Not only did I get the joy of watching once again one of the best movies to have ever been released -- to remember how enthralled I was by the performances of Tom Hulce, F. Murray Abraham and Elizabeth Berridge (unfortunately, most reviewers tend to exclude her contribution to this movie, but her performance as Constanza, Mozart's wife, is as powerful as the others) -- but the extras (behind the scenes, the commentaries) added to my delight.

I truly find it hard to put into words how wonderful this movie is. I have spent the last 20 years telling people "Trust me, just watch it, and you will understand what I am talking about." It is more than just a grand journey through the worlds of these two men (yes, granted, told from a "movie" point-of-view). The entire package, from the scenery, the costumes, the story and THE MUSIC, THE MUSIC, THE MUSIC!!! shows you how a movie should and can be produced. Even if you can't stand classical music, you will adore the wonder that is Mozart.

Please -- I'm begging you -- WATCH THIS MOVIE. You will NOT be disappointed!!!

a mythical, fabulous portrait of genius (Rating: 5.00)
Review : Peter Shaffer wrote the "Amadeus" screenplay based on his play, which is a quirky, fanciful vision of Mozart and Salieri, and how God gave Mozart the gift of musical genius despite his character flaws, but bypassed Salieri, who tried to strike a deal with the Almighty, vowing pious devotion, if He would only grant him brilliance and fame.
F. Murray Abraham is marvelous portraying Salieri's pride and envy, and having to suffer the indignity of mediocrity; the part garnered him a Best Actor Oscar and a Golden Globe, among other awards, and as Mozart, Tom Hulce is stupendous, with his high pitched raucous giggle, fluffy wigs, and energetic appeal.
Others in the cast of note are Elizabeth Berridge, excellent as Mozart's wife Constanza, and Roy Dotrice as his stern father Leopold.

The biggest star of the film however, is the music...the glorious sounds of Mozart's operas, and his magnificent Requiem. Many of my favorite scenes are depicted, from the ballet music from "The Marriage of Figaro", to "Don Giovanni a cenar teco", as well as portions of "The Marriage of Figaro", "The Magic Flute", and much more.
Some of the great voices heard are Samuel Ramey (Figaro), Richard Stilwell (Count Almaviva / Don Giovanni), June Anderson (Queen of the Night), Brian Kay (Papageno) and Gillian Fisher (Papagena), though the parts on screen are played by actors, and not those singing.

Twyla Tharp's choreography is fresh and exhilarating, Miroslav Ondricek's cinematography is exquisite, and Milos Forman's direction imaginative and well paced.
As well as Best Actor, the Academy bestowed Oscars for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Art Direction/Set Decoration, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup, Best Sound, all well deserved.
Total running time is 160 minutes.

A Movie by Salieris (Rating: 3.00)
Review : High-spirited and nearly irresistible, "Amadeus" flatters viewers into thinking "I would never be stupid enough to prefer Salieri to Mozart." The film is a wonderful bit of 20-20 pandering hindsight produced on an epic scale and crafted with the care and expense that only Hollywood can afford.

The film is also EXACTLY equivalent to the lead-bottomed productions the film associates with Salieri. Salieri was an immensely successful composer honored by his patron the Emperor. "Amadeus" made lots of money and won a flock of Academy Awards. Salieri re-worked musical formulas to please a tone-deaf public. Milos Forman and his crew use standard cinematic devices to please audiences uninterested in innovative filmmaking. Salieri's operas (at least as shown in the film; I don't claim to be an expert) were spectacular, over-produced and loud. "Amadeus" is spectacular, over-produced and loud.

We all chortle along knowingly with every setback Mozart suffers at the hands of his enemies, smugly aware that history has proven him superior. (One wonders if he wouldn't have preferred the cash.) I'd like to be able to test viewers to see how many could really tell the difference between an unknown work by Mozart or Salieri or any other of their contemporaries. The fact that modern viewers prefer films like "Amadeus" to anything of ambition, perception or daring doesn't make me too confident. Quite the contrary, the continued success of mediocrities like Salieri and "Amadeus" prove that flattering an audience remains perpetually profitable while challenging them a constant risk.

"Amadeus" is saved from being completely obnoxious by F. Murray Abraham's wonderful performance and implausibly lush production design. High marks too to Miroslav Ondricek's cinematography, which gives the whole movie the chilly, smooth sheen of Dresden porcelain. The editing is certainly professional and sharp--perhaps a bit too much so. Forman and his editors repeatedly cut on the beat, giving the footage the rhythms and timings of Mozart's music. As a result, the movie is something like a three-hour rock (classical?) video. The editing simply further expresses the tendency of both direction and script to grab for the obvious. Shaffer and Forman manage to make every point, with sledgehammer subtlety, but undeniable effect. The whole thing is pushy, obvious, and crass, but also entertaining as long as you don't expect too much from it. Besides, it has all those great tunes.

The Highly Dramatized Fictional Life Of Mozart (Rating: 5.00)
Review : This 1984 Milos Forman film was so popular and successful that it won Best Picture that same year. Amadeus was made into a screenplay from the play by Peter Schaffer, which made it to Broadway. At that time, it was the hottest theatrical piece. The film stars Tom Hulce as the man-child musical genius Mozart and F. Murray Abraham (Best Actor) as his jealous rival composer Antonio Salieri. The film is lush and engaging as a historical period movie and even serves as a colorful introduction to the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the greatest composer of the Classical Era (1750-1820). The movie does heighten the drama and makes fictional twists on the real life of Mozart. He was a boy genius, who could play the piano as early as age 4 and who composed his first symphony, concerto and opera all by the age of 12. He was made of music. He composed quickly from brain to music score and had a charming, witty, child-like personality. He was also a party animal and an alcoholic. He died of liver complications due to his alcoholic addiction, not because Salieri had anything to do with plotting his death. Salieri was respected and much more beloved in his time than Mozart. Salieri even taught such great names as Beethoven, Schubert and Franz Liszt. He lived in luxury while Mozart struggled financially and lived from hand to mouth and had no reason to be jealous even if Mozart's music was far superior to his.

F. Murray Abraham really delivers the performance of his life as the villainous and bitter Salieri. Salieri is so jealous of Mozart that he renounces his Catholic faith and burns a crucifix. He feels God has abandoned him because he never fulfilled his prayer of making him the most famous composer in history. Salieri makes it his life-long goal to destroy Mozart himself. His influence over the Imperial Court in Vienna, Austria, and together with the efforts of the jealous team of librettist and music directors, he sees to it that Mozart's operas, such as Le Nozze Di Figaro and Don Giovanni not enjoy the success it rightfully deserves. The film, you see, is more about Salieri than it is about Mozart. In the end, Mozart has the laught laugh as Salieri comes to believe he has killed Mozart (with the heavy burden of making him write his own Requiem Mass) and is instituted in an insane asylum. The performances are excellent, the script is terrific and the look of the film authentically 18th century. Music entirely composed by Mozart, including his Piano Concerto 20 and 22, Serenade Gran Partita For Winds, and even his German operas Abduction From The Seraglio (Die Entfurung Aus Dem Serail) and Die Zauberflote (The Magic Flute). An enjoyable classic.

F. Murray Abraham's Role of a Lifetime -- Amazing Film! (Rating: 5.00)
Review : "Amadeus" dares to tell the story of mediocrity, and in the words of the mediocre some astounding truths are told.

Essentially narrated by the aged and suicidal Salieri in a "confession" to a young priest in the "present day" (actually 1823), former musical giant (composer of the "greatest opera yet written" that has been consigned to the ashbin of history) and now a wrinkled has-been, "Amadeus" ponders the plight of an ambitious man (Salieri) confronted by genius that he can never defeat on its own terms. According to "Amadeus," the results of this clash are not pretty.

The film opens spectacularly, with Salieri screaming "Mozart" against a black screen. Soon we see Salieri, blood gushing from his self-slashed throat, being whisked through the streets of Vienna as the city dances and whirls to Mozart's exhilirating Symphony No. 25 in G Minor (don't worry -- you'll recognize it). With an amazing economy, the film, directed by Milos Forman (and adapted Paul Shaffer from his own stage work) establishes a world of wondrous palaces, hyper-elaborate dress, and astounding music. No mere costume drama, "Amadeus" drops the viewer deep into the late 18th century in Vienna, then one of the most powerful cities in Europe and a cultural touchstone for the Western world. This is the city to which all composers flock.

Salieri, with his crabbed hands and scratchy voice, tells of his early years, when he promises his soul to God in return for the ability to make music to honor God. He pledges his industry, his chastity, and his eternal devotion. And, wonder of wonders, his dad (a merchant with no ear for music) dies, choking to death at lunch! So Salieri is free to pursue his love of music, and it appears that God has granted Salieri his wish -- Salieri rises to become Court Composer for Emperor Joseph II (Jeffrey Jones).

Well regarded, Salieri has his world turned upside down by the arrival of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Tom Hulce, in an inspired casting coup). Vulgar, impulsive, hedonistic, and supremely talented, Mozart's reputation as a genius has preceded him, but Salieri is horrified to see that Mozart is (almost) as concerned with debauchery as his music. Even more horrifying, Salieri realizes that Mozart is more talented than he -- reading over Mozart's pages, Salieri groans, "It was like he was taking dictation from God."

Why, God, why? Salieri cannot fathom why God would make this creature the vehicle for such talent . . . talent that only Salieri seems to appreciate. Mozart is popular with the masses, but cannot make a big splash with the Court . . . in part because the Emperor, who defines taste for the Court, has no ear for music. When the Emperor yawns during one of Mozart's performances, Mozart is doomed. The Emperor also has some priceless advice for Mozart -- don't use so many notes, becuase the human ear can only hear so many notes before it gets tired!

Driven to despair by the continued genius flowing from Mozart's pen, Salieri rejects God and vows to destroy God's creature. What follows is a descent into madness for both Salieri and Mozart. Without getting overly sentimental, Forman and Shaffer spin a tale of surpassing beauty (Mozart's music) and tragedy (Mozart's death).

Ultimately, Salieri proclaims that he is the champion of mediocrity everywhere. As he is whisked away from the shell-shocked priest, Salieri absolves the various patients in his insane asylum, he also absolves the audience (who cannot help but feel mediocre in the face of Mozart's genius?). In a pitch-perfect note, as the screen dissolves to final black, we again hear Mozart's aggravating, infuriating high-pitched giggle, and we know that it will forever haunt Salieri.

"Amadeus" throws us into the mania of composition for both Mozart and Salieri, the world of court intrigues, and the triumphs and agonies of success and failure for composers. We understand Salieri's torture as his music grows fainter as Mozart's popularity soars -- even after Mozart's death. This is a powerful film with a surprisingly dark theme, but it is required viewing for any fan of classical music.

The soundtrack, by Sir Neville Mariner of the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, is astounding, and will have you rushing out to buy Mozart CDs as soon as the movie is over.

A Movie To Watch Over and Over (Rating: 5.00)
Review : In 1984 I was hesitant to see this film. Being a historical drama, set in 18th Century cities and costumes, you would think it would be a chatty, dry, and uninspired (not to mention that you might expect everyone to speak in British accents). Amadeus is none of those things. It is an inspired film of intelligence, probing psychological depth, and gripping darkness.

I finally saw this film on VHS in 1994, a whole decade after the theatrical release, after all the hype had dissolved.

I have been a music student since I was six years old. I've always been such an eclectic person, listening to everything from rock to classical, and absorbing myself in the lives of the great composers (Bach, Mozart, etc.) No other life in musical history is as mysterious as Mozart's, and this film brings his life... well.... back to life.

You must understand this is a work that is hard to classify as fact or fiction. While we all know Mozart died from a rheumatic fever, after his death rumors DID spread of a poisoning by Salieri. The rumor was even believed by Mozart's wife Constanze (accounts of this societal gossip is found in many books of Mozart's biography). Also, when the real-life Antonio Salieri was an old man, he was confined to an asylum, convinced that he did commit the murder (also a prooved biographical fact). This is a fact that seems to remain overlooked. Needless to say, the tale, Amadeus, is only rooted in the rantings of a paranoid, schizophrenic old man, rather than a true-to-life retelling of Mozart's road to his early death. But it does paint the picture of 18th Century Vienna "tabloid gossip" of Mozart's mysterious downfall.

If you do your research, you'll find out about the truth about Mozart's death, who was there at his side, who completed that Requiem Mass, etc. But the movie, is still a treasure. The plot is brilliant, blending fact and fiction (the word "fiction" is a little iffy) and exemplifies the ongoing debate of the popularly mediocre to the "different" genius, underestimated and underappreciated during his own time.

There is enough fact in this film to call it a historical account (e.g. Mozart's struggle with the Archbishop, domestic tension between Conztanze and her father-in-law, the banning of ballet dancing, Marie Antoinette's growing fear of her people, etc.)

Visually, this movie scores a 100% in overall artistic appeal. Filmed in the Czech Republic, you see palaces and streets that have remained unchanged since the time Mozart was alive. Too bad Mozart's native Salzburg and Vienna have visually changed so much over the past couple of centuries. The beautifully preserved Nostitz Theater in the film is even the same theater where Mozart premiered his opera Il Don Giovanni in 1789, arguably the best opera yet written. This opera (and many others) are represented in the film, carefully and masterfully choreographed by Twyla Tharp who tried, very succesfully, to recapture the dances of the 18th Century. Even the opera sets are believably "classical." Amadeus is cerainly a treat for the eyes, as well as the ears and mind.

This is not one of those costume films where the actors sound British. The actors speak in North American dilect (with the exception of the actors that play the "Court people" of course) maximizing the American-viewer appeal. The reason for the different dialects, the producers say, is because in 18th Century Europe, many dialects of one language were prevalent: "A West German would never be able to understand an East German."

Everything in the film looks just perfect: from the number of candles in the chandeliers, to the wigs, to the music, to the way the people talk. Also, Don't miss the "Amadeus: Director's Cut" with an additional 20 minutes of original scenes that were cut in 1984. It was in theaters and the DVD should be out soon. It helps make the cause of the feud between Constanze Mozart and Antonio Salieri more lucid. Plus other scenes where the financially ruined Mozart stops a piano lesson-gone-wrong, and then beggs the student's father, a nobleman, for money. Also, the opera sequences are lengthened. The DVD release of the Director's Cut is not to be missed.

Amadeus (1984) is also a sure hit in trying to get young children interested in musical classics, especially if your kid's complaining about his or her boring piano lessons. It is rated PG. The Director's Cut has been rated R for brief nudity.