Amadeus (DVD, 1997)

I was in high school in 1984, the year the blockbuster motion picture "Amadeus" was released. Teachers generally jump for joy when they see an opportunity to make learning "cool." Predictably, we were assigned to see it for history class. The movie itself - the cinematography, the lavish settings and costumes, the acting, the music, the gripping story - was wonderful. Nominated for eleven Oscars, it won eight, encluding Best Picture and Best Actor for F. Murray Abraham (Salieri). My musical education was virtually non-existent. We had a music class once a week in grammar school, where we sang hippie songs around the piano and memorized a handful of music facts. ("Zubin Mehta is the conductor of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.") My knowledge of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was nil. And so this film became the core of my knowledge of Mozart and his music and life. It was twenty-two years before I found out it was mostly a fantasy.

This year I am teaching my son all about classical music and composers. We homeschool, and I want my children's music education to be more than what I had. I want them to be able to read music and play and instrument. And I want them to be familiar with important works and composers. So each month this year we listen to a different composer and read a children's biography of him together. First up was Mozart, one of my favorites. How surprised was I when the details of his life did not jibe with what I remembered. Well, maybe I remembered it wrong.

I recently had the opportunity to watch the film again, for the first time since I had seen it in the theater in 1984. On the DVD there are extra materials, and one of those extra features discusses how the story was developed. The film was adapted from a play by Peter Shaffer. Shaffer took vignettes of the life and legend of Mozart and wove them into a "fantasia." Fantasy? Made up? I felt cheated. Don't get me wrong, it is a good movie, a compelling tale of a faith abandoned, a life given over to sin. But I was told, by the filmmakers and my teachers, that this was history. Even the behemoth Internet Movie Database lists the genre of this film first as "Biography," then "Drama." Nowhere in the film itself is the same disclaimer made as in the DVD extras; that the film was largely fictionalized from some facts of Mozart's and Salieri's lives.

Putting the historical issue aside, the film is worthy of attention. Not because of it's title character, Mozart, who appears in it only through the eyes and reminiscences of Salieri. It is really the story of the soul of Salieri. His immature spirituality and pride which lead to disaster. F. Murray Abraham is compelling as the Italian-born Salieri, court composer to Emporer Joseph in 1790's Vienna. Mozart is portrayed (by Tom Hulce) as an immature alcoholic.

The dialogue, unfortunately, contains some foul language and adult conduct. There is also a bloody scene which could be upsetting. I would recommend this for older teens and adults, with the caveat that this isn't really what happened.

Worth every effort to procure. Great music and costumes, Tom Hulce's silly, irritating giggle and E.F. Abraham's academy award-winning portrayal of Salieri, the man who blamed himself for Mozart's death at so early an age. Fascinating, well-directed and cast, a believable docu-drama with some literary license, but it tells a good story. Mozart died a penniless unknown, yet Salieri outlived his own successful carreer, until his work was all but forgotten, while Mozart's music thrived decades after his death, and still inspires centuries later. Jealous and embittered, Salieri was committed to an insane asylum. You have to watch this film, no I did not spoil the ending. Surprises await. A must-see!

JUST AS I REMEMBERED IT FROM YESTERDAY.VERY SAD BUT TRUE STORY OF HIS AMAZING LIFE.PLAYED BY TOM HULCE ,FROM THE ANIMAL HOUSE FAME.IT WAS AN EXCELLANT PERFORMANCE.AND F MURRAY ABRAHAM,TRULY ANOTHER AMAZING AND GIFTED ACTOR.BOTH WERE UP FOR AN OSCAR BUT ONLY MR. ABRAHAM WOULD BE THE VICTOR..GREAT MUSIC AS WELL..

One of my favorite movies because of the period in time,costumes,the person and the music. Mozart was such a gifted musician and composer. How many of our past contributors to the arts rose to fame in life, pasted impoverished and rose to life again? There is nothing about this movie that I didn't like. I bought it to replace my old worn out copy!

It is one of the best movies out there. The way F. Murray Abraham portrayed Antonio Salieri was amazing. The concentration and impressionism is amazing nevermind the performace of Tom Hulce as Amadeus.

Truly a great movie. Pour a big glass, turn the phone off and watch it!!