Amadeus

Rating:
Summary: It ain't a documentary - understand this, and you'll love it
Review: The bit a lot of people miss about Amadeus is not so much that it's a fiction (this really shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone: it purports to be the recounted story of a person in a madhouse, after all), but that it's an adaptation of a play. Like most playwrights, Peter Shaffer (he of Equus) was not interested in historical accuracy to documentary standard - and nor is this picture. In fact, it's much cleverer than that - what we get here is a beautifully scripted essay on Envy, God and your Just Deserts (and why you don't always get them), played out between light and dark in the beautiful setting of Prague. As befits a theatrical adaptation, the symbolism is stark - Mozart's white (even manifesting itself in a dove at one point, for heaven's sake) plays the establishment's black. For the most part, you can judge the sympathies of a given character at a point in time by the colour of his or her wig. Salieri, the great tormentor (and tormentee) is finally rendered head to toe in snowy white, being wheeled down the corridors of the madhouse, himself absolved and offering absolution to his fellow in-patients. And Mozart disappears, in a hessian sack, into a cloud of quicklime of the purest white.

I suppose the American accents shouldn't have grated - historically they're no less accurate than English ones, or the speaking of English at all, for that matter. Still, a pity that Simon Callow traded his English accent for a silly American one.

Good tip (especially for those stuffy types who don't dig Tom Hulce's hyena impersonation): watch the film with the alternative music only soundtrack. Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St Martins in the Fields playing Mozart to the accompaniment of pretty Czech snowscapes is about as it good as it gets.

Rating:
Summary: A Movie To Watch Over and Over
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.

Rating:
Summary: Where's the directors cut?
Review: This is truly a great movie. It is my understanding that the directors cut that recently appeared in theaters is a considerable improvement over the original theatrical release. The current DVD is satisfactory, but a directors cut DVD would be worth waiting for [if it is in production].

Rating:
Summary: An excellent movie
Review: Even for those who do not appreciate classical music, they will enjoy this well-crafted speculative movie on the life of Scalieri and Mozart. While recent discoveries show that the speculation on Mozart's early death may be wrong, this movie is worth watching for so many reasons:

Excellent music, the scenes are shot on location in palaces and historic theatre halls and are extraordinarily filmed, the acting is truly good, and the story line holds from the beginning to the end. The drama is excellently portrayed as well,

The bonuses on the DVD are great, as well. You have a music only track of Mozart and Scalieri as well as a making of short movie. It contained some interesting information, but I wouldn't want to share too much.

If you're looking for an excellent movie to enjoy, this is a good one. I don't recommend it for the younger kids, though.

Rating:
Summary: INCREDIBLE!
Review: This movie--words don't describe the beauty and the amazing life of a brilliant composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The first time I watched this movie, on DVD actually, I put the CD on the wrong side. I was impressed at how great the movie was even though I only watched 45 minutes of it and understood nothing of what was going on. After I watched the wrong side of the DVD, I played the right side and was mesmorized by the acting and how impressive Mozart's life was. His laugh was the best part throughout the entire movie. I told my parents that they should watch it and my mother loved it. The backdrop was made to be so real, that if someone had never experienced that era in history, it would have been like they had been there all of their life. I am running out of things to say, but never before had I given a thought to the hardships people faced before my time and many others. The awards this movie won were well-deserved and should, in my view, have brought home more. Only one complaint for the whole thing: I really didn't like the beginning, and how graphic the director was. That is the only draw-back (if you have a quesy stomach, skip the very beginning). Everything else was masterfully done!

Rating:
Summary: Not quite there...
Review: I saw the Director's Cut version in the theaters recently and it's well worth waiting for it on DVD. The Director's Cut version fills in ALOT of things that happen in the film and the original 1987 version compared is very general and not as interesting after seeing the Director's Cut version. I give it three stars because the acting is good, great story, and I love W.A. Mozart too. Get the Director's Cut is all I say and I hope it is released soon.

Rating:
Summary: Flip-o-Disk
Review: I absolutely love this film, but I was very dissapointed when I was prompted to flip the DVD to side B roughly two thirds of the way through the film. Talk about taking the flow out of the movie. It is new technology with an old school twist (a la 8 track tapes). Three cheers for the makers of this DVD.

Rating:
Summary: Surrealistic and spellbinding
Review: This is my second viewing of the movie, and I realize how very much I missed the first time. One should be prepared for it. Do not expect it to be a faithful biography, because it certainly isn't. And it's not supposed to be. That is not the purpose.

Rather, this is a bit of a fantasy retelling of the life and times of a brilliant composer. The film is hypnotic in the images produced, and the Mozart music is enthralling.

There is darkness here as we're taken into the mind of Salieri and his envy of Mozart's ability to create such beautiful music. And we must bear in mind that this portrayal is undoubtedly an injustice to the historical Salieri. This is much more of a "what if" than a realistic picture.

That in mind, this is a picture to be savored, to be enjoyed.

Rating:
Summary: One of the all-time greats!
Review: This film is truly one of the all time greats. for anyone who loves music, this is a beautiful film. there is something poetic in the screenplay. the acting is absolutely superb. i can feel the rapture that salieri feels during scenes whene he describes Mozart's music to the priest. there is a perfect flow in this film. like a river, it floats calmly during the peaceful moments, but rages with thunder during the emotional climaxes. all film students should study this film and learn how to make a true masterpiece.

Rating:
Summary: Highly Entertaining.. ( Thanks F. Murray Abraham)
Review: Theres only one way to describe this movie... Highly entertaining. I was mezmerized watching F. Murray Abrahams masterful performance which won him an Oscar... If this movie dosent make you a Mozart fan, It will certainly make you an F. Murray Abraham fan. You must see this movie.