The Current War: Director's Cut (2017)

The dramatic story of the cutthroat race between electricity titans Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse to determine whose electrical system would power the modern world.

Director:

Alfonso Gomez-Rejon

Writer:

Michael Mitnick

Stars:

Tom Holland, Tuppence Middleton, Benedict Cumberbatch

Cast

Credited cast:
Tom Holland	...	Samuel Insull
Tuppence Middleton	...	Mary Edison
Benedict Cumberbatch	...	Thomas Edison
Matthew Macfadyen	...	J.P. Morgan
Katherine Waterston	...	Marguerite Westinghouse
Nicholas Hoult	...	Nikola Tesla
Michael Shannon	...	George Westinghouse
Damien Molony	...	Bourke Cockran
Louis Ashbourne Serkis	...	Older Dash
Woody Norman	...	Dash Edison
Craig Conway	...	Warden Durston
Simon Kunz	...	Womack
Tom Bell	...	Reverend Vincent
Celyn Jones	...	Sherman Quincy
Tom Sweet	...	Boy

Storyline

Three brilliant visionaries set off in a charged battle for the future in The Current War, the epic story of the cutthroat competition that literally lit up the modern world. Benedict Cumberbatch is Thomas Edison, the celebrity inventor on the verge of bringing electricity to Manhattan with his radical new DC technology. On the eve of triumph, his plans are upended by charismatic businessman George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon), who believes he and his partner, the upstart genius Nikolai Tesla (Nicholas Hoult), have a superior idea for how to rapidly electrify America: with AC current. As Edison and Westinghouse grapple for who will power the nation, they spark one of the first and greatest corporate feuds in American history, establishing for future Titans of Industry the need to break all the rules. Directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl) with Producer Timur Bekmambetov, Basil Iwanyk and Executive Producer Martin Scorsese, The Current War also stars ...

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Plot Keywords:

lens flare | close up of eyes | close up of lips | close up of mouth | world's fair | 

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Taglines:

Only one could power the world.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some disturbing/violent images, and thematic elements

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Instagram

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 October 2019 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Current War: Director's Cut

Filming Locations:

Waltham Abbey, Essex, England, UK

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,800,147

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bazelevs Production, Film Rites, FlightAV.com

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Louis Ashbourne Serkis, who has a small role in this film, is the son of Andy Serkis, who played Tesla's assistant in The Prestige (2006).

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Quotes

Samuel Insull: You said that you'd never make a machine that would kill people.
Thomas Edison: I make something impossible. They rip it away from me, so I do it again and they do it again. And again and again. This isn't like everything else. This IS everything else. Our future isn't going to be paved with bricks but with copper. Automation, transportation, communication. And the man that controls that current, controls that future.
Samuel Insull: You know Westinghouse is right. You don't actually believe that a few accidents will rule ...
[...]

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Connections

Featured in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Benedict Cumberbatch/Savannah Guthrie/Andy Grammer feat. Lunchmoney Lewis (2017)

User Reviews

An interesting story told badly.

A bit boring at times, as although the characters are supposed to be great visionaries and inventors, they all seemed a bit dull. There is some good acting from the starry cast, but the delivery of the story lacks the spark and sizzle of a good tale. The pacing is a bit slow, and although the period effects looked good, the stylized camera shots felt unnecessary and were distracting.