed opportunities of major companies like IBM, Hewlett Packard, and of course Xerox. I found myself cheering both Jobs and Gates at different times throughout the film. All in all, a superb bit of acting on the part of Noah Wiley (Steve Jobs) and Anthony Michael Hall (Bill Gates).