All language subtitles for The.Current.War

To all whom it may concern,

be it known that I,
Thomas Alva Edison,

submits on this,
the 27th day of January, 1880,

the application
of this abstract

to the Patent Office
of the United States of America.

The unique design
of my invention

is that of a glass vacuum tube

which houses inside
a thin cotton thread filament,

the two lower ends of which
secure respective posts,

forming an arch shape.

Details and schematic
drawings follow,

exhibiting all aspects
of the invention.

But its purpose is simple,

to give light.

Boys!

I hope you brought
your checkbooks.

- Are you excited to meet the President?
- Yes.

Don't say a thing
about J.P. Morgan's nose.

- What's wrong with his nose?
- Nothing.

It's huge. Huge!

It's like someone took a hammer
and slammed it into his face.

I thought you already
got the money.

I only got half.

Does Morgan even know
that you're coming?

He'll invest as always.
I hate this.

Mr. Edison,
you have dinner with...

- What?
- Dinner with Westinghouse, on your return.

- Why are barns red?
- Maybe so you can see them in the snow.

No, it's 'cause
red paint's the cheapest.

Morgan will want to know
the practicality of your system.

I have money.

Enough for two small buildings
in Manhattan?

- Yes.
- Oh, good.

This was intended
to be my lunch.

The President had asked
to see the phonograph in person.

I had no idea
you'd be here.

- Mrs. Edison.
- Mr. Morgan.

- These are our children.
- Dot and Dash. Delightful.

I know what you're doing.
How much are you short?

Just how much of my money
do you want to wash away?

Oh, as very,
very much as possible.

- Who's this?
- Samuel Insull.

Mr. Edison's
personal secretary.

Mr. Morgan, Mr. Edison.

Which one?
He's also Mr. Edison.

The President
will see you now.

- Now.
- "On the top of the Crumpetty Tree

"The Quangle Wangle sat,

"But his face
you could not see,

"On account
of his Beaver Hat."

This is the sound
of your voice.

"On the top
of the Crumpetty Tree

"The Quangle Wangle sat,

"But his face
you could not see,

- "On account of his Beaver Hat."
- Is that what I sound like?

My men tell me you're
turning down $5 million.

I'm grateful for the offer,
Mr. President,

but it's the type of science
you're after that I find objectionable.

There's always money
in guns.

The one device
I shall never build

is that which takes the life
of another man. It's barbaric.

But, take a look at this.

One square mile of Manhattan,
the First District.

- And I'm gonna light it up.
- Then you have done it.

A star in a jar.
It's a warm glow.

No smell, no poison.

Thirteen hours
of light per globe,

and it's cheaper than gas.
Safer, too.

We bury the wires
using my DC current,

and those same wires will
bring you energy and heat.

I need two buildings to house
six dynamos of my own construction.

This won't even
reach my house.

Morgan, let me
make you so rich

that you will look back
at this moment and wonder,

"Why was I ever
so disgustingly poor?"

It's all right there.
Ferry to Wall Street.

In case you missed my scribble,
there's a big old circle

around The New York Times.
Free advertising.

- 150.
- Half a million.

I'm talking
about $500,000,

you can buy the next century,
brighter, safer, yours.

Sounds rather grand to me,
Pierpont. If I had your fortune...

With respect,
you don't, Mr. President.

- What is that?
- That's not very nice.

Morse code.

What did the boy say?

- What did the boy say?
- If nothing else,

- it's been a pleasure, Mr. President.
- What did the boy say?

Do you know
what you're doing?

I always receive more
by saying no.

Set up the Manhattan offices
and make them look professional.

- What does that mean?
- I don't know. Carpets...

I don't know, carpets.
I don't know.

And the name?

Edison Electric, of course.

Sir, why not
build munitions?

$5 million,
it's hard to say no to.

No. If it's Edison,
it works.

If it works, I'd strongly prefer
it not kill anybody.

Right.

"Thomas Edison has
an unfavorable opinion

"of college graduates
seeking employment,

"because they cannot answer
his examination questions.

- "Who composed Il trovatore?"
- Verdi.

- "What is the speed of sound?"
- Wow, a trick question.

Sound travels at a constantly
diminishing rate of speed.

But I believe the fastest
rate on record

is 11,463 feet per second.

- How do you know all this?
- I read that this morning.

Never requested
a houseguest before.

Really?

Hmm.

I can feel it.
This is different.

Eight minutes
from the junction, sir.

- Hmm?
- The Westinghouse dinner.

We're going home. They're tired.
I already shook enough hands today.

Evening, Frank.

George.

Pardon?

I'm not stopping.

Right.

Maybe the brakes are busted.

I doubt that!

An emergency came up
in New York.

Don't let him agitate you.

This is how he is.

Before he was a wizard,
I let him live in my basement.

My wife wouldn't have him
at the table with us

unless he cleaned himself.

And, boy, given the ultimatum,
the man ate alone.

How does he work?

You want to know his secret?
He engineers his own reality,

and he looks for needles
in haystacks.

And how does he know there's a needle
in the hay to begin with?

He doesn't. Neither do you.

But he's so determined not to be
the second person to find it,

he'll go stalk by stalk
on a what-do-you-know.

I will say one good thing
about him.

He could be
the richest man on earth,

but he doesn't give a damn
about money.

What does he give
a damn about?

It was rude, not stopping.

I spoke to Mrs. Westinghouse directly.
I accepted the invitation.

- You've embarrassed us both.
- Why do you feel embarrassed?

- What do you care what people think?
- I care what they feel.

Mary.

Talk. I just want
to test the resistance...

- Where's my barrette?
- On top of your bureau.

- What's a bureau?
- It's what's under your barrette.

Can I get you to promise on here
that you'll build me a fence?

The ground's frozen.
Needs to thaw.

Look, you're missing it!

It's a baby!
Still has her spots.

Tom, come see this.

Tom! Tom?

You want half a million dollars,
you make me something

with your name on it that I can sell
to General Sherman.

Counteroffer. How about
I don't give you what you want

but you give me
everything I want?

Half a million.

We are gonna be
big, big, big!

- Bigger than an elephant?
- And no one stops an elephant!

Whoo!

It'll work.

Look, I got to be honest.
This might not work.

Conventional wisdom has it,

if you think you're gonna fall
flat on your face,

better not do it in front
of a crowd.

Tonight, things could change.

I hope they do.

And if they do,

they'll change there

and there.

My boys and I
caught in a jar

what before now has only
flashed across the night sky.

What say we unscrew the lid
and see what happens?

You ready?

Three, two, one.

The man has 100,000 feet
of copper for 87 customers.

It will never be profitable.

It's a hobby for the rich.

Something to show off.

It doesn't have to be.

I'm securing the patents
on the Siemens dynamo

and the Gaulard-Gibbs
transformer.

Transformer? It's more like
a metal suitcase.

How much did that cost?

Edison, he picked
the wrong horse.

His current is like a hose
with a knot in it.

He needs to sell
one generator per mile.

You want to build
an AC system.

It's too powerful
for motors.

Put doubt out of your mind
for one moment, and tell me,

what distance do you estimate
one could get

with a single
alternating dynamo?

- A few thousand.
- Yards?

- Miles.
- Mmm-hmm.

And how many houses
could we reach?

I suppose all of them.
What about the bulbs?

Hiram's agreed
to license me his.

Ah, if you're gonna rip off Edison,
rip him off right.

They glow bright gray.

I just want to do
a demonstration for Edison.

Somewhere small,
a small town, rural.

And then he'll see
alternating is possible.

And we partner.
Our system, his bulbs.

In my opinion, which I will admit
is based solely on physics and reality,

what you want to do
is fun to talk about.

I really don't think
it can be done.

- Why?
- Because he would have already done it.

Well, my Paris office
seems to think

you may be the only man
on Earth to rival me.

How would you like
to work for me?

- Very much.
- I'm expanding to 12 cities,

- building direct current systems...
- Direct current?

Alternating current
is far more efficient.

- Hickory, dickory, dock...
- Higher voltage,

greater distance,
less copper conductors.

It's lethal and it's far too much power
for a motor to handle.

I'm gonna start you
on a hundred dollars a month

until you prove yourself
worth more or less.

A hundred dollars?

If you can solve five things
that I can't, I'll pay you $50,000,

and then I'll have
to fire you.

Mr. Tesla,
welcome to Edison Electric.

We make a minor invention
every ten days

and a major one
every six months or so.

You know,
I have a suspicion that,

though your husband's lab is
but a hundred yards from your house,

it must seem sometimes
like a hundred miles.

No, a million.

I've tried to find a way
to stop his brain,

but it just runs and runs.

It's something
he can't control.

All I can do is bring
him back to center.

I've heard Mr. Edison called
the worst husband in America,

on account of him sleeping
in his lab on your wedding night.

I've heard
the story myself.

Well, on our wedding night,
Tom and I left on the Albany, uh...

...boat.

We spent a week
in Niagara Falls.

I thought
that one week of happiness

would be enough to illuminate
an entire lifetime.

He was a dashing inventor,
and I worked for him, you know.

I was a...

I was a...

Uh...

I was a...

Yes?

Um...

I'm sorry.

I operated the...

Telegraph?

Telegraph. Yes.
Yes. Forgive me.

Does he have any hobbies?

You promised them
Coney Island.

At the very least, a walk.

We'll go on three walks tomorrow.
I promise.

Here, why don't you
take a picture?

Say what we practiced.

Do you not
love us anymore?

Do you not
love us anymore?

I love you more than anybody
has ever loved anybody before.

Slow down.

It's neuralgia,

brought on by eyestrain.

A good pair of spectacles
is all that's required.

Oh, no. I'll look awful.

No, no, no, you won't.
That's impossible.

You're sure? That's all?

She's been having
terrible headaches.

I'll leave her a vial of laudanum
until her eyes adjust.

Thank you.

Can you...

Would you mind delaying
the bill for this visit?

My son
would love an autograph.

Sure.

Christ, it's primitive.

How much did this cost?

- He won't tell me.
- What we need is here.

Edison's current can't travel
more than one mile, Frank.

It peters out. He'll have
to build so many DC motors

and bury all his copper
just to power one town.

This country will look like
a checkerboard of power plants.

But, with one AC dynamo,
we can step up the voltage

and reach as far
as the eye can see.

We string the wires
overhead on poles.

Less copper, more electricity.

We're 75% cheaper.

The only thing
that matters here is distance.

Frank, this is as much yours
as it is mine.

- I'd be proud if you'd flip the...
- I couldn't possibly.

- Oh, don't be ridiculous.
- The moment belongs to you.

- But you spent hours...
- George, it was your idea.

You were the instigator.

Shall we go for a ride?

"To the Wizard
of Menlo Park,

"as it seems
your brakes have issues,

"I would be delighted
to send my car to deliver you

"to Great Barrington,
Massachusetts,

"where I have successfully transmitted
current one full mile."

No!

How did he get the bulbs?

What a roaring silence
from the brightest minds of America.

He's using Hiram's design.

Which Hiram stole from me!

Sue him.

We already did.
The court upheld his patent.

I'm talking about Westinghouse.
Find an angle.

Take a trip to Barrington
and see for yourself.

Are you not even slightly irked
that 15 years of work

is being filched
from right under your eyes?

Not again.

I built a system here,
and he goes shopping for patents

to cobble together something
to legally steal what is mine.

If the bulbs are a battle,
then nail him on the dynamos.

We can't.

He's not even using
direct current, sir.

He's using alternating?

George Westinghouse?

George Westinghouse?

Can we help you?

I came from Thomas Edison.

He wants me to buy
one generator per mile?

And then I saw the piece
in The Globe that says

your electricity
would save 66% on Edison's.

Well,
it's a proposed saving.

And it's not my electricity.

It's electricity.

I think it makes much more sense
to the taxpayers of Columbus

to go with
Westinghouse Electric.

I don't want to compete.
I only intend to license my system.

He's got the better bulbs.

Why not compete? By now, he knows.
Edison knows, I promise you.

And the man doesn't care
about getting it right.

He just cares
about getting it.

But he doesn't respond.

Westinghouse will
never have a complete system.

He can't even power
a sewing machine.

But I can
solve that problem.

Instead of, again,
converting the currents

to work with a commutator, I would pass
alternating current differing in phase

through two or more
energizing circuits.

You're supposed to be working
on commutators with DC dynamos.

Well, I have.

Look, I have done
everything you have asked,

- but you are making a mistake.
- What?

Direct current may be fine
for cities when the build...

When the buildings are close together,
but most of your country is empty spaces.

- Only high voltage can span the distance.
- What is this?

You are not thinking
long-term.

This technology
is within your grasp.

I can build you
an efficient motor.

- Have you tried it?
- No.

Look, in my head,
it is nearly complete...

Men claim to have their heads
full of sonnets and symphonies,

but their only problem seems to be
they can't quite write it down.

- Let me try.
- No.

Because I can't start again.
I got orders from Michigan.

I got a roomful of press
waiting for me.

Do what
you were hired to do.

So, you will not honor your word
about the remuneration?

- What are you talking about?
- Well, you said $50,000.

Are you unhappy
with my contributions?

I'm not paying you $50,000.
That was a joke.

I was relying
on that income.

Coconut fibers
and horn shavings

and fishing lines
and cork and celluloid

and flax and platinum
and iron, nickel, copper, steel.

We scoured the Earth
years and years,

trying thousands,
10,000 different combinations.

Then George Westinghouse
saw how I did it

and put on a pirate hat.

You get vultures in every venture,
but you just got to keep 'em away.

So, this is just
how it works?

Mapmakers include mistakes in their work
to see if anyone else is copying them.

I don't have that luxury.

I can't invent streets
to lead the world down.

Otherwise, we all end up
in the dark.

Good, and remember,

as much as you can
about how he's infringing.

Thank you, Mr. Edison,
and thanks for this.

Did I mention
that his system's lethal?

Now, you reach out and touch
a doorknob or a rail, and...

Well, you become the circuit.

Just to be clear
on that point...

Well, you die.

You know, with DC current,
you can reach out

and touch anything
at any stage of the line

with your bare hands.
It's safe, it works,

and it bears the name of Edison,
so it's pretty.

Our government has been trying
for some time now

to get me to invent a weapon,

but I won't use this brain
to invent anything that hurts people.

For that,
you can shop in Pittsburgh.

So you say Westinghouse
wants to hurt people?

No, I can't say that.

But you can.

This is what
he thinks of you.

Issue a statement
to the papers today.

Refute his charges.

I'm not going
to engage with this.

We have the better system.
That speaks loudest.

Westinghouse Electric Company
was founded

at a quarter past 9:00.

Hello. I'm George Westinghouse.
Do we have an appointment?

North Dakota.

New Orleans.

Fort Worth.

Sioux City.

You want the good news
or the good news?

Forever, hurrah,
boys, hurrah...

There's always more to see.

Mr. and Mrs. Worthington,
Mr. Manesberg,

Mr. McCoy, Mr. Faulk,
Miss Faulk, enjoy your evening.

We've been
spending all our time

trying to nab him
on what's in the glass bubble

when we should have been looking
at the clear opposite end of the bulb,

- the corkscrew.
- I own that.

That you do.

He's suing you.

This is a massive lawsuit.
This is Edison and Morgan.

My advice, is there any way
that you can think of

to beat gravity,
other than a corkscrew?

Westinghouse designed a stopper
to get around your corkscrew.

It's only a matter of time
before they're everywhere.

To tell you the truth,
I am mostly looking forward

to using it
at the lumber mills.

Well, at the moment,
we offer only light.

In time, we'll move on
to motorized tools and appliances.

When? I don't care
what light costs.

My home's on gas. I'm after productivity.
I don't understand.

Edison said that electricity
can already be used in the factories.

Well, his can.

I need to see
this needle move.

I can't step the voltage down
without blowing the whole thing to pieces.

Come on! You must have
made some progress.

It's just not ready.

Kill it! Kill it!

There has to be
a solution out there.

The Nikola Tesla
Electric Light Company.

How does that sound?

When can you bring arcs
to production?

Arc lighting?

I believe
we agreed to compete

for incandescents,
motors, and distribution.

Leave that to Edison.

I am working on advanced
methods to surpass him.

To beat Edison? How soon?

Only a few years.
I need a lab, engineers, supplies.

There are,
of course, expenses.

Oh, where do you get the cash
for those fancy silks?

How I spend my income
is my concern.

Look, Mr. Tesla,
if you need cash now,

you should
sell us your patents.

- And what would I receive?
- Stock.

And later, if you succeed,
you could sell it for a killing.

That means a fortune.

Yes, I know
what an idiom is.

We'll take on two-thirds
of the risk.

It's a good price for the only thing
you have to sell.

"Congestion of the brain?"

Well, what does that
even mean?

There's a... An occlusion,
hidden, and it expands.

Her eyesight
will likely go first,

and then her vocabulary
will fall away.

I can't lose her.

I'm working on a raised alphabet.
I'll make her a dictionary.

She'll gradually
lose her mobility.

I'll build her an elevator.

Mr. Edison,

what your wife needs,
no man can build.

What my wife needs,
according to you,

is a simple pair
of spectacles.

Nature will
take its course.

I, uh...

I have to leave
for New York tonight.

It can't be avoided.

I will attend to her
while you're away, but...

Don't linger.

Ohio is going
with Westinghouse.

- Columbus, Zanesville.
- Zanesville?

- Give it to him.
- That isn't funny.

We don't know something is a pattern
until it happens again,

which I sincerely hope
it does not.

Now, you tell me, what is he doing right
that you're doing wrong?

He is successfully
selling machines

that will result in the accidental deaths
of human beings.

- Where are these deaths?
- Where are these deaths?

Why don't we switch now
and then you get to shoulder

the inevitable suits
of manslaughter?

I think that people
aren't dying

because it's not as dangerous
as you wish it were.

All right,
he's beating us on costs

but that is
a temporary advantage.

You give me enough time,
I'll make ours so cheap

that only the rich
will burn candles.

And until then,
you bleed cities to Westinghouse.

- I'm not a bank.
- That is exactly what you are.

We could have had
this conversation by telephone

instead of you
wasting my time.

Well, when I want
to see someone, he comes.

Eye to eye.
That's how it works.

No, here's how it works.
I build miracles,

and you continue to give me as much
goddamn money as I want.

Oh, what?
Did I squander another town?

All right, what did I lose?

- What's a bureau?
- It's what's under your barrette.

It's started.
Say something.

Can I get you to promise
on here that you'll build me a fence?

The ground's frozen.
Needs to thaw.

Look, you're missing it!

- What's a bureau?
- It's what's under your barrette.

It's started.
Say something.

Can I get you to promise
on here that you'll build me a fence?

Can I get you
anything, sir?

A time machine.

Yes, well,
if I ever find one,

I'll travel back
to this moment

and give it to you.

Did you read
over the proposal?

I'm not diverting what I've got left
of my resources in lighting up a fair.

It's much more
than a fair, sir.

A third of this country
will get on trains to Chicago

to try and see
this city of light.

Every window,
every streetlamp,

a sign that says
the race is over and we won.

Why spend your final dollars
traveling this country

to show everyone
your electricity

when they're all traveling
to the same place

to try and see it anyway?

Because in a year,
they'll rip it down.

Only after 30 million people
have seen it, yes.

Westinghouse is
placing a bid.

Nice hat.
Looks expensive.

I owned this before I worked
for you, Mr. Edison.

I don't think
you are working for me.

- He's still using my bulbs.
- His patents are in order.

Do you want my advice?

You keep saying Westinghouse's current
will kill people.

So, in lieu of evidence,
why don't you provide it?

We're doing this because

when we have a complete system,
it works,

and it's Edison...

Poor bastard.

Well, he was going to be
slaughtered anyway.

He's not going to feel
any pain, right?

At 3,000 volts,
it'll be over before it begins.

So there's nothing
to worry about.

But these are reporters,

so you might want
to liven up a little bit.

- Welcome to Menlo Park.
- How are you, sir?

Thank you for coming out
on this cold morning.

Good to see you again.

- Good morning.
- Morning.

- I'm Southwick Brown.
- A pleasure.

Now, you you might all want to
stand back a little bit.

Gus is being connected
to the same current

that Westinghouse
uses for his generator,

but there's no word yet coined
to define death by electricity.

So, I asked the men
who write the dictionaries

and I heard back
"electro-dite,"

"electro-cremate,"
and "dyno-mort."

But just as Joe Guillotin
got his name on his invention,

how could we rob
the rightful inventor

of death by electricity
of his due credit?

I ask you to please be respectful
as we Westinghouse this horse.

Mr. Edison,
Southwick Brown.

Capital Punishment
Commission.

You've read, no doubt,

of the botched hangings
throughout the Northeast.

The prisoners
either choke to death

or are violently decapitated.

The spectacle is inhumane.

But the horse, his death was so calm,
you could call it...

...poetic.

The governor of New York,

upon my
personal recommendation,

would like to explore
a death device,

which uses electricity
on a human being.

It would be our honor
to award you the contract.

- If nothing else, a pleasure.
- I beg your pardon.

To kill a human being
under the guise of justice is...

Is cockeyed.

There's a big difference
between a horse and a person.

God humanely brings us
into this world.

Why would you reject
the opportunity

to be the first man
to humanely take us out of it?

William.

I killed my wife.

I'm turning the handle.

Maybe there's more
to it than that.

If I'm doing it wrong,

you'll never know I was fooling around
with your phonogram or gramophone,

whatever you
end up calling it.

And what is
this thing, really?

Today's Mary is speaking
to tomorrow's Tom.

Or from where you sit, today's Tom
is listening to yesterday's Mary.

I wonder what else
you can do with it.

Mr. Tesla,

my son and his idiot friend tell me
you don't want to make arc lights anymore.

Is that true?

Well, don't look at him,
look at me.

I'm your
primary shareholder.

No, I already completed
the arc light project.

Completed?
You covered one city.

Rahway, New Jersey.

For the love of God,
think bigger. Philadelphia.

You design arc lights to outfit cities.
That was your only job.

No. My AC motor.

- Okay? We agreed...
- No, I never agreed to anything.

In this office,
you said...

Ah.

Lane, could you
wait outside for a moment?

I'm sorry. Don't you realize
you're being fired here?

No.

Please, let me work through
what I have in my head.

I will make you the greatest
provider of electrical power in the world.

Better than Edison.

I'm so close,
just a few months.

I mean, you drop in here
like you're from Neptune,

like you got a great vision
of the future

- no one understands but you.
- Please don't touch that.

You're just an immigrant.

Head full of notions,
looking for a handout.

You're not Edison,
there's only one Edison.

That's why he's him.
There's millions of you.

Big ideas.

But you can't see the real force
that moves things,

and it's not AC/DC,
it's not currents.

It's currency.

And that's the only motor
I'm interested in.

These patents belong
to the Tesla Electric Light Company.

Which is now the Union Electric
and Manufacturing Company,

and I own everything
in this office.

Patents, designs,
engineers, all mine.

Never going to be anything
named Tesla ever again.

You take your notions and go back
where you came from.

Someday I'd like
to see Niagara Falls,

when it is frozen over,
like someone stopped the...

He's snapping up town
after town.

Cats, dogs, sheep, 11 horses.
What more do people need to see?

The problem is, is no one's
actually dying from alternating,

apart from your cats, dogs,
sheep, and 11 horses.

- Sir, I realize I'm only your secretary...
- Just say it.

Bring the phonograph
to market.

You can make your own money.

- No, it needs too many improvements.
- Make them, sir.

Bell is ripping you off.

Graphophone?
He just switched the name.

Then direct me to a store
where I can buy yours,

and I won't give him
the business.

You have a real offer
on the table here.

Half a million dollars.

Sir, take the money.
You need it.

If Bell ripped you off
with the telephone,

he'll do it again
with the graphophone.

Did you just
misspeak intentionally?

Do you want Chicago?

All right, I'm ready.

A dollar a ball?

So, what's your trade?

Inventor.

I fix problems for idiots.

Imagine dictation without the aid
of a stenographer.

Phonographic books
that will speak to blind people.

Reproduction of music,
talking toys.

Clocks that will
announce the time.

Preservation of dying languages.
Teaching of elocution...

- You hustled us.
- Yes. No.

I didn't come
all this way to lose.

The final capturing
of the dying words of your loved ones.

Mary had a little lamb,
whose fleece was white as snow.

And everywhere that Mary went,
the lamb was sure to go.

Well, it's either
not possible,

or I'm not the engineer
I thought I was.

He's traveling around the country,
cooking up cats.

George, he's playing dirty.
You can, too.

Mmm.

You know, when I was a boy,
my father...

He tried to whip me
with a branch.

But after the first hit,
it broke into three little pieces.

And we just stood there,

looking at this shattered stick
on the ground.

And then I noticed there was
a leather strap hanging on the wall.

So I pointed to it and said,
"Look, that's the better one."

And he stopped.

I can take a beating,

but I have no patience
for shoddy craftsmanship.

You are going
to have a working motor

sitting next
to your display in Chicago,

come hell, high water,
or the Wizard of Menlo Park.

- Good night, Frank.
- Good night.

So, you admit
Edison was right?

We will remember
Franklin Pope

for his fearless dedication
to moving us forward.

He tried to see what was hiding
in plain sight...

Today, I am...

...filled less with grief
than anger,

because what happened
could have been avoided.

Hear me now as you have never
heard me before.

As I breathe,

as long as Westinghouse
stays in business,

more people will die.

My condolences.

Sounds like he was more
than just an employee.

What was his name?
Franklin Popes?

Pope. Just one.

It's a shame.

Mmm.

But I'm here to help.

Now, I know that you, uh...
You wish Edison would quiet down.

So let me combine your companies.
Let me clean up the mess.

You really think Westinghouse Electric
is worth $5 million?

The value of something
is the highest number

someone else
is willing to pay.

But 800 men
will lose their livelihoods.

I will keep your workers.

I will not make the same promise
for your five-day workweek.

Mmm.

Seems like you're amenable.

Which current will you use?

Whichever Edison selects,
I suppose.

You've crossed into territory
for the Confederacy.

No, I, uh...

I think you're mistaken.
According to my map here...

Though I mourn
the loss of my colleague,

misfortune does not
trump progress.

Now, it seems to me that Mr. Edison
puts his name on everything

because he's terrified
of being forgotten.

If you want to be remembered,
it's simple. Shoot a president.

But if you prefer to have
what I call a legacy,

you leave the world
a better place than you found it.

Thomas Alva Edison
is a charlatan

who preys on the fears
of the common man

because I have
the better system.

And because I do have
the better system,

Westinghouse Electric
shall endure.

Good day.

Westinghouse
has taken the lead.

He's not going away.

And while I appreciate
your lights, Mr. Edison,

I'm also your customer.

If someone comes to my door
and offers me something that I need

that is better than what I have now,
at a cheaper price,

why, I'd be a fool
not to invite him in for tea.

- Is this an ultimatum?
- More of a threat.

If you maintain that fear
is the best strategy,

then you'd better hurry up
and try harder.

Time's up.

A man who is handsome
and clever

built a box with a crank and
a lever to store his wife's voice.

But he made a poor choice,

because now
she can tease him forever.

I couldn't stop it
if I wanted to.

Which I don't,

because I think
it's a remarkable gift.

Electricity will kill
that man in Buffalo.

All we need is your advice,
Mr. Edison.

Where to put the electrodes.
How much is humane?

And in exchange, I promise you
something that I know you want.

Otherwise, you wouldn't
let me talk to you.

I will put
the Westinghouse name

right out front
as the official electricity

used to kill human beings.

My name must never be
associated with this.

I did not provide
any consultation,

and you will advertise that Westinghouse
is the best way to take a human life.

You guarantee
your assistance?

If you ask a question,
I'll reply.

Burn the correspondence.

Absolutely.

Fauteuils
and blue-painted bergère.

I sold three sets of these
last week alone.

Oh, uh, this is your
classic spindle back. Oh, yes.

And these are framed Cockpen.
Yeah, quite popular.

Oh, deportment style.

Would you like four,
six, eight, twelve?

Just one.

Mr. Brown, the apparatus
consists of a stationary engine,

a Westinghouse alternating dynamo
capable of generating 3,000 volts,

wood chair with headrest, binding straps,
and adjustable electrodes.

Burn. TAE.

"The voltmeter, ammeter,
and switchboard controlling the current

"should be located
in the execution room for monitoring.

"Burn. TAE."

"The dynamo room is communicated
by electric signals.

"Burn. TAE."

"The most
effective machines...

"manufactured
by Westinghouse...

"Burn. TAE."

"I authorize payment
of $3,600 for your efforts.

"Burn. TAE."

"Mr. Brown, the only argument
which can be urged

"against Westinghouse
on the score of cruel punishment

"is that the flesh may burn
at the points of contact

"and the amount of current
which can be given

"without such mutilation
is not yet known.

"Burn. TAE."

For someone who's trying to compete
for the World's Fair,

this death chair business
doesn't look good.

Yeah, I know.

It's just Edison trying
to smear me as usual.

- Can you prove it?
- No.

But I was thinking
maybe I could stop it.

You mean me?

If you want my advice,
don't hire me. Save your money.

But I do know a man
who could determine whether Edison

has an exploitable connection
with the death chair.

No, I was thinking we could
stop him via legal means.

- You want me to put Edison on trial?
- No.

The chair itself.
The Eighth Amendment.

So I'm to get an axe murderer
who readily admits he slaughtered his wife

a what?
A sustainment?

This is about showing what kind of
a man is Thomas Edison.

You just keep
my name out of it.

Does your wife know
you're paying for this?

It was her idea.

The State calls
Thomas Alva Edison.

Will you explain, generally,

the difference between
your continuous current

and Mr. Westinghouse's
alternating electricity?

A continuous current flows
like water through a pipe,

and alternating current
flows in both directions.

Water? That doesn't
sound so dangerous.

Not until you drown.

Suppose you took this
wicked Westinghouse current,

the one that is going to be used
on Mr. Kemmler here.

Now, suppose you kept it up
for five or six minutes

at 1,500 volts,

how long would it take
before he would feel the heat?

Well, the temperature
might rise

four or five degrees
above normal

and continue
until he was mummified.

And this wouldn't cause
considerable pain?

- It would not.
- How do you know?

Because I personally
observed such electricity

being used to execute
a thousand-pound horse.

And did the horse
feel pain?

If he did,
he didn't mention it.

Now, Mr. Edison,
there is a great degree of feeling

between you
and Mr. Westinghouse.

I do not dislike
Mr. Westinghouse.

There's a contest
between you two, isn't there?

That is not
what this is about.

I've been asked
as a dispassionate scientist

to advise
on the simple question

of whether death
by electricity

is a violation of the Eighth Amendment
and is cruel and unusual.

In my expert opinion,

the only humane method
of execution

is Westinghouse
alternating current.

Your Honor, Mr. Edison knows that
any current over 30 amperes...

Milliamperes.
If you're going to interrupt,

at least do so
in the proper denominations.

- Well, thank you, Your Honor.
- It's my honor.

All right. That's all I need to hear.

Mr. Edison,
can I get a comment?

What do you two
lowlifes want, huh?

- Mr. Edison.
- What?

- Mr. Edison.
- Huh?

Now, look...

I thought you were going to
leave before I had a chance.

Mr. Edison,
can I get your autograph?

Yeah, sure, I...

William, do you mind?

Thank you. Thank you.

Use this.

I should warn you,

there's one thing
that always beats justice.

Money?

Fame.

Oh, is that
a New Model Army revolver?

What a lovely machine
that is.

- You know how it works?
- You want me to show you?

Oh, I didn't mean how it fires.
I simply meant how it works.

It's quite a device.
You should have a look.

You see,
they designed the cylinder

so the hammer doesn't have to sit
in an empty chamber.

Edison lied
on the stand.

If you're going to take your shot,
now is the last time to fire.

Sometimes, we have to work outside
of the rules to get what's right.

It would be nice
if we didn't have to.

Wouldn't it?

Look, this doesn't
make you like him.

Mmm.

So, what will it be?

In my bad ear,
it sounded extraordinary.

Father.

Hello.

"The apparatus consists
of a stationary engine,

"a Westinghouse alternating dynamo
capable of generating 3,000 volts,

"wood chair with headrest."

Where did you get that?

I'm sending them
to the paper.

Those letters are stolen.

- You can't publish them.
- Why not?

Because they're private
correspondences.

Mr. Edison, you say something
about me or my company again,

I would ask that
you tell the truth.

That would be
the decent thing to do.

Wouldn't it?

Why didn't you
burn the letters?

They were
from Thomas Edison.

I don't think you appreciate
that this chair is something

to be proud of
and remembered for.

I don't even know
how much electricity you need to use.

- You said 1,500 volts.
- I said I think 1,500 volts.

But if all the water
in his body evaporates,

- then he may ignite.
- So we lower the amount.

And then you slowly
roast him to death.

Listen,
you must listen to me.

What you're going
to do is wrong.

Now, you said that it's inevitable
and somebody else will do it.

But just because
somebody else is gonna do it

doesn't mean that
you have to.

The state thanks you
for your expert opinion and your help.

What?

- It's not my place to say.
- Say it.

You said you'd never build
a device that would kill anyone.

I make something impossible,
and they rip it away from me,

so I do it again,
and they do it again

and again and again.

But this isn't like
everything else.

This is everything else.

Our future's not going
to be paved with bricks,

but with copper.

Automation, transportation,
communication.

And the man that controls that current
controls that future.

But you know
Westinghouse is right.

You don't actually believe
that a few accidents

rule out the viability of his current.
You just don't want to lose.

I have merely amplified what no one
else was willing to take seriously.

No, what you did
was run him over

- with a 12-ton train.
- Oh, well.

He's the one that's supposed
to only make brakes,

so who's to blame here?

Switch tonight,
and you win.

His current kills people.

Only because
you said it will!

Listen, I either stop complaining
about the scavengers in my garden

or build a wall
so damn high

that people will never
even dare to scale it.

You are the smartest man
I know.

Beyond building miracles
out of thin air,

I was most impressed
by your principles.

You didn't invent
the incandescent.

People just think you did.

Let me welcome you to the reality of
how things come into existence.

We all contribute.
That's what invention is.

The salt, the grain,
the heat, the heart.

But only one man
makes the bread rise.

That's the one
that puts it all together,

makes it taste so damn good
that people will go out there

and hand over
their hard-won dollars to buy it.

Mr. Edison, I want you
to succeed, I do.

But you have
to switch tonight,

or you'll die as P.T. Barnum
rather than Sir Isaac Newton.

Though he may be
unfamiliar to you,

his studies have demonstrated
an understanding of electrical matters

unlike anyone I have ever known,
with respect to the assembled.

Gentlemen and lady,

Nikola Tesla.

Straight to our
ultimate question.

Yes or no,

can alternating currents
operate a motor?

Yes.

Now, anyone who builds
an alternating system

will be able to do what Edison can
for only a third of the cost.

In Figure 2
of my polyphase system,

the armature coils are shown
in a more advanced position.

2A illustrates
the corresponding magnetic

condition of the ring.
A synchronous motor...

...a laminated ring provided
with pole projections...

The induction is
of an ideal character,

being always maintained
at its maximum action.

Mr. Tesla, have you actually built
the motor to test your theories?

Well, they are not theories.
No, I have not built it.

- But that would prove your beliefs.
- But they are not beliefs.

And it is absolutely
immaterial to me

whether I run the motor
in my mind or in a shop,

for I have built it already
in my imagination,

and it is perfect.

- Are you serious?
- Almost always.

Hello,
I'm George Westinghouse.

- George Westinghouse.
- Mmm-hmm.

An engine that compresses air
into a tank,

which is taken via pipe
to each brake on the train,

allowing them
to operate simultaneously.

Smart design.

Thank you.

Please.

I think this entire room
is slanted two degrees.

I sincerely appreciate you

taking the time
to meet with me.

Are you going somewhere?

Oh.

This is it?

- It's Niagara Falls.
- Yeah.

And ever since my school days,
I have pictured in my imagination

a big wheel
spinning out lightning.

Did you know that when
I first came to this country,

- I worked for Mr. Edison?
- I did not.

- Tea?
- Sure.

I fixed two of his DC generators
in one night,

and he called me
"a damn good man."

So, why did he not treat me
that way? I quit.

Tried my own company
and was deceived. Who was I?

Some immigrant.

So I took the only job
I could find, digging a ditch.

The men laughed
at my fine clothes,

but at the end of the day,
I had two dollars.

What was the ditch
to be used for?

Edison Electric.

It felt like digging
my own grave.

If Mr. Edison succeeds,
he will set us back so far,

we may never recover.

The fair must be alternating.
It must be my motor.

I have watched as the world talks
of Chicago as a symbol,

a city of light.

All cities will have light
in your lifetime,

but harnessing
the power of Niagara,

that is to see our future.

The falls?

I'm here to talk
about Chicago.

Think beyond Chicago.

Energy is as fundamental
as food, as water, as air.

You can... You cannot say
that only those with money

can eat or can breathe.

Yes, the falls will light up
the Eastern Seaboard.

Yes, there is
a great fortune to be made,

and I covet a very nice walking stick
I saw on 63rd and Madison,

but Niagara is the proof that one day
we may detach power from profit.

- That is how you truly win.
- Mmm.

- How do I know you will not cheat me?
- Well...

You don't.

But the fact is, Mr. Tesla,
I need your motor.

I may be able to light up the fair,
but I still can't move a machine.

If we cannot reach
an agreement today,

my company will die right here
in your hotel room.

But if it does perish,
so might your dream

of harnessing power
from Niagara.

So, do we have a deal?

Five thousand.

One thousand.

Yeah.

I'll give you $2.50.

Per horsepower.

I'm no genius myself,
but that should be millions.

May I treat you to dinner at Delmonico's?

All right, Mr. Tesla,
time to go.

No, I will not leave
your slanted room.

He hasn't paid his bill
in over a month.

Well, how much would it cost
to keep him here for the year?

I need to shed 300 men
from the gas company.

There's no way around it.

So, we pay their salaries
and move them to electricity.

We can't keep doing this.

If we win,
we won't have to.

You have truth
on your side.

And whatever happens,

you know you never
did anything

but play fair.

I stole the letters

linking Edison
to the death chair.

I gave them to the papers
to smudge him.

I know you're disappointed
in me.

What am I
looking at here?

An 80-foot-tall tower,

covered with 16,000 Edison bulbs,
topped with an eight-foot lighthouse,

that signals to the world
that we are the victors.

Otherwise, how will people
know that we won?

It's an idol.

It's a signature.

And you'll get something
that no one's ever received

from Thomas Edison before.

- Oh, yes? What's that?
- An apology.

I admit the spending has been
more than I anticipated,

but now more than ever,

it's important
you must push through.

Whatever Westinghouse
is bidding for the fair, we...

You must bid more.

I must?

"Must."

Who's Nikola Tesla?

What about him?

Well, he gave
a talk at Columbia.

Word is the Serb is building
Westinghouse a polyphase motor.

Light and power.

You can do both.
He now may as well.

Who even knows how long it'll take them
to build a functioning model...

As of this morning,
you have ceded, I have here,

nine more cities
to Westinghouse.

So,
here's what's happening.

I am merging Edison Electric
with some of the other ankle biters.

You are out.

Do you know why?

And I'm happy to tell you,

if you require this moment
to be even more unpleasant.

You will receive stock

and you will retain
a seat on the board.

Who's going
to present? You?

Good God, no.

- You tell me now.
- I was here.

I thought you deserved
to hear it face-to-face.

No, you didn't.

You just wanted
to waste my time

and get me to sign
autographs for children.

What are you going
to call it, then?

- That's your concern?
- Edison Electric. It has to be.

Edison and electricity
are synonymous, Morgan.

Do not attach a losing name
to a fledgling enterprise.

Now that your letters
have leaked,

- you've lost credibility.
- So, what is it?

- The name?
- Yes, the goddamn name!

On the contracts,
it just says "General Electric,"

but I'll think of something.
I can be creative, too.

Yeah.

Mr. Insull.

A word.

Damn it!

He said they'd keep your name attached
as long as you didn't pursue action

or speak negatively to the press
about the merger.

What did he offer you?

Tell me.

Vice president,
but I turned it down.

- You should take it.
- Why?

Alternating current,
what's the transmission voltage?

230,000 volts.

What's the filament
on a 12,000-hour lamp?

- Carbonized Japanese bamboo.
- What do I eat for breakfast?

- Pie.
- So, what's the surprise?

Of course, he needs you.
You're me but a human being.

Look around the room.

Who's missing?

Edison General
Electric Company, please.

General Electric?

Edison General
Electric Company?

- Yes.
- Ah.

Hi. Excuse me.

He's 12.

Mr. Insull, these are
the committee members

- of Grounds and Buildings...
- Listen closely.

Focus on the quality
of the light.

I don't care
what the courts say.

Westinghouse ripped off
my bulbs,

and the good news for you
is he did a terrible job.

They're outdoor bulbs,
so they have a life of about two hours.

So, focus on
the replacement time.

Talk about the superiority of
ours as if there's no competition.

Use terms like, "standard," "purest,"
and "the most beautiful light," etc.

Find out what kind of men they are.
There are really only two types.

The first believe themselves
to be practical,

but they're secret dreamers.

They're the ones
who will take the risks.

The second, well, they'll smile
and thank you for the show,

but they'll vote
with their wallets.

Now, unless Westinghouse is mortgaging
everything he's worth on this bid,

Morgan has you in good stead
with the moneymen.

So, your only real job is
to look the dreamers in the eye

and promise them magic.

Now, explain back to me

everything that you remember
about a parallel

and series of electric circuits using
none of the words I just said.

Should you choose
Westinghouse, then...

Then, yes, there is a possibility
you'll be putting in jeopardy

the lives
of 28 million people.

Even if Westinghouse were
to make even the smallest of errors,

unintentional, of course,

a visiting politician, a wife,
even a seven-year-old girl

may lean against a lamp post
and be struck dead immediately.

There you have it.

Mr. Westinghouse's brand
of electricity is fatal.

Thank you, Mr. Insull.

Just to be clear, sir,
any electrical current

over 200 milliamperes
can be deadly.

Even yours?

Mr. Westinghouse, these are
the committee members

of Grounds and Buildings,
Charles Schwab, Craig Cannon,

- Mayor Cregier, of course.
- Of course.

Victor Lawson
of the Chicago Daily News,

and the Honorable
Judge Tree.

Respectfully, we ask that you
please keep your remarks to one hour.

That won't be necessary.

- There you go. Sir.
- Thank you.

Hmm.

My bid.

- These are all your figures?
- Yes, sir.

Independent estimates.

Let us begin with this most
general question.

Why should we grant
Westinghouse Electric

the contract
for the World's Fair?

Well, I guess because our system
works significantly better.

And, uh...

Because our system
is significantly cheaper.

Mr. Schwab, Mr. Higinbotham,
Mr. Cannon,

Mayor Cregier, Mr. Lawson,

Judge Tree,
and Mr. Burnham,

thank you very much for your time
and your consideration.

Financially, it's clear.
We just take the better bid.

- Look, Westinghouse is dangerous.
- Potentially dangerous.

You even printed it
in your own paper.

Alternating will be used
to kill that man in Buffalo.

They both
light up lights, right?

Westinghouse will
save us some money.

Thomas Edison sells tickets.

What I wouldn't give
to flip through that.

It's like a handbook
to the future, isn't it?

We need
a clear majority, gentlemen.

- Don't you have stock in GE?
- That's irrelevant.

No one has ever done
what you have done for me.

Well, the value of something
isn't what someone's willing to pay,

but the value of something
is what it contributes.

When we vote again,

Burnham, you can telephone
the winner tonight.

Is it true you were born
during a lightning storm?

It is true.

Hmm.

All right. Tell me
one thing in that book.

Look, you and Mr. Edison, you spend
all your time on either end of the system,

the dynamos and the lamps.

But what about
what is in between?

- The wires?
- Mmm.

Do we need them?

Is that a New Model
Army revolver?

You know how it works?

You see,
they designed the cylinder

so the hammer doesn't have
to sit in an empty chamber.

The problem is, despite
all the advantages of the Remington,

it doesn't fix the fact

that you just dampened
your gunpowder.

What's this?

This is gonna do
for the eye

what the phonograph
did for the ear.

Again.

Again!

Do you have any final words?

I believe
I'm going to a better place.

Goodbye, William.

We live
in a higher civilization

from this day.

"An awful spectacle,
far worse than hanging.

"George Westinghouse,

"'They would have
done better with an axe.'

"Sizzling sound.

"A billow of smoke that filled the room
with the odor of burning hair."

Well, at least it happened
to a murderer.

At least they'll never
use it again to kill anyone.

And soon all these people
will have electric light,

and no one will even remember
it ever happened.

I have books
so full of ideas,

it would take me more than 12 lifetimes
to execute them.

So let the man have
his fair and waterfall.

Well, for what it's worth,

I'd much rather have worked for you
than Westinghouse any day.

Why is that?

Well, I wouldn't have had
as much fun, would I?

Have you seen
much of the fair?

A Muybridge lecture,
"Little Egypt."

Oh, the dancer?

- You saw her?
- No.

Oh, she was...

If you get the time.

Hmm.

Don't you think a fence
is a unique creation?

Your neighbor puts one up,
and suddenly one becomes two.

You also have a fence.

There's only one problem.

See, one person on one side
of the fence designed it,

one person
on one side built it,

and one person
paid for it,

and yet the other person
receives a fine, free fence.

I didn't take your ideas.

Mr. Edison?

Sure.

Thank you.

You know, I was wondering
about one thing.

Oh, I'm sure
there were many.

I was gonna
invite you to dinner.

Again.

But I suppose now
is as good a time as any.

You want to know what was
in the 13-hour bulb?

- I know how it works.
- Yeah, I know you do.

I only wondered
what it felt like.

- What?
- The bulb.

When you knew.

What was the feeling
in that moment?

I can't tell you.
I mean...

It's impossible
to describe the feeling,

because it was impossible.

Years of work.

10,000
different filaments.

When the thread went
in the bulb, as usual,

we placed our bets,

and the generator sputtered
to life, and the ball began to glow,

we didn't expect anything
but another failure.

Then something
started to happen.

See, our best filament
only lasted ten minutes,

and this fluke
was rounding 20,

so people started
to chatter.

And 30 minutes, 40 minutes,
an hour, two hours...

Then people
started to shout.

And remember, we hadn't
got past ten minutes.

The boys
were climbing up the walls,

tearing their hair out...

Because it was impossible.

Seven hours,
eight hours, nine.

We were silent
when we hit ten.

Just sat around
that glowing bubble,

drunk on our own magic,
staring at it like...

I don't know, like it was
the baby Jesus playing Mozart.

After 13 and a half hours,
the glass cracked, and I knew it.

The world would never
be the same.

I'm working
on something now,

something so new that...

People will forget my name
was ever associated with electricity.

I wonder if you know
what it is yet.

You know,
I think the solution is

to divide the cost
of the fence.

Or you could not build
a fence at all.

Your garden would be
twice as big.

Wouldn't it, Tom?

If nothing else,
a pleasure.

Enjoy the fair, George.

Mr. Edison.

We build monuments
to speak to the future,

to say we were here,

we have lived.

Our true legacy isn't what
we build up to the heavens

or carve deep into stone.

Rocks will crumble,

paper disintegrates,

and bone turns to powder.

Only that which isn't
in the physical realm

and reaches in both directions
can be eternal.

Our ideas.

They are what
we leave behind.

And only they are what
can push us forward.