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IMDbPro

The Current War: Director's Cut

Original title: The Current War
  • 20172017
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 1h 42m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
28K
YOUR RATING
Nicholas Hoult, Michael Shannon, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Tom Holland in The Current War: Director's Cut (2017)
Edison. Westinghouse. Tesla. 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.
Play trailer2:30
2 Videos
76 Photos
BiographyDramaHistory
The dramatic story of the cutthroat race between electricity titans Thomas A. Edison and George Westinghouse to determine whose electrical system would power the modern world.The dramatic story of the cutthroat race between electricity titans Thomas A. Edison and George Westinghouse to determine whose electrical system would power the modern world.The dramatic story of the cutthroat race between electricity titans Thomas A. Edison and George Westinghouse to determine whose electrical system would power the modern world.
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
28K
YOUR RATING
    • Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
    • Michael Mitnick
  • Stars
    • Benedict Cumberbatch
    • Oliver Powell
    • Sophia Ally
    • Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
    • Michael Mitnick
  • Stars
    • Benedict Cumberbatch
    • Oliver Powell
    • Sophia Ally
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 239User reviews
    • 118Critic reviews
    • 55Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Videos2

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:30
    Watch Official Trailer
    International Trailer
    Trailer 2:27
    Watch International Trailer

    Photos76

    Benedict Cumberbatch and Tuppence Middleton in The Current War: Director's Cut (2017)
    Benedict Cumberbatch in The Current War: Director's Cut (2017)
    Michael Shannon in The Current War: Director's Cut (2017)
    Benedict Cumberbatch and Louis Ashbourne Serkis in The Current War: Director's Cut (2017)
    Benedict Cumberbatch in The Current War: Director's Cut (2017)
    Benedict Cumberbatch at an event for The Current War: Director's Cut (2017)
    Benedict Cumberbatch at an event for The Current War: Director's Cut (2017)
    Benedict Cumberbatch and Leonard Adam at an event for The Current War: Director's Cut (2017)
    Michael Shannon and Benedict Cumberbatch at an event for The Current War: Director's Cut (2017)
    Nicholas Hoult at an event for The Current War: Director's Cut (2017)
    Michael Shannon at an event for The Current War: Director's Cut (2017)
    Benedict Cumberbatch at an event for The Current War: Director's Cut (2017)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Benedict Cumberbatch
    Benedict Cumberbatch
    • Thomas Alva Edison
    Oliver Powell
    • Leo
    Sophia Ally
    • Dot (Younger)
    Tuppence Middleton
    Tuppence Middleton
    • Mary Edison
    Woody Norman
    Woody Norman
    • Dash (Younger)
    Tom Holland
    Tom Holland
    • Samuel Insull
    Matthew Macfadyen
    Matthew Macfadyen
    • J.P. Morgan
    Dominic Coleman
    Dominic Coleman
    • White House Butler
    Corey Johnson
    Corey Johnson
    • President Chester A. Arthur
    Katherine Waterston
    Katherine Waterston
    • Marguerite Westinghouse
    Michael Shannon
    Michael Shannon
    • George Westinghouse
    Stanley Townsend
    Stanley Townsend
    • Franklin Pope
    Nicholas Hoult
    Nicholas Hoult
    • Nikola Tesla
    Emma Davies
    • Female Reporter
    Nigel Whitmey
    Nigel Whitmey
    • Doctor Grandoff
    Simon Manyonda
    Simon Manyonda
    • Lewis Latimer
    Celyn Jones
    Celyn Jones
    • Sherman Quincy
    Iain McKee
    Iain McKee
    • Reporter
      • Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
      • Michael Mitnick
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      Premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2017 and was originally supposed to be released in U.S. theaters in November 2017 . However, after Harvey Weinstein was accused of sexual misconduct and rape by several women in a detailed article published by the New York Times in October 2017, the Weinstein Co. scrapped the original release date and sold the film to Lantern Entertainment, who later sold the film's U.S. distribution rights to 101 Studios. The film would finally be shown in movie theaters in Europe in July 2019 and the U.S. in October 2019.
    • Goofs
      The film is set in a time period spanning the 1880s and 1890s. Maps shown in the film show the states of Utah, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Arizona, which didn't become a state until between 1896 and 1912.
    • Quotes

      Samuel Insull: So, what's your trade?

      Nikola Tesla: I fix problems for idiots.

    • Alternate versions
      The film originally premiered at numerous festival and was then shelved for 2 years until a re-edited version (titled "The Current War: The Director's Cut") was released theatrically in 2019
    • Connections
      Featured in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Benedict Cumberbatch/Savannah Guthrie/Andy Grammer feat. Lunchmoney Lewis (2017)
    • Soundtracks
      Autumn 3
      Written by Max Richter

      Performed by Max Richter, Daniel Hope, Raphael Alpermann, Konzerthaus Kammerorchester Berlin, Andre De Ridder (as André de Ridder)

      Published by Mute Song Limited

      Courtesy of Deutsche Grammophon GmbH under license from Universal Music Enterprises

    User reviews239

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    Since when do we complain that a movie is about the WRONG story???
    The reviews for "The Current War" make me tired.

    This is NOT the story of Nikolas Tesla. This is, in fact, an accurate depiction of Westinghouse vs. Edison and the AC vs. direct current. As far as what I've read, the story, though a dramatization, is a decent telling of this.

    Reviews here say oh, Tesla got the short end of the stick. Yes, he did, and the movie certainly indicates this. And by taking the focus off of him, one certainly sees that yes, he was an unsung hero. But the story is about Westinghouse and Edison fighting for AC vs. DC. If you want to do a story about Tesla, make your own movie. This is NOT about the invention of the AC. Hello.

    Another criticism of this film is that Edison is shown as a victim. I don't know if that was the intention, but if it was, they missed. I certainly didn't think he was a victim. Yes, there was a great tragedy in his life, but he was pretty darned ruthless when it came to trying to destroy Westinghouse. Ruthless and unfair. He was that way in many of his business dealings, including going up against the Lumiere brothers in the invention of motion pictures.

    I thought the film was beautifully photographed, I liked the music, and I thought some of the dialogue was very beautiful and emotional, particularly the monologues of Tesla and Edison. The acting was superb. And to me anyway it was evident that Tesla got the shaft big time. Except that's not the story.

    I found The Current War fascinating, and it made me want to learn more about all three men.

    One thing that's always been true - it's never the person who thinks of an invention or even invents something -- the star of the show is ALWAYS the person who commercializes it.

    To criticize a film because it's not what you think it should be about, frankly, is ridiculous. Even more ridiculous - people who get their history from movies instead of using them as steppingstones to learn more about the actual story. Elisha Gray invented the telephone. So did Antonio Meucci. So did Johann Philipp Reis. While we're at it, why don't we do a film about Joseph Swan and John Wellington Starr and their work on the lightbulb before Edison. They probably all deserve movies, but they don't belong in this film, which is the story of Westinghouse versus Edison.
    helpful•127
    37
    • blanche-2
    • Apr 25, 2020

    FAQ1

    • If this is a 2017 show, why do we have to wait until October to see it?This is one I cannot wait to see, the story fascinates me.

    Details

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    • Release date
      • October 25, 2019 (United States)
      • United States
      • Russia
      • United Kingdom
    • Official sites
      • Official Facebook
      • Official Instagram
      • English
      • Spanish
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Cragside House, Rothbury, Northumberland, England, UK
    • Production companies
      • BGI Supplies
      • Bazelevs Production
      • Film Rites
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 42 minutes
      • Color

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