The Secret Life of Nikola Tesla

I'm certainly no expert on Tesla, which is one reason I tuned in- (There's an irony here that I'll explain in a footnote). Initially I was dubious about tuning in since the production crew was full of Slavic names that led me to think I would have to put up with subtitles. Nonetheless, I'm really glad I went ahead anyway. Of course I can't make comparisons with any other Tesla document, as other reviewers do. But, whatever the case, in the movie Tesla, the man, comes across as an emotionless, unsociable personality, suggesting that maybe he's in steady contact with a somewhere else. Of course, given the depth of his thinking that was perhaps the case. At the same time, he appears to harbor a deep sadness over his family and boyhood days in Croatia (I believe). Anyway, his movie persona comes across as enigmatic at best, though understandably boring to many viewers. Nonetheless, the rivalries and relations with such giants of his time as Edison, J.P. Morgan, and Westinghouse are fascinating, to say the least, lending the film real interest.

The production recreates the time period well, the costuming, the street scenes, the electronic gizmos. Then too, there's Orson Welles resting comfortably as millionaire financier J. P. Morgan, along with the always reliable Strother Martin as supportive entrepreneur George Westinghouse. So there are familiar Hollywood figures among the cast. And though it's underwritten, the clean, low-cost threat that Tesla's alternating electrical current poses to higher-cost dirty energy, such as coal and oil, illuminates an ongoing problem that's mounted into a current day crisis. I had no idea the energy rivalry went back a hundred years or more. All in all, there's much food for thought here, so it's a movie well worth taking in for both Tesla afficianadoes and novices like me.

(Footnote- I was born and reared in Colorado Springs where, as the film indicates, Tesla coducted many of his experiments. For years we lived on Nob hill from which Tesla apparently conducted short-range experiments eastward onto the great plains. Then for one summer I worked in the summit house atop Pikes Peak where the genius apparently conducted longer range experiments. My experience was in the 1940's and 50's, and believe it or not, I'd never heard during that period of Tesla or his experiments. Why, I'm not sure, given his current well-deserved recognition. But judging from my Colo. Sprgs, upbringing his renown wasn't always the case, even though he'd proven himself not that long before. So, as they say, go figure! At least, for me, it won't happen again.)

I just watched this film for the 6th or 7th time, and came here to take a look at some of the cast, and was struck when I saw a review that started off "I've seen better documentaries." This is NOT a documentary any more than the Wolf of Wall Street was. This is a dramatization.

If you care about film, if you love stories, if you're inspired by life and all it has to offer, along with its frustrations, give this film a serious try. Some films have that 'resonance' where all parts of the added up film have evenly distributed values that make the film ring with emotional truth: This is certainly one.

I've seen it once. Then some time later I've seen it again, and since then it's become a film I like to watch at least once a year.

This is a dramatization of Tesla's life and work. And in this respect, with excellent support of an array of good actors, including Orson Welles and Strother Martin (I challenge you to not think of him as the white Morgan Freeman...seriously, down to the smallest detail) who provide a perfect contrast to Petar Bozovic' subtle, if-deadpan deliverance believable of the man himself; the film either grips you or not. If it doesn't, it's okay, there's plenty of other, much higher budget movies out there for you to see. If you're one of the lucky few who unlike the chief villains of the piece can understand what the hell Tesla's talking about, this movie will grow on you and you'll keep coming back to it.

The image or the sound is not perfect, the transfer from whatever film version there was out there is truly atrocious for something this good. A diamond in the rough, if you will. If you grew up with spotty TV-reception and remember having to fiddle with the bunny-ears on your TV, it may strike the right tone and you'll allow yourself to suspend disbelief.

This film can really use remastering, on all levels (and i love it so much I might make it my hobby), but to say the script is bad is just plain not true. It is just not what you're used to seeing, but that doesn't make it textbook incorrect. This film IS art. It was made that way, with extraordinary attention to detail all-round.

If you got here because you watched The Prestige and are curious to find out more about the great Nikola Tesla, watch this film. I'd stick my hand in fire here by saying Nolan must have seen this movie and liked it, because the similarities between certain authentic details in The Prestige and this film are undeniable.

This film is for those who understand the core concept which has made Steve Jobs so great - he wanted to help the world. Well, before him so did Nikola Tesla, but unlike the late genius, he forgot to factor in that he couldn't make the world rich so long as there is greed and above all ignorance, which is unfortunately just as natural.

This could have been a 10 rating if it were not for the amateurish production quality.

Tesla's genius is the stuff of science fiction where a being of superior intelligence finds its way to earth. But it isn't fiction at all. It is a story based on highly documented work and interviews with people who knew Tesla personally and observed, first hand, demonstrations of his concepts put to work.

I would recommend this movie to those who have a natural curiosity about technology as well as to those interested in human behavior and the potential for new ideas to be thwarted by vested financial interests.

One cannot see this film without thinking about the multi-billion dollar coal and oil businesses that would be impacted by the development of clean and cheap alternative energy sources.

Given the fact that government is in the pocket of big money, the chances of another Tesla revolutionizing the energy industry must now be near zero!

I was suprised they had made a Tesla movie. The beginning is interesting because it is like a documentary of what different people think of Tesla now. Then the movie starts and it is pretty good. It drags a bit though. The actor who plays Tesla does well. I don't recommend it to people who don't know anything about Tesla, but I think people that know about Tesla and his work will like this

The movie's English title, "The Secret of Nikola Tesla" alludes to goofy claims made by Tesla in his declining years. In his 80s, Telsa made claims that scientists now doubt were valid. For example, Tesla claimed to have solved the unified field theory of gravity, but never published it. Other claims, like a death ray that could bring down enemy airplanes hundreds of miles away, gave Tesla the reputation of being a mad scientist.

But Tesla should not be remembered for the eccentricities of his later years. As a young man, Tesla was indeed an amazing genius of electricity and magnetism who was eventually honored on the cover of Time Magazine. He designed in his brain a thing that every person reading these words has used every day of their lives, the electric AC motor. (Until this, alternating current couldn't run a motor!) Before the year 1900, he had invented the first radio transmitter, invented the spark plug, designed a radio controlled torpedo, created several kinds of fluorescent tube lights, designed generators for Edison, and created images of the bones of his hand prior to Röntgen's discovery of x-rays.

I would encourage readers to see this movie about a very unique scientist. Particularly since every other comment here ignores the movie to make partisan political claims. Apparently this is why Yugoslavia was plunged in a bloody civil war.

The Movie's English title "The Secret of Nikola Tesla" is misleading, but the amazing accomplishments of Tesla himself make this movie worth seeing.