Tajna Nikole Tesle

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!

Tesla also applied his resonance engines in bizarre forms of physical therapy. He created machines that flooded the human body with electrical currents and strong vibrations, intended to soothe aches and promote healing. And Tesla wasn't just the inventor of the "electrotherapeutic" device -- he was also a client. He reportedly became somewhat addicted to administering the treatment to himself, insisting that a session with the machine rejuvenated him on his long stretches of work without food or sleep. Tesla once let his friend Samuel Clemens try out the healing machine. The author is said to have enjoyed the experience tremendously -- until the vibrations brought him a case of spontaneous diarrhea. Tesla marketed this invention, and the Tesla Electrotherapeutic Company was one of the few commercial enterprises of his old age that was marginally successful.

If you're unfamiliar with the story of Nikola Tesla, get familiar with it now. In a nutshell, he was one of the rare inventors (actually the only one that comes to mind) who was dedicated foremost to benefitting life on Earth. While other inventors were after glory, gains and economic interests, Telsa simply wanted to improve the planet. In that respect, his ideas for clean, free power came long before our dwindling resources and global warming made it a selfish need of ours. Tesla was a true altruist.

This film tries to give us the gist of his life. The film takes a melancholy, ponderous approach which will doubtlessly bore many people. There are cryptic, wordless scenes of Tesla observing nature: sunsets, rivers, and of course lightning storms. This is a subtle way of showing how Tesla derived his inspiration from natural elements. However, in using this subtle approach, the director sacrifices momentum of plot.

Almost secondary is the action. The bitter rivalry from Edison (who, yes, was a sociopathic nut case who did indeed electrocute dogs and cats in public as this movie alludes) as well as the phenomenal accomplishments of Tesla (lighting the World's Fair and building the AC power station at Niagra Falls) are glossed over in light of Tesla's dreamy reveries. And Tesla's grandest scheme, a "free power Earth", was so ambiguously presented that we, the audience, come away feeling slightly unfulfilled.

Of course, that was the director's intent. We, the humans of planet Earth, are left unfulfilled, because obviously we're not hopping around the globe in free Telsa machines the way he had hoped. We don't even know 1/100th of what we could have possibly had, if history had taken a different turn.

This movie is to be approached very philosophically and artistically. If you're looking for a factual biopic, you might want to start elsewhere. But whatever you do, learn about Tesla any way you can. On the lighter side, check out Jim Jarmusch's "Coffee & Cigarettes" featuring a bunch of short comedy skits with famous actors & musicians (Bill Murray, Iggy Pop, Cate Blanchett, Steve Buscemi, etc) which revolve around Tesla's idea that the world is an acoustical resonator. For a quick laugh, see one of the skits on youtube starting The White Stripes, called "Jack Shows Meg His Tesla Coil".

I just watched this movie at Google Video. It is an awesome movie. I have just completeted reading 3 biographies of Nikola Tesla, and found the movie to be a pretty faithful re-creation of his life as described in the biographies. There are some things that were not 100% accurate in the film, but it was a great film! The film accurately represents the connection between Katherine Johnson and Nikola. This was well documnted in the biographies I have read of Tesla. The film also shows Edison, Westinghouse, J.P. Morgan, Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens), Marconi, and other big-wigs of that time.

I was even surprised to see that it looks like they built a full scale version of the Colorado Springs Experiment Station and of the Wydenclyfe Tower! It was a great film!

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.