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:

microsoft | apple computer | bill gates | business rivalry | software company | 

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Taglines:

Good artists copy... Great artists steal.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

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Did You Know?

Trivia

At the 1999 Macworld conference, shortly after the premiere of this TV movie, the introductory comments were made not by Steve Jobs, but by Noah Wyle, reprising his role in this movie. The real Jobs emerged shortly after and traded jokes with Wyle.

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Goofs

In the scene where Steve Ballmer is discussing joining Microsoft in 1980 and Bill Gates says "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer", Gates is initially shown typing on an IBM PC XT keyboard. Shortly thereafter, in the frame where he is hunched over the keyboard with Ballmer and Allen over his right shoulder, he has an IBM PC AT keyboard.

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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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Alternate Versions

Aspect ratio was re-cut to 1.78:1 for some TV broadcast and DVD releases.

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Connections

Version of Steve Jobs (2015)

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Soundtracks

Isn't Life Strange
Written by John Lodge
Performed by The Moody Blues

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).

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