1893 World’s Fair Coming to the Big Screen in THE CURRENT WAR

The lights are back on for a film partially set on the fairgrounds of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. Scheduled to open in October 2019 is The Current War, a historical drama about the legendary “war of the currents” between titans of the electrical industry who are setting their sights on powering the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago.

The Current War tells the story of the vicious rivalry between inventors Thomas Edison (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Nikola Tesla (Nicholas Hoult), who is back by businessman George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon). After premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2017, the movie was to be distributed that fall by Weinstein Company, but was quickly shelved when the scandal associated with Harvey Weinstein broke. (See more at our post “Weinstein, War, and the White City”). The film eventually was sold off when the company declared bankruptcy. Director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon has added five additional scenes and trimmed ten minutes from the runtime of the 2017 cut, according to a report from Ars Technica.

Many 1893 World’s Fair enthusiasts have dreamed of seeing a realistic rendering of the great Chicago fair on the big screen. Although filmed in London, the film includes scenes set on the fairgrounds in Jackson Park, much of which has been digitally created. The film’s new distributor, 101 Studios, posted a trailer on June 25, showing several very brief teasers of Columbian Exposition scenes.

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At 0:34 min into the trailer is a gorgeous flyover of the Columbian Exposition grounds, looking northeast from above the incoming train lines in the southwest corner. We can see the back of Terminal Station (center right) and the iconic dome of the Administration Building (upper right). Behind them, many other buildings can be seen around the Lagoon, all in their correct locations and depicted with accurate architectural details. Scaffolding seen on many of the structures and an incomplete roof on the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building suggest that this scene occurs before the Fair has opened. In the center background is the U.S. Government Building, with its stately dome, and to the left (north) is the recognizably round Fisheries Building. In between and behind them (to the north east) is a tall structure that is not immediately identifiable; perhaps this is the German Building?

A photograph showing almost the same perspective of the fairgrounds highlights similarities and differences with the fairgrounds digitally created for The Current War.

A most astonishing site in the still image from the film can be spotted even further in the background, to the left (north). Moved from its home on the Midway Plaisance is partially completed Ferris Wheel, now sited along the lakeshore approximately where the France and Ceylon buildings actually stood. It is hard to imagine a film set on the 1893 World’s Fair that would not place some of the action on the festive Midway Plaisance, so we are left wondering how they will reconcile the great wheel’s relocation.

The scene shown at 1:14 may be depicting the Opening Day Ceremony of the Exposition, held on May 1, 1893. In the foreground is someone holding a larger switch and in the background is the Administration Building. In fact, President Grover Cleveland opened the fair by pressing a telegraph key just a few minutes after noon, while standing on a platform directly in front of the Administration Building. Moving the event to the evening–so as to show the golden dome illuminated by strings of incandescent light bulbs—is a loss of some historical accuracy but a gain of a great dramatic effect.

At 1:55, we see a view of the Grand Basin in the evening, looking east toward the Peristyle. Visitors walk along the north side of Machinery Hall (right foreground), underneath an arch reading “World’s Columbian Exposition, 1893” that was not present at the Fair. Two such arches were spotted in a behind-the-scenes photograph taken during filming and likely are used simply to establish the location of the scene. The most jarring aspect of this shot, though, is not what has been add but what has been removed. Look closely at the background of the Grand Basin. The Statue of the Republic is missing!

At 2:10 are two very brief shots of crowds walking along the south side of the Grand Basin. In the first shot, we are looking east toward the Peristyle; sadly, Big Mary is still missing. The second shot faces west toward the Administration Building. We are pleased to see authentic looking lamp posts on both left and right sides of the scene.

In even these tiny glimpses at how The Current War recreates the dazzling White City, attention to detail is evident. We are left hoping that substantial scenes take place on the fairgrounds to enjoy this trip back to the 1893 World’s Fair.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, The Current War will have a limited opening in select theaters on October 4, followed by a wider theatrical release a week later.