Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Pirates of Silicon Valley

  • TV Movie
  • 19991999
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 35m
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
24K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
5,303
987
Anthony Michael Hall and Noah Wyle in Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999)
Home Video Trailer from TBS
Play trailer0:31
1 Video
14 Photos
BiographyDramaHistory
History of Apple and Microsoft.History of Apple and Microsoft.History of Apple and Microsoft.
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
24K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
5,303
987
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Martyn Burke
    • Writers
      • Paul Freiberger(book "Fire in the Valley")
      • Michael Swaine(book "Fire in the Valley")
      • Martyn Burke
    • Stars
      • Anthony Michael Hall
      • Noah Wyle
      • Joey Slotnick
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Martyn Burke
    • Writers
      • Paul Freiberger(book "Fire in the Valley")
      • Michael Swaine(book "Fire in the Valley")
      • Martyn Burke
    • Stars
      • Anthony Michael Hall
      • Noah Wyle
      • Joey Slotnick
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 96User reviews
    • 13Critic reviews
    • Nominated for 5 Primetime Emmys
      • 2 wins & 9 nominations total

    Videos1

    Pirates of Silicon Valley
    Trailer 0:31
    Pirates of Silicon Valley

    Photos14

    Anthony Michael Hall in Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999)
    Anthony Michael Hall and Noah Wyle in Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999)
    Anthony Michael Hall in Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999)
    Anthony Michael Hall, Noah Wyle, and John DiMaggio in Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999)
    Noah Wyle and Joey Slotnick in Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999)
    Noah Wyle in Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999)
    Noah Wyle in Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999)
    Anthony Michael Hall and Noah Wyle in Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999)
    Anthony Michael Hall in Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999)
    Anthony Michael Hall and Noah Wyle in Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999)
    Anthony Michael Hall and Noah Wyle in Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999)
    Anthony Michael Hall and Noah Wyle in Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Anthony Michael Hall
    Anthony Michael Hall
    • Bill Gates
    Noah Wyle
    Noah Wyle
    • Steve Jobs
    Joey Slotnick
    Joey Slotnick
    • Steve Wozniak
    J.G. Hertzler
    J.G. Hertzler
    • Ridley Scott
    Wayne Pére
    Wayne Pére
    • Captain Crunch
    Sheila Shaw
    Sheila Shaw
    • Mrs. Wozniak
    Gema Zamprogna
    Gema Zamprogna
    • Arlene
    John DiMaggio
    John DiMaggio
    • Steve Ballmer
    Josh Hopkins
    Josh Hopkins
    • Paul Allen
    Gailard Sartain
    Gailard Sartain
    • Ed Roberts
    Allan Kolman
    Allan Kolman
    • Therapist
    Richard Waltzer
    • Homebrew Tech
    Harris Mann
    • Longhair #1
    Clay Wilcox
    Clay Wilcox
    • Longhair #2
    Marcus Giamatti
    Marcus Giamatti
    • Dan Kottke
    Melissa McBride
    Melissa McBride
    • Elizabeth Holmes
    Jeffrey Nordling
    Jeffrey Nordling
    • Mike Markkula
    Marc Worden
    Marc Worden
    • Chris Larson
    • Director
      • Martyn Burke
    • Writers
      • Paul Freiberger(book "Fire in the Valley")
      • Michael Swaine(book "Fire in the Valley")
      • Martyn Burke
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    The Triumph of the Nerds: The Rise of Accidental Empires
    8.4
    The Triumph of the Nerds: The Rise of Accidental Empires
    Jobs
    6.0
    Jobs
    Revolution OS
    7.3
    Revolution OS
    Silicon Cowboys
    6.8
    Silicon Cowboys
    Google and the World Brain
    6.7
    Google and the World Brain
    Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine
    6.9
    Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine
    Steve Jobs
    7.2
    Steve Jobs
    Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview
    8.0
    Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview
    Startup.com
    7.1
    Startup.com
    TPB AFK: The Pirate Bay Away from Keyboard
    7.4
    TPB AFK: The Pirate Bay Away from Keyboard
    Takedown
    6.2
    Takedown
    The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz
    8.0
    The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • 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.
    • Goofs
      When Bill Gates and Paul Allen are working out of the motel they are staying at in Albuquerque, there is a sign in the window that reads "Microsoft". At that time (1975), Microsoft was spelled as "Micro-Soft".
    • Quotes

      Bill Gates: You know how you survive? You make people need you. You survive because you make them need what you have. And then they have no where else to go.

    • Crazy credits
      Janja Vujovich is credited as "Post Sound Goddess".
    • Alternate versions
      Aspect ratio was re-cut to 1.78:1 for some TV broadcast and DVD releases.
    • Connections
      Featured in The 51st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1999)
    • Soundtracks
      In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida
      Written by Doug Ingle

      Performed by Iron Butterfly

    User reviews96

    Review
    Review
    Top review
    Two extraordinary individuals help create modern computing
    A flawed but intriguing character study of two of the most extraordinary individuals of our modern technological era.

    The movie is historically inaccurate. Nevertheless, it manages to capture the essence of how much of modern computing came to be: the cluelessness of Xerox about what its own computer scientists were doing; Steve Jobs' artistic vision at Apple; and Bill Gates' ruthless business practices at Microsoft. And you will be fascinated by how these men got where they are today.

    The movie isn't very kind to either Jobs or Gates, emphasizing their negative qualities. Steve Jobs is presented as a visionary, but also as a slavedriver and someone who refuses to accept that he's the illegitimate father of a young girl.

    Gates is portrayed in an even less flattering way--as some kind of outright sociopath who is driven to destroy all those who try to do business with him. Still, as long as you recognize that the portrayals are negatively slanted, you will be rewarded by witnessing the interplay among the famous triangle: Adele Goldberg (not explicitly named in the movie), the leader of Xerox's research team; Steve Jobs, who ripped her off and incorporated those technologies in the new Macintosh; and Bill Gates, who ripped off Jobs and incorporated those technologies in the newer Windows product.

    The movie does suffer from several historical inaccuracies. I believe that at least some of those inaccuracies were deliberate--attempts to oversimplify the historical record in order to shorten the length of the movie. For example, the movie makes it appear that Apple's first attempt at a computer with a modern graphical user interface--the Lisa--was a tremendous success, when in fact it was a commercial failure. But portraying it as a success made it simpler to explain why Bill Gates got interested in dealing with Apple at that time.

    While the movie is long, it would have been even better as a two-day or three-day miniseries. That would have enabled some of the historical record to be explored at greater depth, eliminating the need for this deliberate vast oversimplification.
    helpful•92
    6
    • sdlitvin
    • Sep 28, 2004

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 20, 1999 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Official site
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Piraterna vid Silicon Valley
    • Filming locations
      • UCLA, Westwood, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Haft Entertainment
      • St. Nick Productions
      • TNT
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 35 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Anthony Michael Hall and Noah Wyle in Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999)
    Top Gap
    By what name was Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999) officially released in India in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    View image
    Photos
    These Stars Are on the Rise
    See the gallery
    View list
    List
    Fall TV Guide: The Best Shows Coming This Year
    See the full list
    View image
    Photos
    Double Take: Celebrity Twins
    See the full list
    Back to top

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more access
    Sign in for more access
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.