The film follows Turing and his team as they work at Bletchley Park, Britain's code-breaking center, during World War II. The trailer paints a tense picture as the team of scientists race against time to crack the German code.
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Turing is widely considered to be a pioneer of modern-day computing, as well as the father of theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence. He is credited with shortening the length of WWII, but committed suicide in 1954 after enduring chemical castration as an alternative to prison after being prosecuted for homosexuality.
The film will open the BFI London Film Festival on Oct. 8, which is prime cinema real estate — last year's BFI opener was Captain Phillips.
Keira Knightley plays Turing's friend and fellow code breaker, Joan Clarke, and delivers the trailer's chilling final line. "Sometimes it is the people who no one imagines anything of who do the things that no one can imagine."
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The British cast includes Matthew Goode, Mark Strong, Rory Kinnear, Charles Dance, Allen Leech and Matthew Beard.
The Imitation Game opens Nov. 21.