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This dramatization of the tangled history of Apple Computer and Microsoft, based on a book by Paul Frieberger, 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 ... Read more

Reviews (61)

Making Computer History Into a Movie...
It's a quite interesting movie. It plays out real history of the PC including historical events such as the creation of the Altair 8800 computer by MITS (first modern PC), how Mircrosoft and Apple started out, the creation of the GUI and Mouse by Xerox, the creations of Apple's Lisa, Apple II, and Mac Computers, and the history behind MS-DOS and Windows Operating Systems. The movie is really well written and the cast is great. It is a good movie to learn how computers came about. This movie is great for all people, but if you like computers the movie really fills in the gaps between the beginning of PC's and current times. It features major people in computer history such as Bill Gates, Steven Jobs, and Stephen Wozniak. The movie is centered on the race between Apple and Microsoft in the computer world. It shows how they each fought to be the dominate computer company. The movie stays close to actual history and shows how the computer industry matures through the years. This is a MUST BUY for any computer lover.

not completely accurate, but still informative/entertaining

If you're looking for a documentary that accurately explains the beginnings of the personal computer industry, then "The Pirates of Silicon Valley" is not it. You'd be better served watching the excellent 1995 PBS documentary "Triumph of the Nerds" instead.

If however, you're looking for an entertaining movie that gets most of the major details right, then you're in luck. The script is pretty bad (it's obvious that this was a TNT-original, made-for-TV movie), but Noah Wyle and Anthony Michael Hall do such a superb job, each *nailing* their roles of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, respectively, that it's worth watching.

This movie is based on the excellent book "Fire in the Valley: The Making of the Personal Computer". However, that book was published in 1984, and this movie covers events slightly farther in the future. Many of the details are combined, left out, or sometimes fabricated (a.k.a. "creative license"), and I'm told that some of the additional information not in the book came from the director Martyn Burke himself watching "Triumph of the Nerds" (and having his actors watch it, too, to help them get in character).

Still, I'm a high school computer science teacher, and I have my students watch this every year to give them the big picture before following it up with "Triumph of the Nerds" to accurately place the details.

Overall, this is a decent movie, and the whole cast does a laudable job portraying their characters. The story is an interesting one, and despite the generally poor script and often seemingly needless inaccuracies, "The Pirates of Silicon Valley" is a glimpse behind the scenes at the events and personalities that built the computer industry as we know it today.

Interesting Story
But....you know what...Both Gates and Jobs are thieves..Infact who isn't in this day and age. Look at what happened at ERON....A-DUH ..Typical Corporate America.

Movie version of Robert Cringely's "Triumph of the Nerds"
Very entertaining movie for people who are interested in how PC revolution begins. Showing the big pirates like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs how to build their empires by stealing other's ideas, like the "Mouse" which in fact played a critical factor in this PC revolution. The plot is very similar to the classic well-known Cringely's Triumph of the Nerds. Yet, it adds a alot of movie elements to make it quite interesting and fun to watch, especially the character of cool 'Steve Jobs'. It's a good video for personal collection if you want to enjoy the PC revolution era.

For a television movie.. pretty good
Anthony Michael really nailed his character and impressed me for the first time in a while--reminded me of just exactly WHY he was member of the BRAT PACK. Noah was as solid as always. Follows the paths of the creators of Macintosh and IBM--and their personal battles with one another.

This surprised me. I figured it for one step away from a Lifetime movie of the week, but Noah and Anthony Michael really deliver in their performances. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A good adventure tale
I watched this movie because I'm a huge Sullivan Entertainment fan. I was mildly disappointed because I didn't think that it quite met Sullivan's high standards, but nonetheless, it was entertaining. This movie can drag at times (it's quite long!), but I could watch some parts over and over again. I think that Zachary Bennett does a wonderful job in the lead role, and Gema Zamprogna is great as his snobby sidekick.

If you want to check out Sullivan at his best, watch any episode of "Road to Avonlea" or his great masterpiece "Anne of Green Gables" and the sequel. Now THAT's what I call spectacular entertainment!

By Way of the Stars--The perfect movie for the whole family
By Way of the Stars has everything--action, adventure, murder, romance, runaways, survival, indians, family rivalry. It is a great movie the whole family can enjoy and understand. Gema Zamprogna, Zachary Bennett, and Michael Mahonen are greats from the television show "ROAD TO AVONLEA", and it is great to see them in a long-running movie! The movie starts with action and the characters are introduced right off. The movie is easy to get into, and before the first half hour is over, you'll be in tears (watch it and you'll know why). If you loved "AVONLEA" or if you just love great movies, watch this one! It is wonderfully written, directed, and acted. Give it a chance! You'll be glad you did! :) ... Read more

Reviews (5)

A rather disappointing reunion for the "Avonlea" cast
Think of having a "Friends" reunion with only four of the characters (your pick) and you get an idea of why fans of "Avonlea" (a.k.a. "Road to Avonlea") were less than thrilled with this 1998 television movie. The premise of "Happy Christmas, Miss King" is that the King family has gathered together during the First World War to celebrate Christmas, but word comes that Felix has been listed as missing in action in France. Other plot lines have Aunt Hetty (Jackie Burroughs) hurting her back, Aunt Olivia (Mag Ruffman) thinking of moving back to Avonlea, and Felicity (Gema Zamprogna) trying to find a new career. The problem is that which each of these last three plotlines each character is missing their key counterpart from the series: Sara Stanley, Jasper Dale, and Gus Pike respectively. The Story Girl and the two husbands appear in old footage, but that just emphasizes the fact that they should have been there.

The story is by Raymond Storey, although those who have read the entire Lucy Maud Montgomery canon will recognize the son missing in action bit from "Rilla of Ingleside," the last of the Anne of Green Gables books. In a sense, that novel becomes my basis for comparison as much as the original series, because that is the one book I have read that really gave me a sense for what the First World War was like for the people of Canada. The war went on for years before the United States entered and Montgomery really gave a sense of how long it was, whereas "Happy Christmas, Miss King" takes place during the holiday season. However, to be fair, this story is not as disappointing as the "Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story," which finds Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe still not married during the war years. Too bad, because "Rilla of Ingleside" was one of Montgomery's better novels because of its treatment of what happened during that time.

It was nice to see familiar faces, such as Cedric Smith as Alec King, and Patricia Hamilton as Mrs. Rachel Lynde, but if you are going to bring most of the cast back it should have been for something more special than this. Dealing with the war really should have been the dominant focus without the half-hearted efforts to get us up to date on some of the characters. Against the backdrop of a world war the petty marital squabbles of Olivia and Felicity seem rather childish. Besides, the television series ended with Felicity's marriage and it is just wrong to throw out that happy ending without serving some greater purpose than what we have here. "Happy Christmas, Miss King" will disappoint most viewers, simply because of the heightened expectations they will have based on their memories of the beloved series. Fans will want to see it, but they should do so with lowered expectations.

Happy Christmas a return to old friends for the holidays
We enjoyed seeing the cast of Avonlea again, although there were so many changes from when we when we cancelled the Disney Channel and stopped getting the series, that some of it was difficult to follow or understand.
Still, the show was an excellent entry in the Avonlea saga, and we definately enjoyed it.
What I'd really like to see is season sets on DVD, then we can enjoy the entire series again.

A treasure for die-hard series fans!
Olivia visits from England with Montgomery donning an accent. Clara Potts now disdainingly refers to Felicity as "Felicity Pike!" Felix has put aside the hospitality business to fight in WWI. Daniel is a student of Hetty's and Hetty is exactly the same. How wonderful to follow up on an extended family I feel is an extention of my own!

Alright, so our beloved Jasper, Sarah, and Gus are absent (Sarah's not even mentioned), but still this irresistably charming vingette of a Christmas plagued with dissapointments satisfies the loyal viewer who dreamt of what occured after the series' end. I'm glad I own it to be able to revisit my fictional friends, and I think it's worth it to every fan who feels as I do.

The relationships between the characters take precedence in the movie, with Janet agonizing over Felix's MIA status, Olivia turning to Alec for tender brotherly support when Jasper forgets the especially important engagement of catching their boat to Avonlea, Felicity wishing Gus were with her as she tries to decide what to do with her life, and everyone, as always, annoyed with Hetty. For all its faults and loose ends, I still treasure this video as a window into the lives I've spent so much time watching over the years. To those who made it- thank you, and please send more!

Not as good as the series
I got the video yesterday and watched it. I wasn't happy with it either. The sound was awful! It sounded like it had been copied from a copy.

They didn't even mention Sarah. Heck and family memeber goes missing and you don't even call Sarah?

I will stick to watching the reruns! I used to tape every episode (for my own use) I would watch them all the time. I found myself bored with the movie, something that never happened before.

The Return!
I was so excited to learn that Kevin Sullivan had decided to make a sequel to "Avonlea"! I just saw "Happy Christmas Miss King", and was a little disapointed. Sara Polley didn't appear, eventhough the show was originally centered around her character! Zach Bennett had very few lines, and "Gus Pike" didn't appear either. Although it was nice to see how some of the characters developed, you can't expect that same old feeling to come back when all the old cast isn't there. I hope in the future, Sullivan makes another movie, but this time with everyoe in it. The series always had a charm about it, and for that "may we be truly thankful!" ... Read more

Reviews (6)

AWESOME!!
This was one of my all time favorite movies!! It was filmed just outside of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (my home town) in Stonewall. My cousin also did the make up for the movie and I have some pictures of the making of the movie! Anyways... this was a GREAT movie and if you can get a hold of it...you'll LOVE it!

Find my way home
I saw this movie on a plane trip about 2 years ago, and that song still runs through my head. This movie is great, and that should be all that is required to watch it. A powerful message, and the ending is definetly not sappy compared to recent movies that have been put out by producers.

realy inspiring film
this was an excellent film. gema zamprogna was amazing. the thing i liked the most was the way she showed her emotions of her father dieing in a odd way which shows the pain she was going through and that just made me emotional. but an excellent film it was.

best movie ever
I love and enjoy this movie but I have not seen it for about 3 year . I really want to buy it . If you can help me fine a way to buy it e-mail me !!!

The Challengers chronicles a life a girl in pain.
When her father dies, a young girl must face life without him. Trying to fit in, she makes herself into a boy so she can fit into an all-boys band. When the band members finally learn that she's a girl, explosions erupt. Find out what happens by renting this movie. It's really great for the family. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

a GREAT movie
this is a great movie .... very sad but it really grabs at ur heart and doesnt let go ... it'll make u cry make u laugh make u think . an honest movie . brillantly acted and written
a great movie espeically for kids/teenagers
the music in it is good to the song at the end is realy nice

Great themes for kids
I've shown this movie to groups of 6th graders-- they love it. Themes include family stress, gender, honesty, friendship, and more.

If you love "AVONLEA", you'll love this!
One of the first films Gema Zamprogna did, even before her Avonlea days, this movie is a tear-jerking drama about a young girl mourning for her father and trying to fit in with her peers. If you don't cry over the ending, you've got to be heartless! This movie is wonderful, and it's a shame that it isn't as attainable as it should be! ... Read more

Reviews (61)

Making Computer History Into a Movie...
It's a quite interesting movie. It plays out real history of the PC including historical events such as the creation of the Altair 8800 computer by MITS (first modern PC), how Mircrosoft and Apple started out, the creation of the GUI and Mouse by Xerox, the creations of Apple's Lisa, Apple II, and Mac Computers, and the history behind MS-DOS and Windows Operating Systems. The movie is really well written and the cast is great. It is a good movie to learn how computers came about. This movie is great for all people, but if you like computers the movie really fills in the gaps between the beginning of PC's and current times. It features major people in computer history such as Bill Gates, Steven Jobs, and Stephen Wozniak. The movie is centered on the race between Apple and Microsoft in the computer world. It shows how they each fought to be the dominate computer company. The movie stays close to actual history and shows how the computer industry matures through the years. This is a MUST BUY for any computer lover.

not completely accurate, but still informative/entertaining

If you're looking for a documentary that accurately explains the beginnings of the personal computer industry, then "The Pirates of Silicon Valley" is not it. You'd be better served watching the excellent 1995 PBS documentary "Triumph of the Nerds" instead.

If however, you're looking for an entertaining movie that gets most of the major details right, then you're in luck. The script is pretty bad (it's obvious that this was a TNT-original, made-for-TV movie), but Noah Wyle and Anthony Michael Hall do such a superb job, each *nailing* their roles of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, respectively, that it's worth watching.

This movie is based on the excellent book "Fire in the Valley: The Making of the Personal Computer". However, that book was published in 1984, and this movie covers events slightly farther in the future. Many of the details are combined, left out, or sometimes fabricated (a.k.a. "creative license"), and I'm told that some of the additional information not in the book came from the director Martyn Burke himself watching "Triumph of the Nerds" (and having his actors watch it, too, to help them get in character).

Still, I'm a high school computer science teacher, and I have my students watch this every year to give them the big picture before following it up with "Triumph of the Nerds" to accurately place the details.

Overall, this is a decent movie, and the whole cast does a laudable job portraying their characters. The story is an interesting one, and despite the generally poor script and often seemingly needless inaccuracies, "The Pirates of Silicon Valley" is a glimpse behind the scenes at the events and personalities that built the computer industry as we know it today.

Interesting Story
But....you know what...Both Gates and Jobs are thieves..Infact who isn't in this day and age. Look at what happened at ERON....A-DUH ..Typical Corporate America.

Movie version of Robert Cringely's "Triumph of the Nerds"
Very entertaining movie for people who are interested in how PC revolution begins. Showing the big pirates like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs how to build their empires by stealing other's ideas, like the "Mouse" which in fact played a critical factor in this PC revolution. The plot is very similar to the classic well-known Cringely's Triumph of the Nerds. Yet, it adds a alot of movie elements to make it quite interesting and fun to watch, especially the character of cool 'Steve Jobs'. It's a good video for personal collection if you want to enjoy the PC revolution era.

For a television movie.. pretty good
Anthony Michael really nailed his character and impressed me for the first time in a while--reminded me of just exactly WHY he was member of the BRAT PACK. Noah was as solid as always. Follows the paths of the creators of Macintosh and IBM--and their personal battles with one another.

This surprised me. I figured it for one step away from a Lifetime movie of the week, but Noah and Anthony Michael really deliver in their performances. ... Read more