The biopic of the Second World War code-breaker later convicted for homosexuality also stars Mark Strong, Rory Kinnear and Keira Knightley
The first trailer for the Alan Turing biopic The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the Second World War code-breaker, has been released. Norwegian director Morten Tyldum's film, based on Andrew Hodges's book Alan Turing: The Enigma, has been selected to open this year's London Film Festival on October 8.
Turing was a pioneer of modern computing whose work at Bletchley Park's Government Code and Cypher School involved deciphering coded communications sent through the Nazis' Enigma machine. Winston Churchill credited Turing with helping the Allies to win several significant battles and saving thousands of lives. He was nonetheless prosecuted for homosexuality in 1952 and chemically castrated; he died two years later from cyanide poisoning, aged 41. After a lengthy campaign Turing was given a royal pardon in 2013.
Joining Cumberbatch in the cast are Mark Strong, Charles Dance, Rory Kinnear and Keira Knightley, as Turing's colleague and former fiancée Joan Clarke. At one point Leonardo DiCaprio was due to play Turing, but he pulled out shortly before production began.
The Imitation Game is released in the UK on November 14, and in the US on November 21
Joining Cumberbatch in the cast are Mark Strong, Charles Dance, Rory Kinnear and Keira Knightley, as Turing's colleague and former fiancée Joan Clarke. At one point Leonardo DiCaprio was due to play Turing, but he pulled out shortly before production began.
The Imitation Game is released in the UK on November 14, and in the US on November 21
