Morgan, dennis patrick as inventor thomas edison and strother martin as inventor george. The real story behind the current war, about edison. Benedict cumberbatchs thomas edison film the current war finally gets new release date this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. It does work to have the film break the 4th wall when anne morgan speaks to the camera. Thomas edison, george westinghouse and nikola tesla brilliant inventors and industrialists who battled in the early days of electricity to power humankind into the 20th century and beyond, a conflict committed to film in 2017s the current war. The movie details the war of the currents shocking, right. Benedict cumberbatch is thomas edison, the celebrity inventor on the verge of. The film, which follows the race to bring electricity to american cities, stars.
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. American genius edison vs tesla tv episode 2015 imdb. The film follows edison, whose plans of bringing electricity to manhattan are upended when westinghouse and tesla announce they have a. He worked there for a year, impressing edison with his. Nikola tesla was a brilliant but eccentric genius, and thomas edison was the iconic innovator who designed the lightbulb. I lived close to many of the places chronicled in this book edisons lab and home were in west orange, nj where i was raised and used to visit the edison national historic site often. What to know about the real epic rivalry between thomas edison, nikola tesla and george westinghouseand the invention of the electric chair. The real history that inspired the movie the current war time. And judging by the trailer, tesla is much more socially well adjusted than he was in real life. Most american movie screenings in 1901 took place in multiuse buildings like town halls or in vaudeville theaters and in socalled nickelodeons, permanent spaces where people could often watch movies oneatatime through a viewfinder. In our day, teslas achievements have come to overshadow those of his nemesis thomas edison, who worked manically, and completely failed. Starring peter bozovic as physicist and inventor nikola tesla, orson wells as banker and industrialist j. What was the actual relationship between thomas edison and. That technology was actually developed not by thomas a.
Thomas edison played by benedict cumberbatch is going to enlighten the city of manhattan with his direct current dc. Benedict cumberbatch plays thomas edison in the new. Along comes nikola tesla who is a sharp, meticulous inventor himself hes always felt that dc power distribution is inefficient but doesnt yet know if theres any other way. However, it has been rereleased recently in october 2019. Topsy the elephant was a victim of her captors, not thomas. Electricity battle between edison and tesla comes to life in new film. Brilliant inventor nikola tesla arrives in the united states and begins working with edison, but is disappointed by. Thomas edison is among the most famous inventors of all time.
The current war 2017 rotten tomatoes movie trailers. The current war is a 2017 american historical drama film inspired by the 19th century competition between thomas edison. The current war with benedict cumberbatch gets fall 2019. Tesla arrived in new york in 1884 and was hired as an engineer at thomas edisons manhattan headquarters. My grandfather actually worked for thomas edison and met the man actually they called him the old man on a few occations. And that he did invent one of the first xray machines.
Because edison held so many patents, and because these patents applied to both the creation of movies and the technology used to run movie theaters, he was able to cajole other patent holders into. The thomas edison biopic has been languishing for awhile, with a first look at benedict cumberbatch in the. Electricity battle between edison and tesla comes to life. Jonny wilkes examines the history behind the fight to distribute power for bbc history revealed. After receiving a concussion and suffering amnesia, mac takes a dangerous memory restoration drug to gain a clue to find where nikola tesla hid a weapon that codex is seeking. Hoults tesla seems peripheral, an afterthought, and the movies fourth star tom holland, as edisons assistant, samuel insull gets his big scene too late for his character to register fully. Igniting a war of currents, westinghouse and tesla bet everything on risky and dangerous alternating current. The current war trailer 1 2017 benedict cumberbatch, tom holland biography movie hd official trailer. Hoults tesla seems peripheral, an afterthought, and the movies fourth star tom holland, as edisons assistant, samuel insull gets his big scene too late for his character to. Learn more about direct current dc and alternating current ac. Check out the first trailer for the current war above. The current war is powered by an outstanding cast and an intriguing, historyinspired story, which makes this dramas low wattage all the more shocking. Smart news keeping you current topsy the elephant was a victim of her captors, not thomas edison many believe edison killed topsy to. Nikola tesla rivalry reemerged as a meme at the start of this decade.
Three brilliant visionaries set off in a charged battle for the future in the current war, the epic story of the. Thomas edison in short did not steal nikola teslas inventions and ruin him. With thomas edison no longer involved with edison general electric, the war of currents came to a close with a financial merger. Did thomas edison steal the inventions of nikola tesla and. A comparable movie could yet be made about the battle between beta and vhs. The experts and archivists at the thomas edison national historical park in west orange, nj cannot find anything on file to indicate acrimonious exchanges. Benedict cumberbatchs longshelved thomas edison movie is as. It seems somewhat fashionable today, especially among young folks, to believe thomas edison took unfair advantage of tesla but its not true.
Each side touted their method as being more efficient and more importantly, safer than the others. The current war vs the true story of edison, westinghouse. Tesla and edison experts answer your questions about these two energy inventors. Trace the light bulbs evolution from thomas edisons lab to the leds we use today. With benedict cumberbatch, oliver powell, katherine waterston, nancy crane. Westinghouse teams up with serbiaborn engineer nikola tesla. In his lucid dream, mac encounter tesla, thomas edison, alexander graham, and figures from his past that both give him hints and attempt to thwart his progress. On one side was thomas edisons direct current dc system. But westinghouse, aided by nikola tesla, has seen fatal flaws in edisons direct current design. Benedict cumberbatchs thomas edison film the current war.
Benedict cumberbatchs the current war is anything but electric. Now playing benedict cumberbatch is thomas edison, the celebrity. Teslas ac would eventually win out in the years to come, but no matter. Edison president henry villard, who had engineered the merger that formed edison general electric, was continually working on the idea of merging that company with thomsonhouston or westinghouse. However, as emphasized in the movie, he didnt actually create all of.
Director alfonso gomezrejons next movie goes deep into the battle to electrify the world. Nikola tesla is a pop culture battle the current war, a new movie, and edison, a new biography, resurrect the battle between thomas edison and nikola tesla. Christian bale and nicolas cage in talks to play nikola tesla and thomas edison for director mike newell in tesla, ruler of the world by brendan bettinger july 10, 2012. Rejon me and earl and the dying girl, the movie stars benedict cumberbatch as thomas edison, michael shannon as george westinghouse, katherine waterson as westinghouses wife, and nicholas hoult as nikola tesla.
Thomas edison astonishes the world by illuminating a section of manhattan at night. Tesla won the first battle if nikola tesla is known at all, its because he oneupped his former boss, thomas edison, early on in his career, as he perfected the system that. Thomas edison benedict cumberbatch and george westinghouse michael shannon go to war in the new trailer for the historical drama, the current war. The renegade roots of hollywood studios film studios universal and paramount started 100 years ago as insurgent indies challenging thomas edisons powerful cartel. The real history that inspired the movie the current war.
The movie premiered at the toronto film festival in 2017 but was one of several completed films that found itself dropped from. Christian bale and nicolas cage in talks for nikola tesla. Tesla was born of serbian parentage, and began his working life, working for a phone company in budapest. Benedict cumberbatch is thomas edison, the celebrity inventor on the verge of bringing.
The current war true story reveals that edison held 1,093 patents. In the late 19th century nikola tesla defeated thomas edison in the acdc battle of electric current. He is credited as the inventor of revolutionary items like the phonograph 1877, the incandescent light bulb 1879, and to some degree motion pictures 1892. Thomas edison drove the film industry to california. In this brainpop movie on thomas edison, tim and moby will help you get the facts straight about the famous wizard of menlo park. Directed by alfonso gomezrejon and written by michael mitnick, the film stars benedict cumberbatch as edison, michael shannon as westinghouse, nicholas hoult as nikola tesla, and tom holland as samuel insull, alongside katherine waterston, tuppence middleton, matthew macfadyen and damien molony. Thomas edison, nikola tesla and the sad case of topsy. What would the older nikola tesla have said to the younger telsa about science, business, women.
The movie flirts with, but doesnt go into teslas story nearly enough, as the spotlight remains squarely on the edison vs westinghouse rivalry. Its said that thomas edison will play a role in this movie, which makes sense, as the two had a welldocumented and rather fierce rivalry with one. The official trailer for the current war tells a thrilling tale of the competitive race to electrify a nation, with edison, westinghouse, and tesla. Morgan, edison dazzles the world by lighting manhattan.
The current war, a film based on the true story of the race between thomas edison and nikola tesla to light up new york city, starring benedict cumberbatch, is coming to the big screen in 2019 after an unusual delay. How thomas edison used a fake electric chair execution. The current war is a 2017 american historical drama film inspired by the 19thcentury competition between thomas edison. But did you know that he didnt actually invent the light bulb. We first heard about the current war way back in 2014, but a lot has changed since then. What to know about the real epic rivalry between thomas edison, nikola tesla and george westinghouseand the invention of the electric. The movie the current war recreates the battle of technology and ideas that would determine whether thomas edisons or george westinghouses electrical system would power the new century.
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