Amadeus (1984)

The movie that turned me into a huge Daniel Day-Lewis fan. Other than that? Pretty overrated, honestly. A bit of a snooze fest and super disappointing.

Ronald Jones said:An absolutely stellar film. I’ve revisited it several times already, and I have no doubt I’ll find myself watching it again in the near future... Highly recommended. 👍 🙏

I revisited that film a few weeks ago after quite a long hiatus, and I have to say, it's a perfectly decent way to kill some time. An 8/10 from me. 😵 😵

Honestly, this movie has at least three scenes that I’d rank among the absolute best ever put to film.

Take the moment where Antonio Salieri is describing the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to that monk.

"At the notary's office, it sounded like nothing at all. It started off simple, almost silly. Just a pulse, some bassoons and bassoons, sounding like a rusty old accordion. But then suddenly—way up high, an oboe, just one single note hanging there, unwavering, until a clarinet picks it up and sweetens it into a phrase of pure ecstasy! This wasn't some composition by some up-and-coming hack! This was music unlike anything I had ever heard. It was filled with such longing, such an impossible, aching yearning. It felt as if I were hearing the voice of God itself."

The movie is alright, I guess, but what’s the deal with this Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart guy acting like a total bratty child throughout the whole thing? What does he actually have to do with the real person? When this came out, some big-shot music historian trashed it publicly, calling it complete garbage. Honestly, if you look at his private letters, there isn't a single shred of evidence that he was anything like the caricature Milton Forman cooked up. He definitely went way overboard with those "artistic liberties."

Sandra Robinson said:Honestly, this movie has at least three scenes that I’d rank among the absolute best ever put to film.

Take the moment where Antonio Salieri is describing the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to that monk.

"At the notary's office, it sounded like nothing at all. It started off simple, almost silly. Just a pulse, some bassoons and bassoons, sounding like a rusty old accordion. But then suddenly—way up high, an oboe, just one single note hanging there, unwavering, until a clarinet picks it up and sweetens it into a phrase of pure ecstasy! This wasn't some composition by some up-and-coming hack! This was music unlike anything I had ever heard. It was filled with such longing, such an impossible, aching yearning. It felt as if I were hearing the voice of God itself."

It’s been a long time since I last watched it, so maybe I’m mixing things up, but for me, the most striking part is that scene where Salieri is in his room at the palace working on a new piece. Especially that moment when Mozart bursts in and starts making those "minor" tweaks—just a few notes, really—that completely transform the piece. You see Salieri just standing there, frozen, watching his work turn from silver into gold.

I remember reading somewhere that Mozart and Salieri weren't actually rivals at all, but that the whole conflict was just inspired by Pushkin's drama "Mozart and Salieri"...
Back then, Salieri was actually a highly sought-after piano instructor, and he even taught students like Beethoven and Liszt...

Honestly, one of the best movies I’ve ever seen. During the whole lockdown mess, I ended up bingeing about ten older classics that I'd been putting off for ages... and man, *Amadeus*? Absolute masterpiece. Just timeless.