Amadeus

Starring: F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce, Elizabeth Berridge, Jeffrey Jones
Directed by: Milos Forman
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
1984

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: The official royal composer (F. Murray Abraham) of the Austrian Emperor (Jeffrey Jones) recounts his long standing feud with the prodigy, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Tom Hulce), a man with talents who face exceeds his own.

Review:

Tim: This is a truly remarkable movie. The story of Mozart is one that definitely needed to be told on screen, but brilliantly, we see his story not through his eyes, but through the eyes of his chief rival. This is an amazing concept, and it worked wonders in this movie. The film is told in a powerful, memorable way. This is an excellent, excellent movie.

One of my favorite parts of this movie is the portrayal of Mozart's genius. Anyone who has heard his music knows that as a composer, he had no rival. There are several moments of sheer brilliance here, showing Mozart's unparalleled genius. I love how he could memorize and know how to play a song simply by hearing it once, or how he could compose music almost completely in his head, without even having to write it down. These moments occur quietly, almost imperceptibly as the story unfolds, but speak volumes about the film's quality.

The movie itself tells a fascinating story of genius, betrayal, greed, and power. It has all the elements of an epic, memorable movie. It is incredibly interesting to watch, as Salieri and Mozart struggle to make their name known, all the while, Salieri plotting his revenge for slights real or perceived. This is all told via flashbacks in a very effective manner.

F. Murray Abraham is wonderful as Salieri, winning an Academy Award for Best Actor for his efforts. As much as this story is about Mozart, Abraham makes it equally as much about him through his strong performance. I loved watching him on screen. Tom Hulce (who the heck is Tom Hulce?) is terrific as well. I somewhat expected Mozart to be portrayed as a powerful genius, but the film goes the opposite way. At times, we share Salieri's incredulity that such a coarse, fun-loving silly man could likewise be so brilliant. Hulce manages to pull this off- you believe he is just a silly, naive kid, but at the same time, a genius the likes of which the world had never seen, nor will ever see again. Hulce might have had a shot of winning Best Actor, but his costar, Abraham gives a better performance. I also should mention Jeffrey Jones, who gives a good performance as well. It's easy to overlook his strong supporting role.

Amadeus is a terrific movie. It won eight Academy Awards, including Best Actor (Abraham), Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Director, Best Makeup, Best Sound, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Picture. The eight Academy Awards speak for themselves- this is a critically acclaimed movie that deserved every single award it received. This is one of the best movies of the 1980s, and an instant classic. I loved watching this movie.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 8.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Gandhi, Last Action Hero, The Pianist