"The Current War"

[TinfoilPhono]

I'm surprised that I hadn't heard of an upcoming movie about Edison and Westinghouse titled "The Current War." You can watch the trailer HERE.

It was previewed at a film festival in Toronto in September and received very mixed reviews, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 36% based on 14 reviews. I read several of them and most talk about how gimmicky the overdone camera tricks are, along with complaints about the story and lack of any interest in the characters.

The actor who plays Edison, Benedict Cumberbatch, looks nothing like Edison. From what I've read he plays Edison as a devoted husband and father, which goes against just about everything written about him.

I get very annoyed by anachronisms and incorrect details in period-piece movies. I think this one is destined to bug the cr*p out of me. The poster alone rankles, showing a blatantly obvious reproduction bulb and socket:



A scene depicting Edison showing off his electric lights to financiers at Menlo Park has the lamps laid out in concentric circles in a field, not on posts around his lab as it really happened. From the very brief clip in the trailer and in some photos online it appears that the bulbs are all frosted, rounded, far too bright, and lacking evacuation tips:



(There are some much larger photos online that show the modern bulbs more clearly than this one.)

It was due to be released the day after Thanksgiving but that was put on hold because the film was produced by The Weinstein Company and that has become a toxic connection. I suppose whenever it is released I'll have to see it, however reluctantly.

[estott]

Edison as a husband and father- that varied greatly. He and first wife Mary grew apart, he was fond of his children in their youth, less so as they grew- his eldest daughter was only a few years younger than her stepmother and things were tense. He was very disappointed in his eldest son Tom Jr. and showed it- along with William neither showed any inventive or business aptitude & were dismissed

Edison was much closer to his second wife Mina, and she was very important in polishing his public image. His sons from the 2nd marriage did much better as they fit well into the business.

[Curt A]

"The actor who plays Edison, Benedict Cumberbatch, looks nothing like Edison."

Very true... he looks more like Sherlock Holmes...

[Jwb88]

This looks like a steaming pile. Cumberbatch? What a strange casting choice. Any mention of the elephant electrocution? Or maybe more Tesla worship which has been very en vogue recently (whether justified or not is besides the point).

It might actually be fun to watch just to see how bad it is. How many Chinese repro Edison bulbs do you think were used in the making of this film?

[cmshapiro]

I was waiting for this until the Weinstein scandal came out!

I wish they would have hired me as a "light bulb consultant". I would have done it free of charge!

This will be a silly Edison vs Tesla drama where Tesla is made out to be god, and Edison is made out to be the devil. Thats what the masses want to think, so thats the story they will tell.

VERY little of the real "current war" info floating around regarding Edison and Tesla is true. Tesla was not anywhere near as vital as people want him to re-wrtite history to make him out to be. There were other important pioneering inventors at Westinghouse before and after Tesla that would have handled the development of AC power delivery just well without his craziness!

[cmshapiro]

This looks like a steaming pile. Cumberbatch? What a strange casting choice. Any mention of the elephant electrocution? Or maybe more Tesla worship which has been very en vogue recently (whether justified or not is besides the point).

It might actually be fun to watch just to see how bad it is. How many Chinese repro Edison bulbs do you think were used in the making of this film?

BTW, Topsy was sentenced to death for the killing of 3 people. Edison was not killing Topsy for propaganda. Edison film producers did film the execution, but when Topsy was killed in 1903, Edison had LONG moved on from trying to push DC for mass scale utility delivery.


http://edison.rutgers.edu/topsy.htm

[TinfoilPhono]

I wish they would have hired me as a "light bulb consultant". I would have done it free of charge!

They needed someone like you.

Here's a larger picture of the "1880" bulbs from the movie as compared to a real one.

[HisMastersVoice]

Let’s count how many movies use a crapophone! Sadly, the people who make movies rarely care about these details because most of the targeted audience won’t know, or care.

[JerryVan]

There's a series, beginning to day I believe, about Tesla and how he was likely murdered by the FBI to prevent perfecting his much touted "death ray". They pretend that it's a real documentary, with investigative research & reporting. TOTAL CRAP. I watched 20 minutes of a preview episode and couldn't stand the BS any longer. Of course, Edison was portrayed as a copy-cat, swindler, and thief.