Product Details

• Actors: Anthony Michael Hall, Noah Wyle, Joey Slotnick, J.G. Hertzler, Wayne Pére
• Directors: Martyn Burke
• Writers: Martyn Burke, Michael Swaine, Paul Freiberger
• Producers: Joseph Dougherty, Leanne Moore, Nick Lombardo, Steven Haft
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC
• Rated: Unrated
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Turner Home Ent
• VHS Release Date: May 16, 2000
• Run Time: 95 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (170 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0780627717
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #140,238 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This dramatization of the tangled history of Apple Computer and Microsoft, based on a book by Paul Freiberger and Michael Swaine, hits enough of the right notes to make its failures all the more frustrating. The script follows the entwined paths of Apple's Steve Jobs and Microsoft's Bill Gates with a pointed sense of the cultural divide between the hip, self-absorbed Apple cofounder and the brilliant alpha geek behind Microsoft's eventual software empire, contrasting the Mac's countercultural underpinnings with the PC's more strait-laced origins. But Pirates of Silicon Valley seemingly can't decide whether it wants to be a serious-minded history of these key figures in the personal computer revolution or a trashy wallow in the more ignoble foibles of its principals. As a result, it falls short of exacting history while never achieving the guilty pleasure it might have.

If Gates has become synonymous with corporate conquest at its most striking, Pirates' interest lies more with Jobs, given a nervous energy and flashes of adolescent selfishness by Noah Wyle, who benefits from a reasonable physical resemblance to the Apple chief. Eyewear and a comb-over do nearly as well for Anthony Michael Hall, who also grafts some of Bill Gates's better-known mannerisms onto his performance and renders Gates as a smart if socially maladroit entrepreneur who, like Jobs, provides the ambition and business savvy to exploit his partner's computing talents. There are a few fanciful touches (Ballmer and Wozniak become Greek choruses, addressing the viewer as they comment on the principals), but the story plays out in straightforward fashion. It's tantalizing to consider how the Apple/PC melodrama might have fared with an edgier, more openly satirical script. --Sam Sutherland

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

95 of 96 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Mac/PC wars--a fascinating look at computer history., July 10, 2000

By 

dsrussell "greyhater" (Corona, CA. United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Pirates of Silicon Valley [VHS] (VHS Tape)

In the first few minutes of the film, we see Steve Jobs pacing the floor on a Boston stage (year 1997--shortly after his return to Apple), and above him is the gigantic image of Bill Gates smiling down (smirking?) at him, while we hear the voice of Steve Wozniac (the Woz) in the background say, "How did we get from there to here?" And there, dear readers, lies the tale of the century.

Kudos for the director, the casting director, and the fine performances from Hall and Wyle. In this film, we see the rise of the personal computer from two of most important players of the era, and along the way, we are shown how deeply power and wealth corrupts. Those of us that lived through this period are well acquainted with the first personal computers. Indeed, many of us have heard enough rumors concerning Steve Jobs' late night tantrums as he walked the halls of his empire, to know that this film depicted both him and Steve Wozniac fairly honestly. As far as the depiction of Bill Gates, there are those that agree and those that disagree. Obviously, artistic license was used on both sides. Steve Wozniac mentioned that he was surprised how accurately the movie portrayed the personalities, but indicated they got many of the dates screwed up (check his web site, he has many interesting comments concerning the movie).

As the title aptly suggests, both Steve and Bill gained their initial fame not just from their own creative genius (although both are considered geniuses), but as much from "borrowing" -- Jobs from Xerox PARC, and Gates from Apple Computer. And while that is the central theme of the movie, it also points out the astonishing short-sightedness of top corporate executives--HP (unfairly in reality) and IBM for not realizing the potential of the personal computer and software for the masses, and Xerox for not understanding what they themselves had developed. One of the best lines comes from an HP exec talking to Steve Wozniac (the creator of the Apple computer)... "Why would the average person ever want a computer?" (I'm paraphrasing here--and I think in reality, it was IBM who had this attitude).

In fairness, back in those days computers were used mainly by scientists, the military, and mathematicians. These things were gigantic and cost a fortune. Still, it makes me think that the trillions of dollars lost by some of these giant corporations sprang from an immense lack of imagination at key positions (I doubt any of those people ever opened a science-fiction novel). To Jobs' credit, he understood immediately what he was shown at the Xerox PARC center, and the rest, as they say, is history.

"Pirates" works on many levels, and it really is a fascinating movie, however, I think it bit off a little more than it could chew. This movie is only 100 minutes long (or thereabouts), yet tries to encompass 25 years of creation, in-fighting, slight-of-hand, and lying, with a blend of madness and out-and-out theft thrown in. It also has a tendency to stray from its theme, trying (and failing) in its depiction of the main characters' personal lives. Yet, inspite of these weaknesses, I throroughly enjoyed this film, and have viewed it several times (each time gaining a little more respect for the director's efforts).

So, whether your computer is the mac or a windows pc, I think most will find this film entertaining and enlightening. Between 1 and 10, I give "Pirates" a very high 7 (it had real potential of being a "don't miss" gem). What I find almost as fascinating is the widespread polarization people still have for one platform over the other--and the war continues with no end in sight....

89 of 90 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Insight into a revolution., November 21, 1999

By 

Paul Laska (Los Angeles, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pirates of Silicon Valley [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I watched the movie as it aired on tv, and enjoyed it so much I rented it a number of times when it released. Taking only 90% to be near historical accuracy, it still has captivated me enough to make me pre-order the re-publication of the book "Fire in the Valley" by Paul Freiberger and Michael Swaine, on which the movie is based, just to find out what the movie left out. This movie gives such an insight into a true revolution, taking the computers out of the hands of corporate types, and giving them over to the masses. Noah Wyle is Steve Jobs in this movie. His acting brings to life one of the most influential people of the time. Anthony Michael Hall does a superb job of showing Bill Gates as the capitalistic businessman in its trueist form. The only reason I don't give it a 5 star rating is that I feel they spend a little too much time on Steve Jobs' personal drug trip. This was time that could have been better spent explaining what has happened since 1997, when Jobs came back to Apple. Or, they could have led up to the Gates vs. United States trial. All in all a great movie. Rent it, Buy it, show it to your kids. This is current history, and it is relevant to today.

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The great american success story, timing is everything!, February 27, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Pirates of Silicon Valley [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This takes you from beginning to present day.
Shows Paul Allen (who now OWNS the Seahawks and Trailblazers pro teams) Bill Gates, Steve Jobs etc. etc. Dropping out of college to pursue a slow burning fire that would become the personal computer/windows software that we know today.

What is interesting is that it shows who talks and who works. Gates lies a lot, pretty much living by the saying "telling people what they want to hear" while Paul Allen grinds away at making code.

On the other end it's the same somewhat, rogue cannon Steve Jobs handling the business part while we get a sense that Steve Wozniak is a true tech who goes above and beyond Jobs' rantings to produce the final product.

What is so funny is the irony of this movie:

Loan Officer: "Sorry Mr. Jobs, but we don't think the ordinary person will have any use for a computer".

HP: "You think people are interested in something called a mouse?".

Xerox: "We build it and then they can come right in here and steal it from us? It's just not fair, this operating system is a result of our hard work!".

Jobs to Gates: "You're STEALING FROM US!!!"

Assistant to Gates: "Do you realize Apple has a pirate flag over their front door, and they just gave us 3 prototypes of their operating system?"

Jobs: "I don't want people to look at it like a monitor and mouse, I think of this as art, a vision, people need to think outside the box".

Jobs: "You stole it from ussss!" Gates: "No it's not stealing, you see, it's like we both have this neighbor, and he leaves his door open all the time. You go over there to get his TV, only I've gotten their first..and now you're calling me the thief?!".

Just some of the excerpts that make this movie a classic and show you everything that went down when a bunch of college dropouts set out and changed the world in which we live today.