It's difficult to tell whether this video transfer has a badly synched soundtrack or if some of the actors' voices are dubbed. Regardless, the wonderful subject matter--the life of 19th century immigrant inventor/genius Nikola Tesla--is given uneven treatment in this overlong Yugoslavian production. Petar Bozovic is credible as Tesla, who developed "alternating current" and locked horns with Thomas Edison (whose "direct current" was the prevailing electrical system). Edison is accurately portrayed by Dennis Patrick as an egocentric stealer of ideas. Encouraging Tesla in the battle are George Westinghouse (Strother Martin) and J.P. Morgan (Orson Welles, in his last feature performance, who looks sadly ill, and seems to be laboring for breath). While the ideas and patent eccentricities of Tesla are handled nicely, the film is very nearly sunk every time Oja Kodar as Tesla's unattainable love comes onscreen. Her flat delivery of some truly ridiculous dialog is unintentionally quite hilarious. As a film which debunks the mythic stature of Edison, this movie has some merit, but it's not enough to warrant purchasing. Not recommended. (R. Pitman)
The Secret of Nikola Tesla
(1985) 115 min. $69.95. International Home Cinema. Library Journal
The Secret of Nikola Tesla
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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