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1
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[wind howling]
2
00:00:57,626 --> 00:00:59,710
[wind stops]
3
00:01:31,835 --> 00:01:33,918
[train engine chugging]
4
00:01:57,585 --> 00:01:59,168
[clang]
5
00:02:00,585 --> 00:02:02,043
[rumbling]
6
00:02:02,126 --> 00:02:04,126
[brakes screeching]
7
00:02:23,543 --> 00:02:25,626
[people murmuring]
8
00:02:49,918 --> 00:02:51,293
[man] Boys!
9
00:03:02,793 --> 00:03:04,876
I hope you brought your checkbooks.
10
00:03:06,710 --> 00:03:08,668
[indistinct chatter]
11
00:03:27,335 --> 00:03:30,001
[woman] The air brakes pay
for George's latest obsession.
12
00:03:30,085 --> 00:03:32,543
By changing the dimensions of his pipes,
13
00:03:32,626 --> 00:03:36,210
George can move natural gas
over 20 miles from the well.
14
00:03:36,293 --> 00:03:38,043
Shooting, like a gun.
15
00:03:38,126 --> 00:03:40,835
Is that good or bad, Mrs. Westinghouse?
16
00:03:42,293 --> 00:03:44,960
- How is your daughter, Gladys?
- Oh, quite well, thank you.
17
00:03:45,043 --> 00:03:46,918
She's met a financier.
18
00:03:47,001 --> 00:03:49,293
The beading on your dress is exquisite.
19
00:03:50,376 --> 00:03:54,710
Mr. Westinghouse, I saw in The World
Mr. Edison's new electric system
20
00:03:54,793 --> 00:03:57,418
is significantly cheaper than gas.
21
00:03:57,501 --> 00:03:59,751
Does that keep you up at night?
22
00:03:59,835 --> 00:04:01,835
There's always more to see.
23
00:04:02,793 --> 00:04:05,501
Mr. and Mrs. Worthington, Mr. Manesberg,
24
00:04:05,585 --> 00:04:08,876
Dr. and Mrs. Burton,
Reverend Vincent, Mr. McCoy,
25
00:04:08,960 --> 00:04:11,251
Mr. Faulk, Miss Faulk, enjoy your evening.
26
00:04:24,210 --> 00:04:27,918
Edison says he's months away
from lighting up the world.
27
00:04:28,001 --> 00:04:31,918
It's impressive, but trust me,
it's ten years away from being practical.
28
00:04:33,001 --> 00:04:35,960
The papers make it sound
as though this is something different.
29
00:04:37,293 --> 00:04:38,668
A miracle.
30
00:04:39,585 --> 00:04:42,210
As if you started to levitate
off the carpet.
31
00:04:43,793 --> 00:04:46,043
I'd love to meet him.
Could you arrange it?
32
00:04:46,126 --> 00:04:47,376
It's been several years...
33
00:04:47,460 --> 00:04:49,710
A dinner.
Comfortable. Elegant. Substantive.
34
00:04:49,793 --> 00:04:53,418
Edison can't be bothered to tie his shoes,
let alone attend a social event.
35
00:04:53,501 --> 00:04:56,293
[chuckles] Perhaps you're right.
But try anyway.
36
00:04:59,876 --> 00:05:02,043
Anything fascinating?
37
00:05:02,126 --> 00:05:05,710
Mr. Pennoyer has found a bargain
on a Beaux Arts shack in Newport.
38
00:05:05,793 --> 00:05:08,835
Mrs. Abernathy's mother has passed,
and apparently Edison believes
39
00:05:08,918 --> 00:05:11,043
it may never be nighttime again.
40
00:05:14,126 --> 00:05:16,460
- Are you excited to meet the President?
- Yes.
41
00:05:16,543 --> 00:05:18,585
Don't say a thing
about J.P. Morgan's nose.
42
00:05:18,668 --> 00:05:20,293
- What's wrong with his nose?
- Nothing.
43
00:05:20,376 --> 00:05:23,835
- What's wrong with his nose?
- It's huge. Huge!
44
00:05:23,918 --> 00:05:26,543
It's like someone took a hammer
and slammed it into his face.
45
00:05:26,626 --> 00:05:28,269
[woman]
I thought you already got the money.
46
00:05:28,293 --> 00:05:29,626
[man] I only got half.
47
00:05:29,710 --> 00:05:31,311
[woman] Does Morgan even know
that you're coming?
48
00:05:31,335 --> 00:05:33,210
He'll invest as always. I hate this.
49
00:05:33,293 --> 00:05:35,053
- Mr. Edison, you have dinner with...
- What?
50
00:05:35,126 --> 00:05:36,960
Dinner with Westinghouse. On your return.
51
00:05:37,043 --> 00:05:38,293
[girl] Why are barns red?
52
00:05:38,376 --> 00:05:40,061
[woman] Maybe so you can
see them in the snow.
53
00:05:40,085 --> 00:05:41,894
- [man] It's 'cause red paint's cheapest.
- What happened to your shoes?
54
00:05:41,918 --> 00:05:44,293
Morgan will want to know
the practicality of your system.
55
00:05:44,376 --> 00:05:45,543
[girl] I have money.
56
00:05:45,626 --> 00:05:47,751
Enough for two small buildings
in Manhattan?
57
00:05:47,835 --> 00:05:48,876
Yes.
58
00:05:48,960 --> 00:05:50,001
Oh, good.
59
00:06:03,751 --> 00:06:05,543
This was intended to be my lunch.
60
00:06:05,626 --> 00:06:07,960
The President has asked to see
the phonograph in person.
61
00:06:08,043 --> 00:06:10,876
- I had no idea you'd be here.
- Mrs. Edison.
62
00:06:10,960 --> 00:06:12,585
Mr. Morgan. These are our children.
63
00:06:12,668 --> 00:06:15,376
Dot and Dash. Delightful.
I know what you're doing.
64
00:06:15,460 --> 00:06:18,585
How much are you short? Just how much
of my money do you want to wash away?
65
00:06:18,668 --> 00:06:21,085
Oh, as very, very much as possible.
66
00:06:21,168 --> 00:06:22,876
- Who's this?
- Samuel Insull.
67
00:06:22,960 --> 00:06:25,626
- Mr. Edison's personal secretary.
- [door opens]
68
00:06:25,710 --> 00:06:29,043
- Mr. Morgan, Mr. Edison.
- Which one? He's also Mr. Edison.
69
00:06:29,126 --> 00:06:30,835
The President will see you now.
70
00:06:37,251 --> 00:06:38,418
Now.
71
00:06:38,501 --> 00:06:41,751
On top of the Crumpetty Tree
the Quangle Wangle sat,
72
00:06:41,835 --> 00:06:45,501
but his face you could not see,
on account of his beaver hat.
73
00:06:46,126 --> 00:06:47,960
This is the sound of your voice.
74
00:06:50,543 --> 00:06:53,543
On top of the Crumpetty Tree
the Quangle Wangle sat,
75
00:06:53,626 --> 00:06:55,835
but his face you could not see,
76
00:06:55,918 --> 00:06:58,668
- on account of his Beaver Hat.
- Is that what I sound like?
77
00:06:58,751 --> 00:07:00,460
[giggling]
78
00:07:00,543 --> 00:07:02,918
My men tell me
you're turning down $5 million.
79
00:07:03,001 --> 00:07:04,561
I'm grateful for the offer, Mr. President,
80
00:07:04,585 --> 00:07:08,126
but it's the type of science you're after
that I find objectionable.
81
00:07:08,210 --> 00:07:10,602
- There's always money in guns.
- The one device I shall never build
82
00:07:10,626 --> 00:07:12,751
is that which takes the life
of another man.
83
00:07:12,835 --> 00:07:13,960
It's barbaric.
84
00:07:15,168 --> 00:07:17,876
But... take a look at this.
85
00:07:17,960 --> 00:07:21,168
One square mile of Manhattan,
the First District.
86
00:07:21,251 --> 00:07:23,501
- And I'm gonna light it up.
- Then you have done it.
87
00:07:23,585 --> 00:07:25,960
A star in a jar. It's a warm glow.
88
00:07:26,043 --> 00:07:29,335
No smell. No poison.
Thirteen hours of light per globe.
89
00:07:29,418 --> 00:07:31,251
And it's cheaper than gas. Safer too.
90
00:07:31,335 --> 00:07:33,293
We bury the wires using my DC current,
91
00:07:33,376 --> 00:07:37,001
and those same wires
will bring you energy and heat.
92
00:07:37,876 --> 00:07:40,835
I need two buildings to house
six dynamos of my own construction.
93
00:07:40,918 --> 00:07:42,918
This won't even reach my house.
94
00:07:43,001 --> 00:07:45,751
Morgan, let me make you so rich
95
00:07:45,835 --> 00:07:47,727
that you will look back
at this moment and wonder,
96
00:07:47,751 --> 00:07:50,001
"Why was I ever so disgustingly poor?"
97
00:07:50,085 --> 00:07:51,293
[Morgan chuckles]
98
00:07:52,460 --> 00:07:54,501
[Edison] It's all right there.
Ferry to Wall Street.
99
00:07:54,585 --> 00:07:56,394
In case you missed my scribble,
that's a big old circle
100
00:07:56,418 --> 00:07:58,460
around the New York Times...
free advertising.
101
00:07:58,543 --> 00:08:00,668
- One hundred fifty.
- Half a million.
102
00:08:00,751 --> 00:08:03,876
I'm talking about $500,000,
you buy the next century.
103
00:08:04,460 --> 00:08:05,876
Brighter, safer, yours.
104
00:08:05,960 --> 00:08:08,727
[President] Sounds rather grand to me,
Pierpont. If I had your fortune...
105
00:08:08,751 --> 00:08:11,085
[Morgan]
With respect, you don't, Mr. President.
106
00:08:14,960 --> 00:08:16,918
- What is that?
- That's not very nice.
107
00:08:17,001 --> 00:08:19,293
- [Edison] Morse code.
- [Dash giggles]
108
00:08:20,043 --> 00:08:21,460
[Morgan] What did the boy say?
109
00:08:21,543 --> 00:08:22,977
- What did the boy say?
- If there's nothing else,
110
00:08:23,001 --> 00:08:25,441
- it's been a pleasure, Mr. President.
- What did the boy say?
111
00:08:27,335 --> 00:08:29,001
Do you know what you've done?
112
00:08:30,085 --> 00:08:32,085
I always receive more by saying no.
113
00:08:34,126 --> 00:08:37,168
Set up the Manhattan offices
and make them look professional.
114
00:08:37,251 --> 00:08:39,335
- What does that mean?
- Oh, I don't know. Carpets.
115
00:08:40,710 --> 00:08:43,251
I don't know. Carpets. [mumbles]
116
00:08:43,335 --> 00:08:44,751
And the name?
117
00:08:46,501 --> 00:08:49,835
Edison Electric, of course.
Sir, why not build munitions?
118
00:08:49,918 --> 00:08:51,727
Five million dollars.
It's hard to say no to...
119
00:08:51,751 --> 00:08:53,460
No.
120
00:08:53,543 --> 00:08:55,001
If it's Edison, it works.
121
00:08:55,085 --> 00:08:57,876
If it works,
I'd strongly prefer it not kill anybody.
122
00:08:59,376 --> 00:09:00,460
Right.
123
00:09:29,376 --> 00:09:33,376
Thomas Edison has an unfavorable opinion
of college graduates seeking employment
124
00:09:33,460 --> 00:09:36,543
because they cannot answer
his examination questions.
125
00:09:37,376 --> 00:09:39,085
"Who composed Il Trovatore?"
126
00:09:39,168 --> 00:09:40,501
[Marguerite] Verdi.
127
00:09:40,585 --> 00:09:42,305
[Westinghouse]
"What is the speed of sound?"
128
00:09:42,335 --> 00:09:43,477
[Marguerite] Oh, a trick question.
129
00:09:43,501 --> 00:09:46,501
Sound travels at
a constantly diminishing rate of speed.
130
00:09:46,585 --> 00:09:52,293
But I believe the fastest rate on record
is 11,463 feet per second.
131
00:09:52,376 --> 00:09:54,043
[Westinghouse] How do you know all this?
132
00:09:54,126 --> 00:09:55,585
I read that this morning.
133
00:09:56,585 --> 00:09:57,626
[chuckles]
134
00:10:00,293 --> 00:10:01,626
[Marguerite] This is different.
135
00:10:03,460 --> 00:10:04,960
I can feel it.
136
00:10:06,085 --> 00:10:08,501
You never requested a house guest before.
137
00:10:09,543 --> 00:10:10,626
Really?
138
00:10:12,376 --> 00:10:13,543
Hmm.
139
00:10:21,168 --> 00:10:23,960
- Eight minutes from the junction, sir.
- Hmm?
140
00:10:24,043 --> 00:10:25,793
The Westinghouse dinner.
141
00:10:25,876 --> 00:10:29,668
We're going home. They're tired.
I already shook enough hands today.
142
00:10:33,251 --> 00:10:35,001
[Westinghouse] Evening, Frank.
143
00:10:35,085 --> 00:10:36,668
George.
144
00:10:37,835 --> 00:10:38,876
Pardon?
145
00:10:39,918 --> 00:10:41,293
I'm not stopping.
146
00:10:43,293 --> 00:10:44,376
Right.
147
00:10:52,126 --> 00:10:54,126
[train engine chugging]
148
00:10:56,335 --> 00:10:58,335
[Pope] Maybe the brakes are busted.
149
00:11:00,251 --> 00:11:01,876
[Westinghouse] I doubt that.
150
00:11:26,793 --> 00:11:28,001
[sighs]
151
00:11:28,085 --> 00:11:30,043
An emergency came up in New York.
152
00:11:35,043 --> 00:11:38,293
[thunder rumbles]
153
00:11:39,501 --> 00:11:40,876
[horse whinnies]
154
00:11:44,960 --> 00:11:46,585
[pistol clicks]
155
00:11:51,710 --> 00:11:53,585
[Pope] Don't let him agitate you.
156
00:11:54,335 --> 00:11:55,835
This is how he is.
157
00:11:56,960 --> 00:11:59,793
Before he was a wizard,
I let him live in my basement.
158
00:12:00,751 --> 00:12:03,602
My wife wouldn't have him at the table
with us unless he cleaned himself.
159
00:12:03,626 --> 00:12:06,168
And boy, given the ultimatum,
the man ate alone.
160
00:12:06,251 --> 00:12:07,710
How does he work?
161
00:12:09,793 --> 00:12:13,085
You want to know his secret?
He engineers his own reality,
162
00:12:13,168 --> 00:12:15,543
and he looks for needles in haystacks.
163
00:12:16,460 --> 00:12:19,251
But how does he know
there's a needle in the hay to begin with?
164
00:12:19,335 --> 00:12:21,251
He doesn't. Neither do you.
165
00:12:21,335 --> 00:12:23,960
But he's so determined not to be
the second person to find it,
166
00:12:24,043 --> 00:12:26,626
he'll go stalk by stalk,
on a "what-do-you-know."
167
00:12:26,710 --> 00:12:29,960
I will say one good thing about him:
He could be the richest man on earth,
168
00:12:30,043 --> 00:12:32,293
but he doesn't give a damn about money.
169
00:12:34,876 --> 00:12:37,126
What does he give a damn about?
170
00:12:41,210 --> 00:12:43,210
Mary? Talk.
171
00:12:43,293 --> 00:12:45,477
- I just want to test the resistance...
- Where's my barrette?
172
00:12:45,501 --> 00:12:47,418
- On top of your bureau.
- What's a bureau?
173
00:12:47,501 --> 00:12:49,293
It's what's under your barrette.
174
00:12:49,376 --> 00:12:52,418
Can I get you to promise on here
that you'll build me a fence?
175
00:12:52,501 --> 00:12:54,751
Ground's frozen. Needs to thaw.
176
00:12:57,626 --> 00:12:59,251
[Dot] Look, you're missing it!
177
00:13:00,210 --> 00:13:02,626
It's a baby! Still has her spots!
178
00:13:08,210 --> 00:13:09,835
[Mary] Tom, come see this.
179
00:13:12,960 --> 00:13:15,376
- Tom? Tom?
- [phone rings]
180
00:13:16,960 --> 00:13:20,043
You want half a million dollars,
make me something with your name on it
181
00:13:20,126 --> 00:13:22,168
that I can sell to General Sherman.
182
00:13:22,251 --> 00:13:24,585
Counteroffer.
How about I don't give you what you want,
183
00:13:24,668 --> 00:13:26,418
but you give me everything I want?
184
00:13:29,751 --> 00:13:33,501
We are gonna be big, big, big!
185
00:13:33,585 --> 00:13:36,710
- [Dash] Bigger than an elephant!
- And no one stops an elephant!
186
00:13:36,793 --> 00:13:38,543
- Whoo!
- [giggles]
187
00:14:52,501 --> 00:14:54,460
[horn blaring]
188
00:15:19,751 --> 00:15:21,001
It'll work.
189
00:15:33,793 --> 00:15:36,418
Look, I've got to be honest.
This might not work.
190
00:15:36,501 --> 00:15:38,251
[crowd chuckles]
191
00:15:38,335 --> 00:15:41,960
Conventional wisdom has it, if you think
you're gonna fall flat on your face,
192
00:15:42,043 --> 00:15:43,793
better not do it in front of a crowd.
193
00:15:43,876 --> 00:15:45,210
[crowd laughs]
194
00:15:47,210 --> 00:15:49,376
Tonight, things could change.
195
00:15:50,043 --> 00:15:51,918
I hope they do.
196
00:15:52,585 --> 00:15:54,126
And if they do...
197
00:15:55,501 --> 00:15:57,460
they'll change there...
198
00:15:58,460 --> 00:15:59,918
and there.
199
00:16:01,751 --> 00:16:04,168
My boys and I caught in a jar
200
00:16:04,251 --> 00:16:07,585
what before now
has only flashed across the night sky.
201
00:16:09,335 --> 00:16:12,251
What say we unscrew the lid
and see what happens?
202
00:16:12,335 --> 00:16:15,043
- [crowd cheering]
- You ready?
203
00:16:16,251 --> 00:16:19,293
- Three, two...
- [crowd] Two, one!
204
00:16:19,376 --> 00:16:21,210
[crowd cheering]
205
00:17:17,710 --> 00:17:21,668
[Westinghouse] The man has 100,000 feet
of copper for 87 customers.
206
00:17:21,751 --> 00:17:23,751
It will never be profitable.
207
00:17:24,626 --> 00:17:27,960
[Pope] It's a hobby for the rich.
Something to show off.
208
00:17:28,043 --> 00:17:29,668
It doesn't have to be.
209
00:17:32,126 --> 00:17:35,876
I'm securing patents on the Siemens dynamo
and the Gaulard-Gibbs transformer.
210
00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:38,418
Transformer?
That's more like a metal suitcase.
211
00:17:38,501 --> 00:17:40,876
How much did that cost?
212
00:17:40,960 --> 00:17:43,501
Edison, he picked the wrong horse.
213
00:17:44,501 --> 00:17:46,918
His current is like a hose
with a knot in it.
214
00:17:47,001 --> 00:17:49,043
He needs to sell one generator per mile.
215
00:17:49,126 --> 00:17:52,585
[Pope] You want to build an AC system.
That's too powerful for motors.
216
00:17:52,668 --> 00:17:55,626
Put doubt out of your mind
for one moment and tell me,
217
00:17:55,710 --> 00:17:58,001
what distance
do you estimate one could get
218
00:17:58,085 --> 00:17:59,918
with a single alternating dynamo?
219
00:18:00,001 --> 00:18:01,460
- A few thousand.
- Yards?
220
00:18:01,543 --> 00:18:02,876
- Miles.
- Mm-hmm.
221
00:18:02,960 --> 00:18:05,293
And how many houses could we reach?
222
00:18:05,376 --> 00:18:08,168
I suppose all of them.
What about the bulbs?
223
00:18:08,251 --> 00:18:10,210
Hiram's agreed to license me his.
224
00:18:10,293 --> 00:18:13,460
If you're gonna rip off Edison,
rip him off right. They glow bright gray.
225
00:18:13,543 --> 00:18:16,251
I just want to do a demonstration
for Edison.
226
00:18:16,335 --> 00:18:18,543
Somewhere small. Small town. Rural.
227
00:18:18,626 --> 00:18:22,126
And then he'll see
alternating is possible,
228
00:18:22,210 --> 00:18:24,585
and we partner... our system, his bulbs.
229
00:18:24,668 --> 00:18:28,835
In my opinion, which I will admit is based
solely on physics and reality,
230
00:18:28,918 --> 00:18:31,085
what you want to do is fun to talk about.
231
00:18:31,168 --> 00:18:33,126
I really don't think it can be done.
232
00:18:33,210 --> 00:18:35,460
- Why?
- Because he would've already done it.
233
00:18:43,793 --> 00:18:45,876
[muttering]
234
00:19:05,918 --> 00:19:09,543
My Paris office seems to think you may be
the only man on Earth to rival me.
235
00:19:09,626 --> 00:19:12,835
- How would you like to work for me?
- Very much.
236
00:19:12,918 --> 00:19:16,210
I'm expanding to 12 cities,
building direct-current systems...
237
00:19:16,293 --> 00:19:17,626
Direct current?
238
00:19:19,835 --> 00:19:21,751
Alternating current is far more efficient.
239
00:19:21,835 --> 00:19:24,418
- [doll] Hickory, dickory dock...
- Higher voltage,
240
00:19:24,501 --> 00:19:26,221
greater distance. less copper conductors...
241
00:19:26,293 --> 00:19:29,293
It's lethal, and it's too much power
for a motor to handle.
242
00:19:29,376 --> 00:19:31,126
I'm going to start you on $100 a month
243
00:19:31,210 --> 00:19:33,710
until you prove yourself worth
more or less.
244
00:19:33,793 --> 00:19:35,977
- A hundred dollars?
- If you can solve five things I can't,
245
00:19:36,001 --> 00:19:38,543
I'll pay you $50,000,
and then I'll have to fire you.
246
00:19:39,543 --> 00:19:41,501
Mr. Tesla, welcome to Edison Electric.
247
00:19:41,585 --> 00:19:43,668
We make a minor invention every ten days
248
00:19:43,751 --> 00:19:45,918
and a major one every six months or so.
249
00:19:49,585 --> 00:19:52,105
[woman] I have a suspicion
that though your husband's lab is but
250
00:19:52,168 --> 00:19:55,876
a hundred yards from your house, it must
seem sometimes like a hundred miles.
251
00:19:55,960 --> 00:19:57,460
No, a million.
252
00:19:58,335 --> 00:20:01,710
I've tried to find a way to stop
his brain, but it just runs and runs.
253
00:20:02,585 --> 00:20:06,418
It's something he can't control.
All I can do is bring him back to center.
254
00:20:06,501 --> 00:20:10,043
I've heard Mr. Edison called
"the worst husband in America"
255
00:20:10,126 --> 00:20:13,085
on account of him sleeping in his lab
on your wedding night.
256
00:20:13,168 --> 00:20:15,085
I've heard the story myself.
257
00:20:18,918 --> 00:20:21,085
Well, on our wedding night,
258
00:20:21,168 --> 00:20:23,751
Tom and I left on the Albany, uh...
259
00:20:25,501 --> 00:20:27,043
boat.
260
00:20:27,126 --> 00:20:30,543
- We spent a week in Niagara Falls.
- [woman writing]
261
00:20:30,626 --> 00:20:32,835
I thought that one week of happiness
would be enough
262
00:20:32,918 --> 00:20:35,793
to illuminate an entire lifetime.
[chuckles]
263
00:20:35,876 --> 00:20:38,918
He was a dashing inventor,
and I worked for him.
264
00:20:39,001 --> 00:20:40,585
You know. I was a...
265
00:20:40,668 --> 00:20:42,251
[writing]
266
00:20:42,335 --> 00:20:44,001
I-I was a...
267
00:20:45,335 --> 00:20:46,376
uh...
268
00:20:48,876 --> 00:20:50,376
Uh... [chuckles]
269
00:20:50,460 --> 00:20:51,626
I-I was a...
270
00:20:53,043 --> 00:20:54,168
[woman] Yes?
271
00:20:55,543 --> 00:20:58,001
Um... [chuckles]
272
00:20:59,001 --> 00:21:00,876
I'm sorry.
273
00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:02,710
I-I operated the...
274
00:21:08,085 --> 00:21:10,168
- Telegraph?
- Yes.
275
00:21:10,251 --> 00:21:12,293
Yes. Telegraph.
276
00:21:14,668 --> 00:21:16,376
Forgive me.
277
00:21:20,251 --> 00:21:22,335
Does he have any hobbies?
278
00:21:22,418 --> 00:21:24,043
[train rumbling]
279
00:21:33,335 --> 00:21:35,626
You promised them Coney Island.
280
00:21:35,710 --> 00:21:37,501
At the very least, a walk.
281
00:21:38,293 --> 00:21:40,585
We'll go on three walks tomorrow,
I promise.
282
00:21:43,918 --> 00:21:45,793
Here, why don't you take a picture?
283
00:22:04,668 --> 00:22:06,043
[Mary] Slow down!
284
00:22:07,043 --> 00:22:08,668
[indistinct shouting]
285
00:22:21,835 --> 00:22:25,168
It's neuralgia, brought on by eye strain.
286
00:22:25,251 --> 00:22:27,835
A good pair of spectacles
is all that's required.
287
00:22:27,918 --> 00:22:30,043
Oh, no. I'll look awful.
288
00:22:30,126 --> 00:22:32,876
No, no. No, you won't. That's impossible.
289
00:22:32,960 --> 00:22:36,418
Are you sure that's all?
She's been having terrible headaches.
290
00:22:36,501 --> 00:22:39,585
I'll leave her a vial of laudanum
until her eyes adjust.
291
00:22:39,668 --> 00:22:41,626
Thank you.
292
00:22:41,710 --> 00:22:43,210
Can you...
293
00:22:43,293 --> 00:22:46,210
Would you mind delaying the bill
for this visit?
294
00:22:47,126 --> 00:22:51,168
Well, my son would love an autograph.
295
00:22:54,376 --> 00:22:57,251
[train whistle blows]
296
00:23:19,543 --> 00:23:21,335
Christ, it's primitive.
297
00:23:23,418 --> 00:23:25,001
How much did this cost?
298
00:23:25,085 --> 00:23:27,335
- He won't tell me.
- What we need is here.
299
00:23:28,210 --> 00:23:31,251
[Westinghouse] Edison's current
can't travel more than one mile, Frank.
300
00:23:31,335 --> 00:23:34,668
It peters out.
He'll have to build so many DC motors
301
00:23:34,751 --> 00:23:37,543
and bury all his copper
just to power one town.
302
00:23:37,626 --> 00:23:40,835
This country will look like
a checkerboard of power plants.
303
00:23:40,918 --> 00:23:44,710
But with one AC dynamo,
we can step-up the voltage
304
00:23:44,793 --> 00:23:47,001
and reach as far as the eye can see.
305
00:23:47,085 --> 00:23:49,460
We string the wires overhead on poles.
306
00:23:49,543 --> 00:23:51,710
Less copper, more electricity.
307
00:23:51,793 --> 00:23:54,085
We're 75 percent cheaper.
308
00:23:54,168 --> 00:23:57,293
The only thing that matters here
is distance.
309
00:24:44,626 --> 00:24:48,168
Frank, this is as much yours
as it is mine.
310
00:24:48,251 --> 00:24:50,710
- I'd be proud if you'd flip the...
- I couldn't possibly.
311
00:24:50,793 --> 00:24:52,835
- Oh, don't be ridiculous.
- No, it belongs to you.
312
00:24:52,918 --> 00:24:54,958
- But you spent hours...
- George, it was your idea.
313
00:24:55,001 --> 00:24:56,501
You were the instigator.
314
00:24:56,585 --> 00:24:59,126
- [machine whirs]
- Shall we go for a ride?
315
00:25:07,960 --> 00:25:11,085
[Westinghouse]
"To the Wizard of Menlo Park.
316
00:25:12,126 --> 00:25:14,876
As it seems your brakes have issues,
317
00:25:14,960 --> 00:25:18,710
I would be delighted to send my car
to deliver you
318
00:25:18,793 --> 00:25:21,751
to Great Barrington, Massachusetts...
319
00:25:22,876 --> 00:25:26,960
where I have successfully
transmitted current one full mile."
320
00:25:30,626 --> 00:25:32,251
- No!
- [glass shatters]
321
00:25:32,335 --> 00:25:34,210
How did he get the bulbs?
322
00:25:36,418 --> 00:25:39,376
What a roaring silence
from the brightest minds of America.
323
00:25:39,460 --> 00:25:44,001
- [man] He's using Hiram's design.
- Which Hiram stole from me!
324
00:25:46,293 --> 00:25:49,043
- Sue him.
- We did. The court upheld his patent.
325
00:25:49,126 --> 00:25:50,852
I'm talking about Westinghouse.
Find an angle.
326
00:25:50,876 --> 00:25:53,168
Take a trip to Barrington
and see for yourself.
327
00:25:53,251 --> 00:25:55,585
Is anyone even slightly irked
that 15 years of work
328
00:25:55,668 --> 00:25:57,501
is being filched
from right under your eyes?
329
00:25:58,210 --> 00:25:59,418
Not again!
330
00:25:59,501 --> 00:26:02,960
I built a system here,
and he goes shopping for patents
331
00:26:03,043 --> 00:26:06,085
to cobble together something
to legally steal what is mine.
332
00:26:07,168 --> 00:26:10,626
If the bulbs are a battle,
then nail him on the dynamos.
333
00:26:10,710 --> 00:26:12,043
We can't.
334
00:26:13,835 --> 00:26:15,751
He's not even using direct current, sir.
335
00:26:17,918 --> 00:26:19,710
He's using alternating?
336
00:26:22,376 --> 00:26:24,251
[indistinct conversation]
337
00:26:31,585 --> 00:26:33,251
[horse and buggy passes]
338
00:26:33,335 --> 00:26:34,585
[woman] Mary?
339
00:26:35,168 --> 00:26:36,543
Mary?
340
00:26:36,626 --> 00:26:38,668
Yes, I think we should have some more tea.
341
00:26:38,751 --> 00:26:40,585
[chuckles] Patricia?
342
00:26:40,668 --> 00:26:42,501
[machines rumbling]
343
00:26:57,501 --> 00:26:59,001
[man] George Westinghouse?
344
00:26:59,876 --> 00:27:02,626
- Can we help you?
- I came from Thomas Edison.
345
00:27:03,543 --> 00:27:06,085
He wants me to buy one generator per mile.
346
00:27:07,001 --> 00:27:09,668
And then I saw the piece in The Globe
that says
347
00:27:09,751 --> 00:27:13,876
your electricity would save 66 percent
on Edison's.
348
00:27:15,751 --> 00:27:17,835
Well, it's a proposed saving.
349
00:27:18,418 --> 00:27:22,001
And it's not "my electricity."
It's "electricity."
350
00:27:22,626 --> 00:27:25,168
I think it makes much more sense
for the taxpayers of Columbus
351
00:27:25,251 --> 00:27:27,293
to go with Westinghouse Electric.
352
00:27:28,710 --> 00:27:31,918
I don't want to compete.
I only intend to license my system.
353
00:27:32,001 --> 00:27:34,168
- He's got the better bulbs.
- Why not compete?
354
00:27:34,251 --> 00:27:36,418
By now he knows.
Edison knows, I promise you.
355
00:27:36,501 --> 00:27:40,001
The man doesn't care about
getting it right, just about getting it.
356
00:27:40,085 --> 00:27:41,519
[Westinghouse] But he doesn't respond.
357
00:27:41,543 --> 00:27:44,001
[Edison] Look, Westinghouse will never
have a complete system.
358
00:27:44,085 --> 00:27:46,727
- He can't even power a sewing machine.
- [Tesla] But I can solve that problem.
359
00:27:46,751 --> 00:27:49,918
Instead of again converting the currents
to work with a commutator,
360
00:27:50,001 --> 00:27:52,376
I would pass alternating current
differing in phase
361
00:27:52,460 --> 00:27:54,126
through two or more energizing circuits.
362
00:27:54,210 --> 00:27:57,001
You're supposed to be working on
commutators with DC dynamos.
363
00:27:57,085 --> 00:27:58,543
Well, I have.
364
00:27:58,626 --> 00:28:01,394
Look, I have done everything you have
asked, but you are making a mistake.
365
00:28:01,418 --> 00:28:03,876
- What?
- Direct current may be fine for cities
366
00:28:03,960 --> 00:28:07,751
when the buildings are close together,
but most of your country is empty spaces.
367
00:28:07,835 --> 00:28:10,793
Only high voltage can span the distance.
You are not thinking long-term.
368
00:28:10,876 --> 00:28:14,835
This technology is within your grasp.
I can build you an efficient motor.
369
00:28:14,918 --> 00:28:16,210
Have you tried it?
370
00:28:16,293 --> 00:28:17,418
No.
371
00:28:18,501 --> 00:28:20,710
Look, in my head, it is nearly completed.
372
00:28:20,793 --> 00:28:22,953
Men claim to have heads
full of sonnets and symphonies,
373
00:28:23,001 --> 00:28:25,918
but their only problem seems to be
they can't quite write it down.
374
00:28:26,001 --> 00:28:29,668
- Let me try.
- No, because I can't start again!
375
00:28:29,751 --> 00:28:32,186
I got orders from Michigan.
I got a roomful of press waiting for me.
376
00:28:32,210 --> 00:28:33,918
Do what you were hired to do.
377
00:28:34,001 --> 00:28:36,210
So, you will not honor your word
about the remuneration?
378
00:28:36,293 --> 00:28:38,460
- What are you talking about?
- Well, you said $50,000.
379
00:28:38,543 --> 00:28:41,793
- Are you unhappy with my contributions?
- I'm not paying you $50,000.
380
00:28:41,876 --> 00:28:43,293
That was a joke.
381
00:28:44,460 --> 00:28:46,710
[footsteps retreating]
382
00:28:46,793 --> 00:28:48,918
Coconut fibers and horn shavings,
and fishing lines
383
00:28:49,001 --> 00:28:51,251
and cork and celluloid and flax
384
00:28:51,335 --> 00:28:53,543
and platinum, iron, nickel, copper, steel.
385
00:28:53,626 --> 00:28:56,001
We scoured the earth, years and years,
386
00:28:56,085 --> 00:28:59,126
trying thousands,
10,000 different combinations.
387
00:28:59,210 --> 00:29:03,043
Then George Westinghouse
saw how I did it and put on a pirate hat.
388
00:29:03,126 --> 00:29:05,626
- [reporters laugh]
- You get vultures in every venture,
389
00:29:05,710 --> 00:29:07,418
but you've just got to keep them away.
390
00:29:07,501 --> 00:29:10,668
- So this is just how it works?
- Map-makers include mistakes in their work
391
00:29:10,751 --> 00:29:13,043
to see if anyone else is copying them.
392
00:29:13,126 --> 00:29:16,085
I don't have that luxury. I can't invent
streets to lead the world down.
393
00:29:16,168 --> 00:29:18,543
- Otherwise we all end up in the dark.
- [reporters chuckle]
394
00:29:18,626 --> 00:29:21,793
Good, and remember, write as much
as you can about how he's infringing.
395
00:29:22,543 --> 00:29:24,918
Thank you, Mr. Edison,
and thanks for this.
396
00:29:26,835 --> 00:29:28,543
[flashbulb pops]
397
00:29:31,668 --> 00:29:33,835
Did I mention that his system's lethal?
398
00:29:34,543 --> 00:29:36,626
You reach out and touch
399
00:29:36,710 --> 00:29:40,085
a doorknob or a rail,
and, well, you become the circuit.
400
00:29:40,793 --> 00:29:43,126
Just to be clear on that point...
401
00:29:45,126 --> 00:29:46,543
Well, you die.
402
00:29:47,751 --> 00:29:50,251
With DC current,
you can reach out and touch anything
403
00:29:50,335 --> 00:29:53,001
at any stage of the line
with your bare hands.
404
00:29:53,085 --> 00:29:56,210
It's safe. It works. And it bears
the name of Edison, so it's pretty.
405
00:29:57,543 --> 00:30:01,376
Our government has been trying for some
time now to get me to invent a weapon,
406
00:30:01,460 --> 00:30:04,460
but I won't use this brain to invent
anything that hurts people.
407
00:30:04,543 --> 00:30:07,043
For that, you can shop in Pittsburgh.
408
00:30:07,126 --> 00:30:09,501
So you say
Westinghouse wants to hurt people?
409
00:30:09,585 --> 00:30:13,001
No. I can't say that. But you can.
410
00:30:24,751 --> 00:30:26,918
[Marguerite]
This is what he thinks of you.
411
00:30:28,085 --> 00:30:31,960
Issue a statement to the papers today.
Refute his charges.
412
00:30:32,043 --> 00:30:33,835
I'm not going to engage with this.
413
00:30:33,918 --> 00:30:36,668
We have the better system.
That speaks loudest.
414
00:30:42,835 --> 00:30:47,293
Westinghouse Electric Company
was founded at a quarter past 9:00.
415
00:30:48,918 --> 00:30:51,376
Hello. I'm George Westinghouse.
Do we have an appointment?
416
00:30:51,876 --> 00:30:53,210
North Dakota.
417
00:30:53,293 --> 00:30:54,585
New Orleans.
418
00:30:54,668 --> 00:30:55,960
Fort Worth.
419
00:30:56,043 --> 00:30:57,168
Sioux City.
420
00:30:57,251 --> 00:30:59,293
You want the good news or the good news?
421
00:30:59,376 --> 00:31:02,376
♪ Hurrah, boys, hurrah ♪
422
00:31:04,168 --> 00:31:06,436
[man on phone] We've been spending
all our time trying to nab him
423
00:31:06,460 --> 00:31:08,940
on what's in the glass bubble
when we should've been looking at
424
00:31:09,001 --> 00:31:11,251
is the clear opposite end of the bulb,
the corkscrew.
425
00:31:11,335 --> 00:31:13,001
- I own that.
- That you do.
426
00:31:14,376 --> 00:31:15,918
He's suing you.
427
00:31:16,585 --> 00:31:18,293
[man 2 on phone]
This is a massive lawsuit.
428
00:31:18,376 --> 00:31:20,626
This is Edison and Morgan.
429
00:31:20,710 --> 00:31:23,376
My advice: Is there any way
that you can think of
430
00:31:23,460 --> 00:31:25,376
to beat gravity other than a corkscrew?
431
00:31:28,001 --> 00:31:30,751
[man 1] Westinghouse designed
a stopper to get around your corkscrew.
432
00:31:30,835 --> 00:31:32,915
It's only a matter of time
before they're everywhere.
433
00:31:34,376 --> 00:31:38,251
To tell you the truth, I am mostly looking
forward to using it at the lumber mills.
434
00:31:38,335 --> 00:31:40,751
Well, at the moment, we offer only light.
435
00:31:40,835 --> 00:31:44,460
In time, we'll move on
to motorized tools and appliances.
436
00:31:44,543 --> 00:31:47,126
When? I don't care what light costs.
437
00:31:48,085 --> 00:31:52,043
My home's on gas. I'm after productivity.
I don't understand.
438
00:31:52,126 --> 00:31:55,668
Edison said that electricity
can already be used in factories.
439
00:31:56,960 --> 00:31:58,501
Well, his can.
440
00:32:02,126 --> 00:32:04,126
I need to see this needle move.
441
00:32:04,210 --> 00:32:06,894
I can't step the voltage down
without blowing the whole thing to pieces.
442
00:32:06,918 --> 00:32:08,876
Come on. You must've made some progress.
443
00:32:08,960 --> 00:32:10,085
It's just not ready.
444
00:32:18,210 --> 00:32:20,126
[machine humming]
445
00:32:33,210 --> 00:32:35,126
- Kill it. Kill it!
- [electricity crackling]
446
00:32:38,710 --> 00:32:40,126
[sighs]
447
00:32:42,626 --> 00:32:44,666
[Westinghouse]
There has to be a solution out there.
448
00:32:49,793 --> 00:32:53,710
The Nikola Tesla Electric Light Company.
How does that sound?
449
00:32:53,793 --> 00:32:56,543
- When can you bring arcs to production?
- Arc lighting?
450
00:32:56,626 --> 00:33:00,043
I believe we agreed to compete for
incandescents, motors and distribution.
451
00:33:00,126 --> 00:33:01,626
Leave that to Edison.
452
00:33:01,710 --> 00:33:04,376
I am working on advanced methods
to surpass him.
453
00:33:04,460 --> 00:33:08,126
- To beat Edison? How soon?
- Only a few years.
454
00:33:08,210 --> 00:33:10,293
I need a lab, engineers, supplies.
455
00:33:10,376 --> 00:33:12,043
There are, of course, expenses.
456
00:33:12,126 --> 00:33:14,668
Oh, where do you get the cash
for those fancy silks?
457
00:33:14,751 --> 00:33:16,960
How I spend my income is my concern.
458
00:33:17,043 --> 00:33:21,043
Look, Mr. Tesla, if you need cash now,
you should sell us your patents.
459
00:33:22,001 --> 00:33:23,793
And what would I receive?
460
00:33:23,876 --> 00:33:25,043
Stock.
461
00:33:25,126 --> 00:33:27,835
And later, if you succeed,
you can sell it for a killing.
462
00:33:27,918 --> 00:33:29,585
That means a fortune.
463
00:33:29,668 --> 00:33:33,293
- Yes, I know what an idiom is.
- We'll take on two-thirds of the risk.
464
00:33:33,376 --> 00:33:36,126
It's a good price
for the only thing you have to sell.
465
00:33:39,251 --> 00:33:42,585
[Edison] Congestion of the brain?
What does that even mean?
466
00:33:42,668 --> 00:33:46,376
[doctor] There's a... an occlusion hidden,
467
00:33:46,460 --> 00:33:48,751
and it expands.
468
00:33:48,835 --> 00:33:51,168
Her eyesight will likely go first,
469
00:33:51,251 --> 00:33:53,668
and then her vocabulary will fall away.
470
00:33:53,751 --> 00:33:55,210
I can't lose her.
471
00:33:57,918 --> 00:34:01,085
Working on a raised alphabet,
I'll make her a dictionary.
472
00:34:01,168 --> 00:34:03,960
[doctor]
She'll gradually lose her mobility.
473
00:34:04,043 --> 00:34:05,710
I'll build her an elevator.
474
00:34:06,710 --> 00:34:07,751
Mr. Edison,
475
00:34:08,710 --> 00:34:10,626
what your wife needs...
476
00:34:11,710 --> 00:34:13,501
no man can build.
477
00:34:14,335 --> 00:34:16,251
What my wife needs, according to you,
478
00:34:16,960 --> 00:34:18,751
is a simple pair of spectacles.
479
00:34:20,501 --> 00:34:22,335
Nature will take its course.
480
00:34:25,585 --> 00:34:26,626
I, uh...
481
00:34:28,043 --> 00:34:30,418
I have to leave for New York tonight.
482
00:34:31,293 --> 00:34:33,001
It can't be avoided.
483
00:34:34,668 --> 00:34:37,876
I will attend to her
while you're away, but...
484
00:34:39,460 --> 00:34:40,668
don't linger.
485
00:34:51,710 --> 00:34:53,543
[train horn blows]
486
00:34:55,710 --> 00:34:57,350
[Morgan] Ohio is going with Westinghouse.
487
00:34:57,376 --> 00:35:00,543
- Columbus. Zanesville.
- Zanesville? Give it to him.
488
00:35:00,626 --> 00:35:01,751
That isn't funny.
489
00:35:03,001 --> 00:35:05,793
We don't know something is a pattern
till it happens again,
490
00:35:05,876 --> 00:35:07,918
which I sincerely hope it does not.
491
00:35:08,001 --> 00:35:11,668
Now, you tell me, what is he doing right
that you're doing wrong?
492
00:35:11,751 --> 00:35:14,626
He is successfully selling machines
that will result
493
00:35:14,710 --> 00:35:17,168
in the accidental deaths of human beings.
494
00:35:17,251 --> 00:35:19,311
- And where are these deaths?
- Where are these deaths?
495
00:35:19,335 --> 00:35:20,460
Why don't we switch now,
496
00:35:20,543 --> 00:35:22,727
and then you get to shoulder
the inevitable suits of manslaughter.
497
00:35:22,751 --> 00:35:26,751
I think that people aren't dying because
it's not as dangerous as you wish it were.
498
00:35:28,710 --> 00:35:31,626
All right, he's beating us on costs,
but that is a temporary advantage.
499
00:35:31,710 --> 00:35:33,668
You give me enough time,
I'll make ours so cheap
500
00:35:33,751 --> 00:35:35,835
that only the rich will burn candles.
501
00:35:35,918 --> 00:35:38,751
And until then, you bleed cities
to Westinghouse. I'm not a bank.
502
00:35:38,835 --> 00:35:40,793
That is exactly what you are.
503
00:35:40,876 --> 00:35:44,501
We could've had this conversation by
telephone instead of you wasting my time.
504
00:35:44,585 --> 00:35:47,543
When I want to see someone, he comes.
Eye to eye. That's how it works.
505
00:35:47,626 --> 00:35:49,543
No. Here's how it works.
506
00:35:49,626 --> 00:35:53,543
I build miracles, and you continue to
give me as much goddamn money as I want.
507
00:35:54,293 --> 00:35:56,460
Oh, what? Did I squander another town?
508
00:35:56,543 --> 00:35:58,251
[thunder rumbles]
509
00:35:58,335 --> 00:36:00,085
All right, what did I lose?
510
00:37:52,210 --> 00:37:54,293
[machinery whirring]
511
00:37:57,251 --> 00:38:00,335
- [Mary speaks indistinctly on recording]
- [Edison's voice] Say something.
512
00:38:00,418 --> 00:38:03,918
[Mary's voice] Can I get you to promise
on here that you'll build me a fence?
513
00:38:05,293 --> 00:38:07,460
[Edison's voice]
Ground's frozen. Needs to thaw.
514
00:38:09,293 --> 00:38:10,960
[Dot's voice] Look! You're missing it!
515
00:38:19,126 --> 00:38:20,460
[recorder clicks]
516
00:38:21,001 --> 00:38:23,961
- [Mary speaks indistinctly on recording]
- [Edison's voice] Say something.
517
00:38:24,043 --> 00:38:27,460
[Mary's voice] Can I get you to promise
on here that you'll build me a fence?
518
00:38:27,543 --> 00:38:29,793
[Edison's voice]
Ground's frozen. Needs to thaw.
519
00:38:31,293 --> 00:38:33,085
[Dot's voice] Look! You're missing it!
520
00:38:35,543 --> 00:38:38,168
No. Now we move on
to my motor, as agreed...
521
00:38:38,251 --> 00:38:40,835
Look, we don't...
we don't want any of that.
522
00:38:40,918 --> 00:38:42,793
The arcs you built aren't selling anymore.
523
00:38:42,876 --> 00:38:45,126
We can't compete with Edison
and Westinghouse!
524
00:38:45,210 --> 00:38:48,210
Then I will take my patents
and wish you both a great misfortune.
525
00:38:48,293 --> 00:38:50,793
- Your patents?
- Yes. My patents.
526
00:38:51,335 --> 00:38:53,335
[bell tolling]
527
00:39:00,043 --> 00:39:01,918
[sighs] Can I get you anything, sir?
528
00:39:03,168 --> 00:39:04,751
[Edison] A time machine.
529
00:39:05,251 --> 00:39:08,585
Well, if I ever find one, I'll travel
back to this moment and give it to you.
530
00:39:09,835 --> 00:39:11,418
Did you read over the proposal?
531
00:39:11,501 --> 00:39:15,168
I'm not diverting what I've got left
of my resources in lighting up a fair.
532
00:39:15,251 --> 00:39:17,876
It's much more than a fair, sir.
A third of this country
533
00:39:17,960 --> 00:39:22,293
will get on trains to Chicago
to try and see this City of Light.
534
00:39:22,793 --> 00:39:25,293
Every window, every streetlamp,
a sign that says,
535
00:39:25,376 --> 00:39:27,251
"The race is over, and we won."
536
00:39:28,001 --> 00:39:30,126
Why spend your final dollars
traveling this country
537
00:39:30,210 --> 00:39:32,793
to show everyone your electricity
when they're all
538
00:39:32,876 --> 00:39:35,376
traveling to the same place
to try to see it anyway?
539
00:39:35,460 --> 00:39:36,977
Because in a year, they'll rip it down.
540
00:39:37,001 --> 00:39:39,626
Only after 30 million people
have seen it, yes.
541
00:39:46,835 --> 00:39:48,626
Westinghouse is placing a bid.
542
00:40:03,168 --> 00:40:05,793
[Edison] Nice hat. Looks expensive.
543
00:40:05,876 --> 00:40:08,210
I owned this before I worked for you,
Mr. Edison.
544
00:40:08,293 --> 00:40:11,626
I don't think you are working for me.
He's still using my bulbs.
545
00:40:11,710 --> 00:40:13,960
[man] His patents are in order.
546
00:40:14,043 --> 00:40:15,585
Do you want my advice?
547
00:40:16,043 --> 00:40:18,460
You keep saying
Westinghouse's current will kill people,
548
00:40:18,543 --> 00:40:21,751
so in lieu of evidence,
why don't you provide it?
549
00:40:31,043 --> 00:40:34,626
We're doing this because
when we have a complete system,
550
00:40:34,710 --> 00:40:37,876
it works, and it's Edison.
551
00:40:37,960 --> 00:40:39,376
Poor bastard.
552
00:40:40,335 --> 00:40:44,668
Well, he was gonna be slaughtered anyway.
He's not going to feel any pain, right?
553
00:40:44,751 --> 00:40:47,085
At 3,000 volts,
it'll be over before it begins.
554
00:40:47,168 --> 00:40:48,835
So there's nothing to worry about?
555
00:40:49,751 --> 00:40:52,543
But these are reporters, so you might
want to liven up a little bit.
556
00:40:53,501 --> 00:40:55,585
[horses whinnying]
557
00:40:57,126 --> 00:40:59,835
- [Edison] Welcome to Menlo Park.
- [indistinct chatter]
558
00:40:59,918 --> 00:41:02,210
Thank you for coming out
on this cold morning.
559
00:41:02,293 --> 00:41:04,918
- Good to see you again.
- Good morning.
560
00:41:05,001 --> 00:41:07,043
- I'm Southwick Brown.
- A pleasure.
561
00:41:07,126 --> 00:41:09,585
Now you, uh, you might all
want to stand back a little bit.
562
00:41:09,668 --> 00:41:11,751
Gus is being connected to the same current
563
00:41:11,835 --> 00:41:14,210
that Westinghouse uses from his generator.
564
00:41:14,293 --> 00:41:18,001
But there's no word yet coined
to define death by electricity,
565
00:41:18,085 --> 00:41:20,751
so I asked the men who write
the dictionaries, and I heard back
566
00:41:20,835 --> 00:41:24,418
"electro-dite," "electro-cremate"
and "dyna-mort."
567
00:41:24,501 --> 00:41:28,418
But just as Joe Guillotine
got his name on his invention,
568
00:41:29,085 --> 00:41:32,251
how could we rob the rightful inventor
of death by electricity
569
00:41:32,335 --> 00:41:34,626
of his due credit?
570
00:41:34,710 --> 00:41:38,543
I ask you to please be respectful
as we Westinghouse this horse.
571
00:42:00,126 --> 00:42:01,418
[snorts]
572
00:42:04,335 --> 00:42:06,168
[indistinct chatter]
573
00:42:08,460 --> 00:42:11,835
Mr. Edison, Southwick Brown,
Capital Punishment Commission.
574
00:42:11,918 --> 00:42:14,960
You've read, no doubt, of the botched
hangings throughout the Northeast.
575
00:42:15,043 --> 00:42:17,311
- The prisoners either choke to death...
- [man shouting indistinctly]
576
00:42:17,335 --> 00:42:19,376
...or are violently decapitated.
577
00:42:19,460 --> 00:42:21,293
The spectacle is inhumane.
578
00:42:21,376 --> 00:42:25,168
But the horse... his death
was so calm, you could call it...
579
00:42:27,460 --> 00:42:28,876
poetic.
580
00:42:28,960 --> 00:42:30,918
[grunting, bones snap]
581
00:42:32,126 --> 00:42:35,460
The governor of New York,
upon my personal recommendation,
582
00:42:35,543 --> 00:42:37,626
would like to explore a death device
583
00:42:37,710 --> 00:42:40,210
which uses electricity on a human being.
584
00:42:40,835 --> 00:42:44,376
It would be our honor
to award you the contract.
585
00:42:45,543 --> 00:42:48,001
- If nothing else, a pleasure.
- I beg your pardon?
586
00:42:48,085 --> 00:42:52,501
To kill a human being under the guise
of justice is... is cockeyed.
587
00:42:52,585 --> 00:42:55,043
There's a big difference
between a horse and a person.
588
00:42:55,126 --> 00:42:58,251
God humanely brings us into this world.
589
00:42:58,835 --> 00:43:02,293
Why would you reject the opportunity
to be the first man
590
00:43:02,376 --> 00:43:04,793
to humanely take us out of it?
591
00:44:04,918 --> 00:44:06,376
William.
592
00:44:08,585 --> 00:44:10,251
I killed my wife.
593
00:44:17,751 --> 00:44:19,668
[door closes]
594
00:44:22,126 --> 00:44:24,210
[Mary's voice on recorder]
I'm turning the handle.
595
00:44:25,168 --> 00:44:27,085
Maybe there's more to it than that.
596
00:44:28,085 --> 00:44:30,501
If I'm doing it wrong,
you'll never know I was fooling around
597
00:44:30,585 --> 00:44:33,376
with your phonograph or gramophone,
598
00:44:33,460 --> 00:44:35,543
whatever you end up calling it.
599
00:44:35,626 --> 00:44:37,710
And what is this thing really?
600
00:44:38,501 --> 00:44:42,085
Today's Mary is speaking
to tomorrow's Thomas.
601
00:44:42,168 --> 00:44:43,501
Or from where you sit,
602
00:44:43,585 --> 00:44:46,043
today's Tom is listening
to yesterday's Mary.
603
00:44:46,126 --> 00:44:48,835
[wind gusting]
604
00:44:48,918 --> 00:44:51,293
I wonder what else you can do with it.
605
00:44:59,543 --> 00:45:01,210
Mr. Tesla,
606
00:45:01,293 --> 00:45:04,269
my son and his idiot friend tell me
you don't want to make arc lights anymore.
607
00:45:04,293 --> 00:45:05,835
Is that true?
608
00:45:05,918 --> 00:45:08,335
Don't look at him, look at me.
I'm your primary shareholder.
609
00:45:08,418 --> 00:45:10,960
No. I already completed
the arc light project.
610
00:45:11,043 --> 00:45:14,793
Completed? You covered one city:
Rahway, New Jersey.
611
00:45:14,876 --> 00:45:17,710
For the love of God, think bigger.
Philadelphia.
612
00:45:17,793 --> 00:45:20,918
You design arc lights to outfit cities.
That was your only job.
613
00:45:21,001 --> 00:45:24,085
No. My AC motor. Okay? We agreed...
614
00:45:24,168 --> 00:45:26,668
- No, I never agreed to anything.
- In this office, you said...
615
00:45:26,751 --> 00:45:27,876
Uh!
616
00:45:27,960 --> 00:45:30,293
Lane, could you wait outside for a moment?
617
00:45:37,210 --> 00:45:39,710
I'm sorry. Don't you realize
you're being fired here?
618
00:45:41,835 --> 00:45:45,626
No. Please, let me work through
what I have in my head.
619
00:45:45,710 --> 00:45:48,876
I will make you the greatest provider
of electrical power in the world.
620
00:45:48,960 --> 00:45:50,751
Better than Edison.
621
00:45:50,835 --> 00:45:53,168
I'm-I'm so close. Just a few months.
622
00:45:57,876 --> 00:46:00,668
You drop in here like you're from Neptune,
623
00:46:00,751 --> 00:46:03,501
like you got a great vision of the future
624
00:46:03,585 --> 00:46:05,686
- that no one understands but you.
- No, please don't touch.
625
00:46:05,710 --> 00:46:07,751
But you're just an immigrant.
626
00:46:08,585 --> 00:46:11,543
Head full of notions,
looking for a handout. You're not Edison.
627
00:46:11,626 --> 00:46:14,751
There's only one Edison. That's why
he's in. There's millions of you.
628
00:46:14,835 --> 00:46:18,960
Big ideas, but you can't see
the real force that moves things.
629
00:46:19,043 --> 00:46:22,001
And it's not AC/DC, it's not currents.
630
00:46:22,668 --> 00:46:24,043
It's currency.
631
00:46:24,626 --> 00:46:26,710
And that's the only motor
I'm interested in.
632
00:46:29,835 --> 00:46:33,585
These patents belong to
the Tesla Electric Light Company.
633
00:46:33,668 --> 00:46:37,251
This is now the Union Electric
and Manufacturing Company,
634
00:46:37,335 --> 00:46:39,376
and I own everything in this office.
635
00:46:40,001 --> 00:46:43,335
Patents, designs, engineers, all mine.
636
00:46:44,585 --> 00:46:47,251
Never going to be anything
named Tesla ever again.
637
00:46:48,626 --> 00:46:52,835
You take your notions
and go back where you came from.
638
00:46:58,376 --> 00:46:59,751
[door closes]
639
00:47:05,335 --> 00:47:07,335
He's snapping up town after town.
640
00:47:08,293 --> 00:47:11,835
Cats, dogs, sheep, 11 horses...
What more do people need to see?
641
00:47:11,918 --> 00:47:14,335
The problem is, no one's actually dying
from alternating,
642
00:47:14,418 --> 00:47:17,376
apart from your cats,
dogs, sheep and 11 horses.
643
00:47:18,668 --> 00:47:21,376
- Sir, I realize I'm only your secretary...
- Just say it.
644
00:47:21,460 --> 00:47:24,335
[sighs] Bring the phonograph to market.
You can make your own money.
645
00:47:24,418 --> 00:47:27,126
- No, it needs too many improvements.
- Make them. sir.
646
00:47:28,168 --> 00:47:31,168
- Bell is ripping you off.
- Graphophone? He just switched the name.
647
00:47:31,251 --> 00:47:34,227
Direct me to a store where I can buy
yours, and I won't give him the business.
648
00:47:34,251 --> 00:47:36,376
You have a real offer on the table here.
649
00:47:37,043 --> 00:47:40,335
Half a million dollars.
Sir, take the money. You need it.
650
00:47:41,460 --> 00:47:43,460
If Bell ripped you off with the telephone,
651
00:47:43,543 --> 00:47:45,543
he'll do it again with the graphophone.
652
00:47:45,626 --> 00:47:47,793
Did you just misspeak intentionally?
653
00:47:47,876 --> 00:47:49,876
Do you want Chicago?
654
00:47:54,251 --> 00:47:55,751
All right, I'm ready.
655
00:48:16,960 --> 00:48:18,335
A dollar a ball?
656
00:48:19,126 --> 00:48:20,793
So, what's your trade?
657
00:48:20,876 --> 00:48:24,210
Inventor. I fix problems for idiots.
658
00:48:25,293 --> 00:48:28,376
Imagine dictation
without the aid of a stenographer.
659
00:48:30,126 --> 00:48:33,001
Phonographic books
that will speak to blind people.
660
00:48:33,085 --> 00:48:35,668
Reproduction of music. Talking toys.
661
00:48:36,168 --> 00:48:39,001
Clocks that will announce the time.
662
00:48:39,085 --> 00:48:41,335
The preservation of dying languages.
663
00:48:41,418 --> 00:48:43,293
Teaching of elocution.
664
00:48:43,376 --> 00:48:45,918
- You hustled us.
- Yes. No.
665
00:48:46,835 --> 00:48:48,227
I didn't come all this way to lose.
666
00:48:48,251 --> 00:48:51,585
The final capturing of the dying words
of your loved ones.
667
00:48:55,501 --> 00:48:58,585
[woman] Mary had a little lamb,
his fleece was white as snow,
668
00:48:58,668 --> 00:49:01,793
and everywhere that Mary went,
the lamb was sure to go.
669
00:49:07,710 --> 00:49:12,001
Well, it's either not possible,
or I'm not the engineer I thought I was.
670
00:49:14,210 --> 00:49:17,751
And he's traveling around the country,
cooking up cats.
671
00:49:17,835 --> 00:49:20,876
George, he's playing dirty. You can too.
672
00:49:20,960 --> 00:49:22,001
Mm.
673
00:49:23,626 --> 00:49:26,085
You know, when I was a boy, my father...
674
00:49:27,335 --> 00:49:29,335
tried to whip me with a branch.
675
00:49:30,376 --> 00:49:34,293
But after the first hit,
it broke into three little pieces.
676
00:49:35,918 --> 00:49:39,251
And we just stood there, looking at
this shattered stick on the ground.
677
00:49:40,876 --> 00:49:44,418
And then I noticed there was
a leather strap hanging on the wall,
678
00:49:44,501 --> 00:49:46,710
so I pointed to it and said,
679
00:49:46,793 --> 00:49:50,210
"Look. That's the better one."
680
00:49:51,418 --> 00:49:52,876
And he stopped.
681
00:49:57,376 --> 00:50:02,043
I can take a beating, but I have
no patience for shoddy craftsmanship.
682
00:50:04,668 --> 00:50:08,460
You are gonna have a working motor
sitting next to your display in Chicago,
683
00:50:08,543 --> 00:50:11,793
come hell, high water,
or the Wizard of Menlo Park.
684
00:50:18,543 --> 00:50:20,251
- Good night, Frank.
- Good night.
685
00:50:39,001 --> 00:50:41,043
[thunder rumbling]
686
00:50:51,126 --> 00:50:53,001
[horse whinnies]
687
00:50:53,835 --> 00:50:55,793
[electricity crackles]
688
00:51:16,876 --> 00:51:18,501
[clamoring]
689
00:51:19,376 --> 00:51:21,376
[reporter] So you admit Edison was right?
690
00:51:49,876 --> 00:51:52,168
We will remember Franklin Pope...
691
00:51:53,085 --> 00:51:55,876
for his fearless dedication
to moving us forward.
692
00:51:56,626 --> 00:51:59,751
He tried to see
what was hiding in plain sight.
693
00:51:59,835 --> 00:52:01,668
[voice fades]
694
00:52:05,501 --> 00:52:07,168
Today, I am...
695
00:52:09,001 --> 00:52:10,960
filled less with grief than anger,
696
00:52:11,043 --> 00:52:13,501
because what happened
could've been avoided.
697
00:52:15,918 --> 00:52:18,793
Hear me now
as you have never heard me before.
698
00:52:19,626 --> 00:52:21,210
As I breathe...
699
00:52:22,793 --> 00:52:24,960
as long as Westinghouse
stays in business...
700
00:52:26,376 --> 00:52:28,418
more people will die.
701
00:52:48,543 --> 00:52:50,293
My condolences.
702
00:52:52,626 --> 00:52:55,085
Sounds like he was
more than just an employee.
703
00:53:00,168 --> 00:53:02,376
What was his name? Franklin Popes?
704
00:53:03,543 --> 00:53:05,626
Pope. Just one.
705
00:53:06,876 --> 00:53:08,960
- It's a shame.
- Mm.
706
00:53:09,043 --> 00:53:10,585
But I'm here to help.
707
00:53:11,335 --> 00:53:13,210
Now, I know that you, uh,
708
00:53:13,293 --> 00:53:15,335
you wish Edison to quiet down.
709
00:53:18,085 --> 00:53:21,585
So let me combine your companies.
Let me clean up the mess.
710
00:53:25,543 --> 00:53:29,376
You really think Westinghouse Electric
is worth $5 million?
711
00:53:29,460 --> 00:53:32,751
The value of something is the highest
number someone else is willing to pay.
712
00:53:32,835 --> 00:53:36,418
But 800 men will lose their livelihoods.
713
00:53:36,501 --> 00:53:38,668
I will keep your workers.
714
00:53:38,751 --> 00:53:42,293
I will not make the same promise
for your five-day work week.
715
00:53:42,376 --> 00:53:43,418
Mm.
716
00:53:44,918 --> 00:53:47,001
Seems like you're amenable.
717
00:53:49,668 --> 00:53:50,751
Mm.
718
00:53:57,668 --> 00:53:59,626
Which current will you use?
719
00:54:01,126 --> 00:54:03,376
Whichever Edison selects, I suppose.
720
00:54:13,251 --> 00:54:14,585
[Marguerite] Absurdity.
721
00:54:15,210 --> 00:54:17,126
You think I'm being absurd?
722
00:54:18,293 --> 00:54:20,168
Yes, I do.
723
00:54:20,251 --> 00:54:22,460
We're overextended, Marguerite.
724
00:54:23,585 --> 00:54:25,501
There's no shame in selling.
725
00:54:29,376 --> 00:54:32,543
What I was always after
was to partner with Edison...
726
00:54:33,585 --> 00:54:35,668
and I have the chance to do that now.
727
00:54:36,876 --> 00:54:40,835
We have no motor, so we're a train into
a mountainside anyway. It's impossible.
728
00:54:40,918 --> 00:54:43,960
I thought "impossible" wasn't a word
in your vocabulary.
729
00:54:50,085 --> 00:54:52,126
I am dissolving Westinghouse Electric.
730
00:54:52,210 --> 00:54:56,418
The proceeds will go to preserve
our other failing enterprises,
731
00:54:56,501 --> 00:55:00,585
and time itself will mend
Edison's mistakes.
732
00:55:00,668 --> 00:55:04,626
You are not a captain
who changes his course with the sea.
733
00:55:04,710 --> 00:55:06,626
We are not on a course!
734
00:55:07,210 --> 00:55:09,043
We're drowning!
735
00:55:09,126 --> 00:55:12,043
This whole thing is costing us a fortune!
736
00:55:12,126 --> 00:55:14,668
- You don't care about money.
- A fortune!
737
00:55:16,001 --> 00:55:19,168
I lived in your parents' house
while you went door-to-door.
738
00:55:19,793 --> 00:55:22,876
Do you want people saying
you stand for everything you don't?
739
00:55:22,960 --> 00:55:25,043
Using your last name as a verb?
740
00:55:25,126 --> 00:55:28,418
Well, how exactly do you suggest
I correct that, dear?
741
00:55:29,876 --> 00:55:33,001
I have you, and I had Frank.
742
00:55:34,585 --> 00:55:35,668
That's it.
743
00:55:36,918 --> 00:55:38,501
I loved the man.
744
00:55:40,293 --> 00:55:44,710
This is really nothing
but a sensible business decision.
745
00:55:46,126 --> 00:55:48,168
- George...
- That's all.
746
00:55:52,751 --> 00:55:54,001
That's all.
747
00:55:56,918 --> 00:55:58,835
[footsteps depart]
748
00:56:00,710 --> 00:56:03,626
Say what you will about
George Westinghouse, he sure is nice.
749
00:56:09,751 --> 00:56:11,543
[thunder rumbles]
750
00:56:22,460 --> 00:56:24,251
[horse whinnies]
751
00:56:35,210 --> 00:56:37,960
- [pistol clicks]
- [horse whinnies]
752
00:56:39,626 --> 00:56:42,876
You've crossed into territory
for the Confederacy.
753
00:56:44,876 --> 00:56:47,918
No, I, uh, I think you're mistaken.
754
00:56:48,460 --> 00:56:50,751
- According to my map here...
- [pistol clicks]
755
00:56:50,835 --> 00:56:52,835
[whinnies]
756
00:57:01,918 --> 00:57:06,585
Though I mourn the loss of my colleague,
misfortune does not trump progress.
757
00:57:08,793 --> 00:57:13,126
Now, it seems to me that Mr. Edison
puts his name on everything
758
00:57:13,210 --> 00:57:16,126
because he's terrified of being forgotten.
759
00:57:17,293 --> 00:57:20,293
If you want to be remembered, it's simple:
shoot a president.
760
00:57:21,251 --> 00:57:24,418
But if you prefer to have
what I call a legacy,
761
00:57:24,501 --> 00:57:27,376
you leave the world
a better place than you found it.
762
00:57:28,418 --> 00:57:31,751
Thomas Alva Edison is a charlatan
763
00:57:31,835 --> 00:57:35,501
who preys on the fears of the common man
764
00:57:35,585 --> 00:57:37,710
because I have the better system.
765
00:57:39,126 --> 00:57:44,210
And because I do have the better system,
Westinghouse Electric shall endure.
766
00:57:44,293 --> 00:57:45,376
Good day.
767
00:57:46,626 --> 00:57:50,085
[Morgan] Westinghouse has taken the lead.
He's not going away.
768
00:57:50,168 --> 00:57:53,918
And while I appreciate your lights,
Mr. Edison, I'm also your customer.
769
00:57:54,501 --> 00:57:57,251
If something comes to my door
and offers me something that I need
770
00:57:57,335 --> 00:58:00,501
that is better than what I have now,
at a cheaper price,
771
00:58:00,585 --> 00:58:03,668
why, I'd be a fool
not to invite him in for tea.
772
00:58:03,751 --> 00:58:06,668
- Is this an ultimatum?
- More of a threat.
773
00:58:06,751 --> 00:58:08,793
If you maintain
that fear is the best strategy,
774
00:58:08,876 --> 00:58:10,960
then you'd better hurry up and try harder.
775
00:58:12,543 --> 00:58:13,585
Time's up.
776
00:58:17,168 --> 00:58:19,251
[Mary's voice]
...man who was handsome and clever
777
00:58:19,335 --> 00:58:21,835
built a box with a crank and a lever
778
00:58:21,918 --> 00:58:25,418
to store his wife's voice,
though he made a poor choice,
779
00:58:25,501 --> 00:58:29,168
because now she can tease him forever.
780
00:58:29,251 --> 00:58:31,543
[brakes screech]
781
00:58:31,626 --> 00:58:35,043
[man] I couldn't stop it if I wanted to,
782
00:58:35,543 --> 00:58:37,293
which I don't,
783
00:58:37,376 --> 00:58:40,835
because I...
I think it's a remarkable gift.
784
00:58:42,293 --> 00:58:46,210
Electricity will kill that man in Buffalo.
785
00:58:46,293 --> 00:58:49,085
We don't know the voltage.
786
00:58:49,168 --> 00:58:52,876
Too much, and he ignites.
Too little, and he's still alive.
787
00:58:53,460 --> 00:58:55,835
[voice echoes] All we need is your advice.
788
00:58:55,918 --> 00:58:59,293
How much is humane?
Where to put the electrode?
789
00:58:59,376 --> 00:59:04,251
And in exchange, I will promise you
something that I know you want.
790
00:59:06,251 --> 00:59:10,585
I will put the Westinghouse name
right out front
791
00:59:10,668 --> 00:59:14,626
as the official electricity used
to kill human beings.
792
00:59:17,001 --> 00:59:21,001
I even think we can get this chair
on display at the Chicago World's Fair.
793
00:59:22,710 --> 00:59:24,376
The future.
794
00:59:32,376 --> 00:59:34,460
My name must never be
associated with this.
795
00:59:34,543 --> 00:59:37,376
I did not provide any consultation,
and you will advertise
796
00:59:37,460 --> 00:59:40,418
that Westinghouse is the best way
to take a human life.
797
00:59:41,501 --> 00:59:43,168
You guarantee your assistance?
798
00:59:45,126 --> 00:59:47,501
You ask a question, and I'll reply.
799
00:59:51,210 --> 00:59:52,793
Burn the correspondence.
800
00:59:54,251 --> 00:59:55,793
Absolutely.
801
00:59:58,960 --> 01:00:02,293
Fauteuils and blue painted bergère.
802
01:00:02,376 --> 01:00:04,710
I sold three sets of these
last week alone.
803
01:00:07,085 --> 01:00:09,876
Oh, uh, this is your classic spindle back.
804
01:00:09,960 --> 01:00:12,876
Oh, yes. And these are framed cockpen.
805
01:00:12,960 --> 01:00:14,626
Quite popular.
806
01:00:20,960 --> 01:00:23,043
Oh, deportment style.
807
01:00:25,876 --> 01:00:28,710
Would you like four, six, eight, 12?
808
01:00:28,793 --> 01:00:29,835
Just one.
809
01:00:31,585 --> 01:00:35,460
[Edison's voice] Mr. Brown, the apparatus
consists of a stationary engine,
810
01:00:35,543 --> 01:00:39,376
a Westinghouse alternating dynamo
capable of generating 3,000 volts,
811
01:00:39,460 --> 01:00:42,876
wood chair with headrest,
binding straps and adjustable electrodes.
812
01:00:42,960 --> 01:00:45,168
Burn. TAE.
813
01:00:53,668 --> 01:00:56,168
The voltmeter, ammeter
and switchboard controlling the current
814
01:00:56,251 --> 01:00:59,251
should be located in the execution room
for monitoring.
815
01:00:59,335 --> 01:01:00,918
Burn. TAE.
816
01:01:01,001 --> 01:01:04,460
The dynamo room is communicated
by electric signals. Burn. TAE.
817
01:01:04,543 --> 01:01:08,001
The most effective machines manufactured
by Westinghouse... Burn. TAE.
818
01:01:08,085 --> 01:01:12,168
I authorize payment of $3,600
for your efforts.
819
01:01:12,251 --> 01:01:13,876
Burn. TAE.
820
01:01:13,960 --> 01:01:17,085
The only argument which can be
urged against "Westinghousing"
821
01:01:17,168 --> 01:01:19,251
on the score of cruel punishment is that
822
01:01:19,335 --> 01:01:21,460
the flesh may burn
at the points of contact,
823
01:01:21,543 --> 01:01:24,223
and the amount of current which can be
given without such mutilation
824
01:01:24,293 --> 01:01:26,168
is not yet known.
825
01:01:26,251 --> 01:01:28,501
Burn. TAE.
826
01:01:38,710 --> 01:01:40,950
For someone who's trying to compete
for the World's Fair,
827
01:01:41,001 --> 01:01:42,710
this death-trap business
doesn't look good.
828
01:01:42,793 --> 01:01:47,043
Yeah, I know. It's just Edison
trying to smear me, as usual.
829
01:01:47,126 --> 01:01:49,043
- Can you prove it?
- No.
830
01:01:49,126 --> 01:01:51,585
But I was thinking maybe I could stop it.
831
01:01:52,376 --> 01:01:53,751
You mean me?
832
01:01:54,876 --> 01:01:58,001
You want my advice?
Don't hire me. Save your money.
833
01:01:59,001 --> 01:02:02,251
But I do know a man who could determine
834
01:02:02,335 --> 01:02:05,585
whether Edison has an exploitable
connection with the death chair.
835
01:02:05,668 --> 01:02:09,043
No, I was thinking
we could stop him via legal means.
836
01:02:10,293 --> 01:02:12,751
- You want me to put Edison on trial?
- No.
837
01:02:12,835 --> 01:02:15,168
The chair itself. The Eighth Amendment.
838
01:02:15,251 --> 01:02:17,710
So I'm to get an ax murderer
839
01:02:17,793 --> 01:02:20,335
who readily admits he slaughtered his wife
840
01:02:20,418 --> 01:02:22,251
a what... a sustainment?
841
01:02:22,335 --> 01:02:24,168
This is about showing,
842
01:02:24,251 --> 01:02:27,001
what kind of a man is Thomas Edison?
843
01:02:29,001 --> 01:02:31,126
You just keep my name out of it.
844
01:02:31,210 --> 01:02:33,418
Does your wife know
you're paying for this?
845
01:02:33,501 --> 01:02:35,335
It was her idea.
846
01:02:38,835 --> 01:02:42,251
[man] What precisely makes electricity
not cruel and not inhumane?
847
01:02:42,335 --> 01:02:44,376
The velocity of the current is so great
848
01:02:44,460 --> 01:02:47,501
that the brain
is instantaneously paralyzed.
849
01:02:47,585 --> 01:02:49,293
The subject is dead
850
01:02:49,376 --> 01:02:52,001
before the nerves
can communicate any shock.
851
01:02:52,085 --> 01:02:53,960
How can you know if you haven't proof?
852
01:02:54,043 --> 01:02:55,335
I tested it...
853
01:02:56,085 --> 01:02:58,293
on a gorilla from London Zoo.
854
01:02:58,376 --> 01:03:01,918
Are you connected in any way with
any of the electric lighting companies?
855
01:03:02,001 --> 01:03:03,543
No, sir.
856
01:03:03,626 --> 01:03:07,210
The State calls Thomas Alva Edison.
857
01:03:07,293 --> 01:03:09,710
Will you explain generally
858
01:03:09,793 --> 01:03:12,293
the difference between
your continuous current
859
01:03:12,376 --> 01:03:16,085
and Mr. Westinghouse's
alternating electricity?
860
01:03:16,668 --> 01:03:19,918
A continuous current flows
like water through a pipe,
861
01:03:20,001 --> 01:03:22,210
and alternating current flows
in both directions.
862
01:03:22,293 --> 01:03:24,168
Water. That doesn't sound so dangerous.
863
01:03:24,251 --> 01:03:26,126
- Not until you drown.
- [people chuckle]
864
01:03:26,210 --> 01:03:29,001
Why don't you use
Mr. Westinghouse's current?
865
01:03:29,085 --> 01:03:31,418
- I don't like it.
- You think it's dangerous.
866
01:03:31,501 --> 01:03:32,710
Yes, I do.
867
01:03:32,793 --> 01:03:35,043
Suppose you took this...
868
01:03:36,085 --> 01:03:38,501
wicked Westinghouse current...
869
01:03:38,585 --> 01:03:41,335
the one that is going to be used
on Mr. Kemmler here...
870
01:03:42,293 --> 01:03:45,460
now, suppose you kept it up
for five or six minutes.
871
01:03:46,251 --> 01:03:48,710
At 1,500 volts,
872
01:03:48,793 --> 01:03:51,293
how long would it take
before he would feel the heat?
873
01:03:51,376 --> 01:03:54,501
Well, the temperature might rise
874
01:03:54,585 --> 01:03:56,626
four or five degrees above normal
875
01:03:56,710 --> 01:03:59,418
and continue until he was mummified.
876
01:04:00,168 --> 01:04:02,543
And this wouldn't cause considerable pain?
877
01:04:02,626 --> 01:04:04,293
- It would not.
- How do you know?
878
01:04:04,376 --> 01:04:06,751
Because I personally observed
such electricity
879
01:04:06,835 --> 01:04:08,876
being used to execute
a thousand-pound horse.
880
01:04:08,960 --> 01:04:11,186
- And did the horse feel pain?
- If he did, he didn't mention it.
881
01:04:11,210 --> 01:04:13,085
[crowd chuckles]
882
01:04:14,168 --> 01:04:16,626
Now, Mr. Edison,
there is a great degree of feeling
883
01:04:16,710 --> 01:04:18,710
between you and Mr. Westinghouse.
884
01:04:18,793 --> 01:04:21,626
[Edison]
I do not dislike Mr. Westinghouse.
885
01:04:21,710 --> 01:04:23,835
[man] There is a contest
between you two, isn't there?
886
01:04:23,918 --> 01:04:25,876
That is not what this is about.
887
01:04:27,085 --> 01:04:29,251
I've been asked
as a dispassionate scientist
888
01:04:29,335 --> 01:04:32,376
to advise on the simple question
of whether death by electricity
889
01:04:32,460 --> 01:04:35,251
is a violation of the Eighth Amendment
and is cruel and unusual.
890
01:04:35,335 --> 01:04:38,668
In my expert opinion,
the only humane method of execution
891
01:04:38,751 --> 01:04:40,751
is Westinghouse alternating current.
892
01:04:40,835 --> 01:04:43,186
[man] Your Honor, Mr. Edison knows
that any current over 30 amperes...
893
01:04:43,210 --> 01:04:46,751
Milliamperes. If you're gonna interrupt,
do so in the proper denominations.
894
01:04:49,335 --> 01:04:50,793
Oh, thank you, Your Honor.
895
01:04:50,876 --> 01:04:52,352
- [judge] It's my honor.
- [gavel raps]
896
01:04:52,376 --> 01:04:54,710
[judge]
All right, that's all I need to hear.
897
01:05:03,376 --> 01:05:05,626
[clamoring]
898
01:05:05,710 --> 01:05:07,876
[Edison]
What do you two lowlifes want, huh?
899
01:05:07,960 --> 01:05:09,835
[Westinghouse] Mr. Edison. Mr. Edison.
900
01:05:09,918 --> 01:05:10,960
Huh?
901
01:05:14,210 --> 01:05:15,376
Now look...
902
01:05:15,460 --> 01:05:17,352
I thought you were gonna leave
before I had a chance.
903
01:05:17,376 --> 01:05:21,043
- Mr. Edison, can I get your autograph?
- Uh, yeah, sure, I...
904
01:05:21,126 --> 01:05:23,126
William, do you mind?
905
01:05:34,001 --> 01:05:37,376
I should warn you, there's one thing
that always beats justice.
906
01:05:37,460 --> 01:05:38,585
Money?
907
01:05:38,668 --> 01:05:39,710
Fame.
908
01:05:54,626 --> 01:05:57,710
- [thunder rumbles]
- [horse whinnies]
909
01:06:00,835 --> 01:06:03,335
Oh, is that a New Model Army revolver?
910
01:06:04,001 --> 01:06:06,251
What a lovely machine that is.
911
01:06:07,168 --> 01:06:09,626
- Do you know how it works?
- You want me to show you?
912
01:06:09,710 --> 01:06:13,251
Oh, I didn't mean how it fires.
I simply meant how it works.
913
01:06:14,001 --> 01:06:16,460
It's quite a device.
You should have a look.
914
01:06:16,543 --> 01:06:19,793
You see, they designed the cylinder
so the hammer
915
01:06:19,876 --> 01:06:22,251
doesn't have to sit in an empty chamber.
916
01:06:22,335 --> 01:06:25,210
So I could shoot you six times
instead of five.
917
01:06:25,293 --> 01:06:28,085
- Well, I suppose.
- [horse whinnies]
918
01:06:29,543 --> 01:06:31,751
[man] They both lied on the stand.
919
01:06:32,668 --> 01:06:36,251
If you're gonna take your shot,
now is the last time to fire.
920
01:06:36,335 --> 01:06:39,543
Sometimes we have to work
outside of the rules to get what's right.
921
01:06:41,543 --> 01:06:43,543
It would be nice if we didn't have to.
922
01:06:45,251 --> 01:06:46,335
Wouldn't it?
923
01:06:47,585 --> 01:06:50,210
- This doesn't make you like him.
- Mm.
924
01:06:53,168 --> 01:06:54,585
So, what will it be?
925
01:07:31,543 --> 01:07:33,418
[piano playing]
926
01:07:39,501 --> 01:07:41,835
[playing haltingly]
927
01:07:50,835 --> 01:07:52,668
[phone rings]
928
01:07:52,751 --> 01:07:55,251
In my bad ear, it sounded extraordinary.
929
01:07:55,335 --> 01:07:56,501
[Dash] Father...
930
01:08:00,043 --> 01:08:01,085
Hello.
931
01:08:01,168 --> 01:08:04,001
[Westinghouse] The apparatus consists
of a stationary engine,
932
01:08:04,085 --> 01:08:06,543
a Westinghouse alternating dynamo
933
01:08:06,626 --> 01:08:09,085
capable of generating 3,000 volts.
934
01:08:09,168 --> 01:08:11,210
Wood chair with headrest.
935
01:08:11,293 --> 01:08:14,085
- [Edison] Where did you get that?
- I'm sending them to the paper.
936
01:08:14,168 --> 01:08:17,251
Those letters are stolen.
You can't publish them.
937
01:08:17,335 --> 01:08:19,793
- Why not?
- Because they're private correspondences.
938
01:08:19,876 --> 01:08:23,668
Mr. Edison, if you say something
about me or my company again,
939
01:08:23,751 --> 01:08:25,918
I would ask that you tell the truth.
940
01:08:27,460 --> 01:08:29,793
That would be the decent thing to do.
941
01:08:31,751 --> 01:08:32,876
Wouldn't it?
942
01:08:35,251 --> 01:08:38,960
- [Edison] Why didn't you burn the letters?
- [Brown] They were from Thomas Edison.
943
01:08:39,043 --> 01:08:41,835
I don't think you appreciate
that this chair is something
944
01:08:41,918 --> 01:08:44,168
to be proud of and remembered for.
945
01:08:44,251 --> 01:08:46,543
I don't even know
how much electricity you need to use.
946
01:08:46,626 --> 01:08:50,251
- You said 1,500 volts.
- I said I think 1,500 volts.
947
01:08:50,335 --> 01:08:53,001
But if all the water in his body
evaporates, then he may ignite.
948
01:08:53,085 --> 01:08:55,793
- So we lower the amount.
- Then you slowly roast him to death.
949
01:08:55,876 --> 01:08:59,418
Listen. You must listen to me.
What you're going to do is wrong.
950
01:08:59,501 --> 01:09:02,293
Now you said that it's inevitable
and somebody else will do it.
951
01:09:02,376 --> 01:09:05,626
But just because somebody else is
gonna do it doesn't mean that you have to.
952
01:09:06,668 --> 01:09:10,876
The State thanks you
for your expert opinion and your help.
953
01:09:30,376 --> 01:09:31,460
What?
954
01:09:34,460 --> 01:09:36,543
- It's not my place to say.
- Say it.
955
01:09:37,293 --> 01:09:40,001
You said you'd never build
a device that would kill anyone.
956
01:09:49,293 --> 01:09:52,210
I make something impossible,
and they rip it away from me,
957
01:09:52,293 --> 01:09:54,585
so I do it again and they do it again.
958
01:09:54,668 --> 01:09:56,918
And again. And again.
959
01:09:59,335 --> 01:10:01,168
This isn't like everything else.
960
01:10:02,918 --> 01:10:04,626
This is everything else.
961
01:10:05,918 --> 01:10:09,793
Our future is not gonna be paved
with bricks but with copper.
962
01:10:11,668 --> 01:10:15,751
Automation, transportation, communication,
and the man that controls that current
963
01:10:15,835 --> 01:10:17,793
controls that future.
964
01:10:18,960 --> 01:10:20,918
But you know Westinghouse is right.
965
01:10:22,626 --> 01:10:24,626
You don't actually believe
that a few accidents
966
01:10:24,710 --> 01:10:26,626
rule out the viability of his current.
967
01:10:26,710 --> 01:10:28,852
- You just don't want to lose.
- I have merely amplified
968
01:10:28,876 --> 01:10:30,960
what no one else
was willing to take seriously.
969
01:10:31,043 --> 01:10:33,376
No, what you did was run him over
with a 12-ton train.
970
01:10:33,460 --> 01:10:35,769
Oh, well, he's the one
that's supposed to only make brakes,
971
01:10:35,793 --> 01:10:37,793
so, who's to blame here?
972
01:10:37,876 --> 01:10:39,543
[thunder rumbles]
973
01:10:40,460 --> 01:10:42,626
Switch tonight, and you win.
974
01:10:42,710 --> 01:10:44,793
His current kills people.
975
01:10:44,876 --> 01:10:46,251
Only because you said it will!
976
01:10:46,335 --> 01:10:49,126
Listen, I either stop complaining
about the scavengers in my garden
977
01:10:49,210 --> 01:10:52,751
or build a wall so damn high that people
will never even dare to scale it.
978
01:10:52,835 --> 01:10:54,668
You are the smartest man I know.
979
01:10:54,751 --> 01:10:58,001
Beyond building miracles out of thin air,
980
01:10:58,085 --> 01:11:00,501
I was most impressed by your principles.
981
01:11:02,460 --> 01:11:05,835
You didn't invent the incandescent.
People just think you did.
982
01:11:13,126 --> 01:11:17,918
Let me welcome you to the reality
of how things come into existence.
983
01:11:18,001 --> 01:11:21,043
We all contribute.
That's what invention is.
984
01:11:21,126 --> 01:11:24,918
The salt. The grain. The heat. The heart.
985
01:11:25,001 --> 01:11:28,543
But only one man makes the bread rise.
986
01:11:30,501 --> 01:11:33,043
That's the one that puts it all together
987
01:11:33,126 --> 01:11:36,043
and makes it taste so damn good
that people will go out there
988
01:11:36,126 --> 01:11:40,376
and hand over their hard-won dollars
to buy it.
989
01:11:40,460 --> 01:11:43,460
Mr. Edison, I want you to succeed. I do.
990
01:11:45,751 --> 01:11:48,751
But you have to switch tonight,
or you'll die as PT Barnum
991
01:11:48,835 --> 01:11:50,793
rather than Sir Isaac Newton.
992
01:12:15,543 --> 01:12:18,001
[Upton]
Though he may be unfamiliar to you,
993
01:12:18,085 --> 01:12:21,876
his studies have demonstrated
an understanding of electrical matters
994
01:12:21,960 --> 01:12:25,960
unlike anyone I have ever known,
with respect to the assembled.
995
01:12:26,043 --> 01:12:29,585
Gentlemen and lady, Nikola Tesla.
996
01:12:29,668 --> 01:12:31,335
[applause]
997
01:12:33,043 --> 01:12:35,585
[Tesla] Straight to our ultimate question,
998
01:12:36,335 --> 01:12:37,835
yes or no...
999
01:12:38,668 --> 01:12:41,376
can alternating currents operate a motor?
1000
01:12:43,126 --> 01:12:44,376
Yes.
1001
01:12:46,043 --> 01:12:48,168
Now anyone who builds
an alternating system
1002
01:12:48,251 --> 01:12:51,668
will be able to do what Edison can
for only a third of the cost.
1003
01:12:51,751 --> 01:12:54,001
In figure two of my polyphase system,
the armature coils
1004
01:12:54,085 --> 01:12:55,960
are shown in a more advanced position.
1005
01:12:56,043 --> 01:12:58,251
2-A illustrates the corresponding
magnetic condition...
1006
01:12:58,335 --> 01:13:00,269
Synchronous motor obtained
by winding a laminated ring
1007
01:13:00,293 --> 01:13:01,602
provided with pole projections...
1008
01:13:01,626 --> 01:13:03,460
The induction is of an ideal character,
1009
01:13:03,543 --> 01:13:05,918
being always maintained
at its maximum action.
1010
01:13:06,001 --> 01:13:09,501
Mr. Tesla, have you actually built
the motor to test your theories?
1011
01:13:09,585 --> 01:13:12,501
But they are not theories.
No, I have not built it.
1012
01:13:12,585 --> 01:13:14,460
But that would prove your beliefs.
1013
01:13:14,543 --> 01:13:17,376
But they are not beliefs,
and it is absolutely immaterial to me
1014
01:13:17,460 --> 01:13:19,460
whether I run the motor in my mind
or in a shop,
1015
01:13:19,543 --> 01:13:22,376
for I have built it already
in my imagination, and it is perfect.
1016
01:13:22,460 --> 01:13:24,710
- [man] Are you serious?
- Almost always.
1017
01:13:30,376 --> 01:13:32,668
[knock at door]
1018
01:13:34,085 --> 01:13:36,585
Hello. I'm George Westinghouse.
1019
01:13:46,668 --> 01:13:48,376
- George Westinghouse?
- Mm-hmm.
1020
01:13:48,460 --> 01:13:51,168
An engine that compresses air into a tank
1021
01:13:51,251 --> 01:13:54,335
which is taken via pipe
to each brake on the train,
1022
01:13:54,418 --> 01:13:56,710
allowing them to operate simultaneously.
1023
01:13:58,543 --> 01:14:00,293
Smart design.
1024
01:14:00,376 --> 01:14:01,585
Thank you.
1025
01:14:09,960 --> 01:14:11,210
Please.
1026
01:14:26,751 --> 01:14:29,335
I think this entire room
is slanted two degrees.
1027
01:14:33,626 --> 01:14:37,585
I sincerely appreciate you
taking the time to meet with me.
1028
01:14:37,668 --> 01:14:40,043
Are-Are you going somewhere?
1029
01:14:41,918 --> 01:14:43,501
[rummaging]
1030
01:14:51,668 --> 01:14:52,710
Oh.
1031
01:14:54,626 --> 01:14:56,876
- This is it?
- [Tesla] It's Niagara Falls.
1032
01:14:56,960 --> 01:14:58,126
[Westinghouse] Yeah.
1033
01:14:58,210 --> 01:15:01,210
And ever since my school days,
I have pictured in my imagination
1034
01:15:01,293 --> 01:15:03,626
a big wheel spinning out lightning.
1035
01:15:05,293 --> 01:15:08,543
Did you know that when I first came
to this country, I worked for Mr. Edison?
1036
01:15:08,626 --> 01:15:10,460
- I did not.
- Tea?
1037
01:15:10,543 --> 01:15:12,085
Sure.
1038
01:15:12,918 --> 01:15:15,835
I fixed two of his DC generators
in one night,
1039
01:15:15,918 --> 01:15:18,043
and he called me a damn good man.
1040
01:15:19,126 --> 01:15:21,251
So, why did he not treat me that way?
1041
01:15:21,335 --> 01:15:24,501
I quit.
Tried my own company and was deceived.
1042
01:15:24,585 --> 01:15:26,876
Who was I? Some immigrant.
1043
01:15:27,918 --> 01:15:30,585
So I took the only job I could find:
digging a ditch.
1044
01:15:31,918 --> 01:15:35,460
The men laughed at my fine clothes,
but at the end of the day, I had $2.
1045
01:15:38,460 --> 01:15:40,876
What was the ditch to be used for?
1046
01:15:41,876 --> 01:15:43,626
Edison Electric.
1047
01:15:44,960 --> 01:15:46,835
It felt like digging my own grave.
1048
01:15:48,460 --> 01:15:52,418
If Mr. Edison succeeds, he will set us
back so far, we may never recover.
1049
01:15:52,501 --> 01:15:54,835
The Fair must be alternating.
1050
01:15:54,918 --> 01:15:56,501
It must be my motor.
1051
01:15:57,210 --> 01:15:59,960
I have watched as the world talks
of Chicago as a symbol,
1052
01:16:00,043 --> 01:16:01,418
a City of Light.
1053
01:16:02,251 --> 01:16:05,418
All cities will have light
in your lifetime,
1054
01:16:05,501 --> 01:16:10,043
but harnessing the power of Niagara,
that is to see our future.
1055
01:16:10,126 --> 01:16:13,793
The Falls? I'm here to talk about Chicago.
1056
01:16:13,876 --> 01:16:15,293
Think beyond Chicago.
1057
01:16:15,376 --> 01:16:19,085
Energy is as fundamental
as food, as water, as air.
1058
01:16:19,168 --> 01:16:22,293
You can... You cannot say
that only those with money can eat
1059
01:16:22,376 --> 01:16:24,085
or can breathe.
1060
01:16:24,168 --> 01:16:25,977
Yes, the Falls will light up
the Eastern Seaboard.
1061
01:16:26,001 --> 01:16:28,894
Yes, there is a great fortune to be made,
and I covet a very nice walking stick
1062
01:16:28,918 --> 01:16:31,251
I saw on 63rd and Madison,
but Niagara is the proof
1063
01:16:31,335 --> 01:16:33,376
that one day we may detach power
from profit.
1064
01:16:33,460 --> 01:16:36,001
- That is how you truly win.
- Mm.
1065
01:16:36,918 --> 01:16:41,085
- How do I know you will not cheat me?
- Well, you don't.
1066
01:16:43,626 --> 01:16:46,376
But the fact is, Mr. Tesla,
I need your motor.
1067
01:16:46,460 --> 01:16:49,918
I may be able to light up the Fair,
but I still can't move a machine.
1068
01:16:50,001 --> 01:16:53,418
If we cannot reach an agreement today,
my company will die
1069
01:16:53,501 --> 01:16:55,376
right here in your hotel room.
1070
01:16:57,876 --> 01:17:01,626
But if it does perish, so might your dream
of harnessing power from Niagara.
1071
01:17:06,085 --> 01:17:08,085
So, do we have a deal?
1072
01:17:09,960 --> 01:17:11,335
Five thousand.
1073
01:17:19,085 --> 01:17:20,376
One thousand.
1074
01:17:21,835 --> 01:17:23,710
[scoffs, laughs]
1075
01:17:29,668 --> 01:17:31,335
[coughing]
1076
01:17:32,376 --> 01:17:33,418
Yeah.
1077
01:17:36,168 --> 01:17:38,251
I'll give you $2.50...
1078
01:17:42,710 --> 01:17:44,085
per horsepower.
1079
01:17:45,585 --> 01:17:49,418
I'm no genius myself,
but that should be millions.
1080
01:17:52,335 --> 01:17:54,710
- May I treat you to dinner at Delmonico's?
- [door opens]
1081
01:17:56,126 --> 01:17:58,043
All right, Mr. Tesla, time to go.
1082
01:17:58,126 --> 01:18:01,446
- No, I will not leave your slanted room.
- He hasn't paid his bill in over a month.
1083
01:18:01,501 --> 01:18:04,793
Well, how much would it cost
to keep him here for the year?
1084
01:18:04,876 --> 01:18:06,710
[train engine chugging]
1085
01:18:09,751 --> 01:18:12,793
I need to shed 300 men
from the gas company.
1086
01:18:16,043 --> 01:18:18,126
There's no way around it.
1087
01:18:18,918 --> 01:18:21,718
[Marguerite] So we pay their salaries
and move them to the electricity.
1088
01:18:21,793 --> 01:18:23,793
We can't keep doing this.
1089
01:18:24,835 --> 01:18:27,043
If we win, we won't have to.
1090
01:18:29,085 --> 01:18:30,918
You have truth on your side.
1091
01:18:33,126 --> 01:18:37,251
And whatever happens, you'll know
you never did anything but play fair.
1092
01:18:49,210 --> 01:18:50,835
I stole the letters
1093
01:18:50,918 --> 01:18:53,293
linking Edison to the death chair.
1094
01:18:54,668 --> 01:18:57,001
I gave them to the papers to smudge him.
1095
01:18:59,751 --> 01:19:01,626
I know you're disappointed in me.
1096
01:19:31,960 --> 01:19:33,793
[Morgan] What am I looking at here?
1097
01:19:33,876 --> 01:19:37,293
An 80-foot tall tower
covered with 16,000 Edison bulbs,
1098
01:19:37,376 --> 01:19:39,210
topped with an eight-foot lighthouse.
1099
01:19:39,293 --> 01:19:41,501
That signals to the world
that we are the victors.
1100
01:19:41,585 --> 01:19:43,626
Otherwise,
how will people know that we won?
1101
01:19:44,335 --> 01:19:45,668
It's an idol.
1102
01:19:46,585 --> 01:19:48,293
It's a... signature.
1103
01:19:49,710 --> 01:19:53,043
And you'll get something that no one's
ever received from Thomas Edison before.
1104
01:19:53,126 --> 01:19:55,335
- Oh, yes? What's that?
- An apology.
1105
01:19:55,418 --> 01:19:59,460
I admit that spending has been,
well, more than anticipated,
1106
01:19:59,543 --> 01:20:02,710
but now, more than ever,
it's important you must push through.
1107
01:20:02,793 --> 01:20:06,585
Whatever Westinghouse is bidding
for the Fair, we... you must bid more.
1108
01:20:06,668 --> 01:20:07,876
I must.
1109
01:20:09,335 --> 01:20:10,376
"Must."
1110
01:20:12,626 --> 01:20:14,043
Who's Nikola Tesla?
1111
01:20:17,043 --> 01:20:18,168
What about him?
1112
01:20:18,251 --> 01:20:20,668
Well, he gave a talk at Columbia.
1113
01:20:20,751 --> 01:20:24,960
Word is, the Serb is building Westinghouse
a polyphase motor.
1114
01:20:25,543 --> 01:20:29,376
Light and power.
You can do both. He now may as well.
1115
01:20:29,460 --> 01:20:32,144
Who even knows how long it'll take them
to build a functioning model...
1116
01:20:32,168 --> 01:20:35,418
As of this morning,
you have ceded, I have here,
1117
01:20:35,501 --> 01:20:37,960
nine more cities to Westinghouse.
1118
01:20:38,043 --> 01:20:40,168
So, here's what's happening.
1119
01:20:41,210 --> 01:20:45,293
I am merging Edison Electric
with some of the other ankle-biters.
1120
01:20:45,751 --> 01:20:47,751
You are out.
1121
01:20:48,668 --> 01:20:49,876
You know why.
1122
01:20:50,751 --> 01:20:54,293
And I'm happy to tell you, if you require
this moment to be even more unpleasant.
1123
01:20:54,376 --> 01:20:56,585
You will receive stock,
1124
01:20:56,668 --> 01:20:59,043
and you will retain a seat on the board.
1125
01:21:05,710 --> 01:21:07,085
Who's gonna present? You?
1126
01:21:07,168 --> 01:21:09,793
- Good God, no.
- You tell me now?
1127
01:21:09,876 --> 01:21:11,977
I was here. I thought you deserved
to hear it face-to-face.
1128
01:21:12,001 --> 01:21:15,126
No, you didn't.
You just wanted to waste my time
1129
01:21:15,210 --> 01:21:17,335
and get me to sign autographs
for children.
1130
01:21:18,460 --> 01:21:20,602
- What are you going to call it then?
- That's your concern?
1131
01:21:20,626 --> 01:21:22,293
Edison Electric. It has to be.
1132
01:21:22,376 --> 01:21:25,876
Edison and electricity are synonymous,
Morgan. The bulb...
1133
01:21:25,960 --> 01:21:28,876
I do not attach a losing name
to a fledgling enterprise.
1134
01:21:28,960 --> 01:21:31,335
Now that your letters have leaked,
you've lost credibility.
1135
01:21:31,418 --> 01:21:32,538
- So, what is it?
- The name?
1136
01:21:32,585 --> 01:21:34,210
Yes, the goddamn name!
1137
01:21:34,293 --> 01:21:37,085
The contract just says General Electric,
but I'll think of something.
1138
01:21:37,168 --> 01:21:38,293
I can be creative too.
1139
01:21:43,960 --> 01:21:45,043
Yeah.
1140
01:21:47,876 --> 01:21:48,960
[Morgan] Mr. Insull.
1141
01:21:51,293 --> 01:21:52,418
A moment.
1142
01:22:26,126 --> 01:22:27,460
[knock at door]
1143
01:22:27,543 --> 01:22:29,001
- [glass shatters]
- [Edison shouts]
1144
01:22:31,710 --> 01:22:34,668
He said they'd keep your name attached
as long as you didn't pursue action
1145
01:22:34,751 --> 01:22:36,918
or speak negatively to the press
about the merger.
1146
01:22:37,001 --> 01:22:38,335
What did he offer you?
1147
01:22:39,460 --> 01:22:41,420
- Tell me.
- Vice president, but I turned it down.
1148
01:22:41,460 --> 01:22:42,626
- You should take it.
- Why?
1149
01:22:42,710 --> 01:22:44,602
Alternating current...
what's the transmission voltage?
1150
01:22:44,626 --> 01:22:45,835
230,000 volts.
1151
01:22:45,918 --> 01:22:47,668
What's the filament on a 12,000-hour lamp?
1152
01:22:47,751 --> 01:22:49,852
- Carbonized Japanese bamboo.
- What do I eat for breakfast?
1153
01:22:49,876 --> 01:22:51,102
- Pie.
- So, what's the surprise?
1154
01:22:51,126 --> 01:22:53,960
Of course he needs you.
You're me, but a human being.
1155
01:23:02,960 --> 01:23:04,626
Look around the room.
1156
01:23:04,710 --> 01:23:06,126
- Hmm?
- Who's missing?
1157
01:23:08,210 --> 01:23:11,418
- [door opens]
- Edison General Electric Company, please.
1158
01:23:11,501 --> 01:23:13,251
General Electric?
1159
01:23:13,335 --> 01:23:15,960
- Edison General Electric Company.
- Yes.
1160
01:23:16,043 --> 01:23:17,876
- Ah!
- [Marguerite whispers indistinctly]
1161
01:23:31,085 --> 01:23:32,335
He's 12.
1162
01:23:32,418 --> 01:23:35,960
Mr. Insull, these are
the committee members of...
1163
01:23:36,043 --> 01:23:38,585
Listen closely.
Focus on the quality of the light.
1164
01:23:38,668 --> 01:23:40,751
I don't care what the courts say.
1165
01:23:40,835 --> 01:23:42,418
Westinghouse ripped off my bulbs,
1166
01:23:42,501 --> 01:23:45,126
and the good news for you
is he did a terrible job.
1167
01:23:45,210 --> 01:23:48,418
They are outdoor bulbs,
so they have a life of about two hours.
1168
01:23:48,501 --> 01:23:50,418
So focus on the replacement time.
1169
01:23:51,501 --> 01:23:55,168
Talk about the superiority of ours,
as if there's no competition.
1170
01:23:55,751 --> 01:23:58,293
Use terms like "standard," "purest,"
1171
01:23:58,376 --> 01:24:00,376
"the most beautiful light," et cetera.
1172
01:24:00,460 --> 01:24:03,102
Find out what kind of men they are.
There are really only two types.
1173
01:24:03,126 --> 01:24:06,543
The first believe themselves to be
practical, but they're secret dreamers.
1174
01:24:06,626 --> 01:24:08,543
They're the ones who'll take the risks.
1175
01:24:08,626 --> 01:24:11,043
The second, well, they'll smile
and thank you for the show,
1176
01:24:11,126 --> 01:24:12,835
but they'll vote with their wallets.
1177
01:24:12,918 --> 01:24:16,710
Unless Westinghouse is mortgaging
everything he's worth on this bid,
1178
01:24:16,793 --> 01:24:18,751
Morgan has you in good stead
with the money men.
1179
01:24:18,835 --> 01:24:21,460
So your only real job
is to look the dreamers in the eye
1180
01:24:21,543 --> 01:24:23,251
and promise them magic.
1181
01:24:23,335 --> 01:24:26,376
Now, explain back to me everything
that you remember about a parallel
1182
01:24:26,460 --> 01:24:28,894
and series of electric circuits
using none of the words I just said.
1183
01:24:28,918 --> 01:24:30,751
[sighs]
1184
01:24:30,835 --> 01:24:33,501
Though I am young,
I am an expert in these matters,
1185
01:24:33,585 --> 01:24:36,585
rivaled only really by Mr. Edison himself.
1186
01:24:36,668 --> 01:24:39,376
Should you choose Westinghouse, then...
1187
01:24:39,460 --> 01:24:41,960
then yes, there is a possibility
1188
01:24:42,043 --> 01:24:45,085
you'll be putting in jeopardy
the lives of 28 million people.
1189
01:24:46,335 --> 01:24:50,251
Even if Westinghouse were to make
even the smallest of errors,
1190
01:24:50,335 --> 01:24:52,585
unintentional, of course,
1191
01:24:52,668 --> 01:24:54,668
a visiting politician, a wife,
1192
01:24:54,751 --> 01:24:57,001
even a seven-year-old girl
may lean against a lamppost
1193
01:24:57,085 --> 01:24:59,001
and be struck dead immediately.
1194
01:24:59,668 --> 01:25:01,001
There you have it.
1195
01:25:01,085 --> 01:25:04,335
Mr. Westinghouse's brand of electricity
is fatal.
1196
01:25:04,418 --> 01:25:06,835
Thank you, Mr. Insull.
1197
01:25:06,918 --> 01:25:08,501
Just to be clear, sir,
1198
01:25:08,585 --> 01:25:11,751
any electrical current
over 200 milliamperes can be deadly.
1199
01:25:11,835 --> 01:25:13,251
Even yours?
1200
01:25:21,210 --> 01:25:23,293
Mr. Westinghouse,
these are the committee members
1201
01:25:23,376 --> 01:25:25,126
of grounds and buildings:
1202
01:25:25,210 --> 01:25:27,793
Charles Schwab, Craig Cannon,
1203
01:25:27,876 --> 01:25:30,001
- Mayor Cregier, of course.
- Oh, of course.
1204
01:25:30,085 --> 01:25:32,543
Victor Lawson of the Chicago Daily News,
1205
01:25:32,626 --> 01:25:34,960
and the Honorable Judge Tree.
1206
01:25:35,043 --> 01:25:36,460
I'm Daniel Burnham.
1207
01:25:36,543 --> 01:25:40,751
Respectfully, we ask that you please
keep your remarks to one hour.
1208
01:25:40,835 --> 01:25:42,501
That won't be necessary.
1209
01:25:43,210 --> 01:25:45,460
- Here you go. Sir.
- Thank you.
1210
01:25:47,043 --> 01:25:48,210
Hmm.
1211
01:25:49,043 --> 01:25:50,126
[chuckles]
1212
01:25:50,835 --> 01:25:52,585
My bid.
1213
01:25:52,668 --> 01:25:54,376
These are all your figures?
1214
01:25:54,460 --> 01:25:56,710
Yes, sir. Independent estimates.
1215
01:25:56,793 --> 01:26:00,126
Before we, uh,
get into the messy business,
1216
01:26:00,210 --> 01:26:03,335
let us begin
with this most general question:
1217
01:26:03,418 --> 01:26:08,210
Why should we grant Westinghouse Electric
the contract for the World's Fair?
1218
01:26:08,293 --> 01:26:12,960
Well, I guess because
our system works significantly better,
1219
01:26:13,043 --> 01:26:14,210
and, uh...
1220
01:26:16,543 --> 01:26:19,585
because our system
is significantly cheaper.
1221
01:26:24,751 --> 01:26:27,626
Mr. Schwab, Mr. Higinbotham, Mr. Cannon,
1222
01:26:27,710 --> 01:26:30,918
Mayor Cregier, Mr. Lawson, Judge Tree,
1223
01:26:31,001 --> 01:26:32,293
and Mr. Burnham,
1224
01:26:33,043 --> 01:26:35,960
thank you very much for your time
and your consideration.
1225
01:26:49,876 --> 01:26:52,210
Financially, it's clear.
We just take the better bid.
1226
01:26:52,293 --> 01:26:55,210
- Look, Westinghouse is dangerous.
- Potentially dangerous.
1227
01:26:55,293 --> 01:26:57,293
You even printed it in your own paper.
1228
01:26:57,376 --> 01:27:00,793
Alternating will be used
to kill that man in Buffalo.
1229
01:27:13,043 --> 01:27:14,835
[man] They both light up lights, right?
1230
01:27:14,918 --> 01:27:17,918
Westinghouse saves us some money.
Thomas Edison sells tickets.
1231
01:27:21,376 --> 01:27:24,210
[Westinghouse]
What I wouldn't give to flip through that.
1232
01:27:24,293 --> 01:27:26,960
It's like a handbook
to the future, isn't it?
1233
01:27:30,835 --> 01:27:33,668
- We need a clear majority, gentlemen.
- Don't you have stock in GE?
1234
01:27:33,751 --> 01:27:35,126
That's irrelevant.
1235
01:27:36,668 --> 01:27:39,585
[Tesla] No one has ever done
what you have done for me.
1236
01:27:39,668 --> 01:27:43,126
The value of something
isn't what someone's willing to pay,
1237
01:27:43,210 --> 01:27:46,376
but the value of something
is what it contributes.
1238
01:27:46,460 --> 01:27:50,085
When we vote again, Burnham,
you can telephone the winner tonight.
1239
01:27:54,626 --> 01:27:57,126
Is it true you were born
during a lightning storm?
1240
01:27:58,210 --> 01:27:59,835
- It is true.
- [chuckles]
1241
01:28:02,001 --> 01:28:04,418
All right. Tell me one thing in that book.
1242
01:28:06,793 --> 01:28:09,918
Look, you and Mr. Edison, you spend
all your time on either end of the system,
1243
01:28:10,001 --> 01:28:11,918
the dynamos and the lamps.
1244
01:28:12,001 --> 01:28:14,085
But what about what is in between?
1245
01:28:14,168 --> 01:28:15,585
- The wires?
- Mm.
1246
01:28:16,668 --> 01:28:19,376
- Do we need them?
- [billiard balls clatter]
1247
01:28:26,376 --> 01:28:28,085
[phone rings]
1248
01:28:34,585 --> 01:28:38,585
[Westinghouse] The problem is, despite
all the advantages of the Remington...
1249
01:28:43,001 --> 01:28:46,418
it doesn't fix the fact that
you just dampened the gunpowder.
1250
01:28:47,126 --> 01:28:49,585
[gunshot echoes]
1251
01:29:05,418 --> 01:29:07,418
[projector whirring]
1252
01:29:18,418 --> 01:29:19,960
What's this?
1253
01:29:22,835 --> 01:29:26,460
This is gonna do for the eye
what the phonograph did for the ear.
1254
01:29:32,876 --> 01:29:33,960
Dot?
1255
01:29:45,001 --> 01:29:46,710
[clattering]
1256
01:29:50,543 --> 01:29:51,585
Again.
1257
01:29:54,960 --> 01:29:56,043
Again!
1258
01:30:31,960 --> 01:30:34,043
[indistinct conversations]
1259
01:31:07,876 --> 01:31:09,960
[applause]
1260
01:31:28,835 --> 01:31:30,751
Do you have any final words?
1261
01:31:33,043 --> 01:31:35,418
[William]
I believe I'm going to a better place.
1262
01:31:37,793 --> 01:31:39,210
Goodbye, William.
1263
01:31:47,751 --> 01:31:51,210
We live in a higher civilization...
1264
01:31:52,168 --> 01:31:53,626
from this day.
1265
01:32:03,501 --> 01:32:06,126
[applause]
1266
01:32:37,710 --> 01:32:39,585
[cheering]
1267
01:32:53,793 --> 01:32:56,418
[electricity crackling]
1268
01:32:58,043 --> 01:33:00,085
[people clamoring]
1269
01:33:12,001 --> 01:33:15,418
[Insull] "An awful spectacle,
far worse than hanging.
1270
01:33:15,501 --> 01:33:19,626
George Westinghouse:
'They would have done better with an ax.'
1271
01:33:19,710 --> 01:33:21,835
Sizzling sound. A billow of smoke
1272
01:33:21,918 --> 01:33:24,251
that filled the room
with the odor of burning hair."
1273
01:33:25,751 --> 01:33:27,835
Well, at least it happened to a murderer.
1274
01:33:29,710 --> 01:33:32,335
[Edison] At least
they'll never use it again to kill anyone.
1275
01:33:35,501 --> 01:33:36,626
[sighs]
1276
01:33:39,918 --> 01:33:41,918
Soon all these people
will have electric light,
1277
01:33:42,001 --> 01:33:44,293
and no one will even remember
it ever happened.
1278
01:33:45,835 --> 01:33:48,085
I have books so full of ideas
1279
01:33:48,168 --> 01:33:51,251
it would take me more than 12 lifetimes
to execute them.
1280
01:33:52,751 --> 01:33:55,126
So let the man have his fair
and waterfall.
1281
01:34:00,418 --> 01:34:02,043
Well, for what's it's worth,
1282
01:34:02,585 --> 01:34:06,126
I'd much rather have worked for you
than Westinghouse any day.
1283
01:34:06,210 --> 01:34:07,376
Why is that?
1284
01:34:08,293 --> 01:34:10,585
Well, I wouldn't have had as much fun,
would I?
1285
01:35:11,710 --> 01:35:13,835
Have you seen much of the fair?
1286
01:35:13,918 --> 01:35:17,168
- A Muybridge lecture, Little Egypt.
- Oh, the dancer.
1287
01:35:17,251 --> 01:35:18,626
- You saw her?
- No.
1288
01:35:19,501 --> 01:35:22,626
Well, she was... If you get the time.
1289
01:35:23,543 --> 01:35:24,585
Hmm.
1290
01:35:29,585 --> 01:35:32,251
Don't you think
a fence is a unique creation?
1291
01:35:34,043 --> 01:35:37,085
Your neighbor puts one up,
and suddenly one becomes two.
1292
01:35:38,001 --> 01:35:41,418
You also have a fence.
There's only one problem.
1293
01:35:41,501 --> 01:35:44,751
You see, one person
on one side of the fence designed it,
1294
01:35:44,835 --> 01:35:47,043
one person on one side built it,
1295
01:35:47,126 --> 01:35:49,293
and one person paid for it,
1296
01:35:49,376 --> 01:35:53,126
and yet the other person receives
a fine, free fence.
1297
01:35:55,835 --> 01:35:57,793
I didn't take your ideas.
1298
01:35:58,626 --> 01:35:59,876
Mr. Edison?
1299
01:36:01,126 --> 01:36:02,168
Sure.
1300
01:36:04,001 --> 01:36:05,126
Thank you.
1301
01:36:06,126 --> 01:36:09,251
- I was wondering about one thing.
- Oh, I'm sure there were many.
1302
01:36:09,335 --> 01:36:13,210
I was gonna invite you to dinner again,
1303
01:36:13,293 --> 01:36:15,710
but I suppose now
is as good a time as any.
1304
01:36:15,793 --> 01:36:17,269
You want to know
what was in the 13-hour bulb?
1305
01:36:17,293 --> 01:36:19,460
- I know how it works.
- Yeah, I know you do.
1306
01:36:19,543 --> 01:36:21,543
I only wondered what it felt like.
1307
01:36:23,585 --> 01:36:24,960
- Pardon?
- The bulb.
1308
01:36:25,960 --> 01:36:27,335
When you knew.
1309
01:36:27,876 --> 01:36:30,251
What was the feeling in that moment?
1310
01:36:38,668 --> 01:36:40,293
I can't tell you. I mean...
1311
01:36:42,126 --> 01:36:46,835
It's impossible to describe the feeling
because it was impossible.
1312
01:36:47,751 --> 01:36:50,710
Years of work.
Ten thousand different filaments.
1313
01:36:51,210 --> 01:36:53,501
When the thread went in the bulb,
as usual,
1314
01:36:53,585 --> 01:36:56,501
we placed our bets
and the generator sputtered to life
1315
01:36:56,585 --> 01:37:00,335
and the ball began to glow, we didn't
expect anything but another failure.
1316
01:37:02,460 --> 01:37:04,418
Then something started to happen.
1317
01:37:08,085 --> 01:37:10,876
See, our best filament
only lasted ten minutes,
1318
01:37:11,585 --> 01:37:14,710
and this fluke was rounding 20,
1319
01:37:14,793 --> 01:37:16,960
so people started to chatter.
1320
01:37:17,043 --> 01:37:20,835
And 30 minutes, 40 minutes,
an hour, two hours.
1321
01:37:20,918 --> 01:37:23,043
Then people started to shout.
1322
01:37:23,126 --> 01:37:25,793
And remember,
we hadn't got past ten minutes.
1323
01:37:26,585 --> 01:37:29,876
The boys were climbing up the walls,
tearing their hair out, and...
1324
01:37:31,710 --> 01:37:33,585
because it was impossible.
1325
01:37:34,626 --> 01:37:38,001
Seven hours. Eight hours. Nine.
1326
01:37:39,501 --> 01:37:41,335
We were silent when we hit ten.
1327
01:37:43,668 --> 01:37:46,043
Just sat around that glowing bubble,
1328
01:37:46,126 --> 01:37:49,210
drunk on our own magic,
staring at it like it...
1329
01:37:49,293 --> 01:37:52,335
I don't know, like it was the baby Jesus
playing Mozart.
1330
01:37:56,001 --> 01:37:59,335
After 13 and a half hours,
the glass cracked, and I knew it.
1331
01:38:01,668 --> 01:38:03,543
The world would never be the same.
1332
01:38:05,668 --> 01:38:08,751
I'm working on something now,
something so new that...
1333
01:38:10,376 --> 01:38:14,126
people will forget that my name
was ever associated with electricity.
1334
01:38:14,210 --> 01:38:16,335
I wonder if you know what it is yet.
1335
01:38:22,501 --> 01:38:24,585
You know, I think the solution is...
1336
01:38:25,251 --> 01:38:27,293
to divide the cost of the fence.
1337
01:38:29,710 --> 01:38:32,835
Or you cannot build a fence at all.
1338
01:38:35,710 --> 01:38:37,751
Your garden would be twice as big.
1339
01:38:38,501 --> 01:38:40,501
Wouldn't it, Tom?
1340
01:38:47,960 --> 01:38:49,918
If nothing else, a pleasure.
1341
01:38:52,168 --> 01:38:53,710
Enjoy the fair, George.
1342
01:39:00,335 --> 01:39:02,543
[indistinct conversations]
1343
01:39:11,793 --> 01:39:15,501
[Tesla] We build monuments to speak
to the future, to say, "We were here.
1344
01:39:17,210 --> 01:39:18,668
We have lived."
1345
01:39:20,001 --> 01:39:23,751
A true legacy
isn't what we build up to the heavens
1346
01:39:23,835 --> 01:39:25,918
or carve deep into stone.
1347
01:39:27,085 --> 01:39:29,251
Rocks will crumble,
1348
01:39:29,335 --> 01:39:30,960
paper disintegrates,
1349
01:39:32,001 --> 01:39:33,876
and bone turns to powder.
1350
01:39:35,460 --> 01:39:38,418
Only that
which isn't in the physical realm
1351
01:39:38,501 --> 01:39:41,043
and reaches in both directions
can be eternal.
1352
01:39:42,876 --> 01:39:44,293
Our ideas.
1353
01:39:46,251 --> 01:39:48,251
They are what we leave behind.
1354
01:39:49,710 --> 01:39:52,126
And only they
are what can push us forward.
1355
01:40:52,585 --> 01:40:54,751
[water rushing, wind gusting]
1356
01:41:20,835 --> 01:41:22,710
[projector whirring]
110432
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