Amadeus (film)

''Amadeus'' is a 1984 American period biographical drama film directed by Miloš Forman and adapted by Peter Shaffer from his 1979 stage play ''Amadeus''. Set in Vienna, Austria, during the latter half of the 18th century, the film is a fictionalized story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart from the time he left Salzburg, described by its writer as a "fantasia on the theme of Mozart and Salieri". Mozart's music is heard extensively in the soundtrack. The film follows a fictional rivalry between Mozart and Italian composer Antonio Salieri at the court of Emperor Joseph II. The film stars F. Murray Abraham as Salieri and Tom Hulce as Mozart. Abraham and Hulce were both nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor, with Abraham winning.

''Amadeus'' was released by Orion Pictures on September 19, 1984, thirteen days following its world premiere in Los Angeles on September 6, 1984. Upon release, it received widespread acclaim and was a box office hit, grossing over $90 million. Considered by many to be one of the greatest films of all time, ''Amadeus'' was nominated for 53 awards and received 40, including eight Academy Awards (including the Academy Award for Best Picture), four BAFTA Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, and a Directors Guild of America award. , it was the most recent film to have more than one nomination in the Academy Award for Best Actor category. In 1998, the American Film Institute ranked it 53rd on its 100 Years... 100 Movies list. In 2019, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Plot

In the winter of 1823, Antonio Salieri is committed to a psychiatric hospital after a suicide attempt, during which his servants overhear him confess to murdering Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The young priest Father Vogler approaches Salieri for elaboration on Salieri's confession. Salieri recounts how, even in his youth in the 1760s, he desired to be a composer, much to his father's chagrin. He prays to God that if He makes Salieri a famous composer, he will, in return, promise his faithfulness. Soon after, his father dies, which Salieri takes as a sign that God has accepted his vow. By 1774, Salieri has become court composer to Emperor Joseph II in Vienna. Seven years later, at a reception in honor of Mozart's patron, the Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg, Salieri is shocked to discover that the transcendentally talented Mozart is obscene and immature. Salieri, a devout Catholic, cannot fathom why God would endow such a great gift to Mozart instead of him and concludes that God is using Mozart's talent to mock Salieri's mediocrity. Salieri renounces God and vows to take revenge on Him by destroying Mozart.

Mozart's alcoholism deteriorates his health, marriage, and reputation at court, even as he continues to produce brilliant work. Salieri hires a young girl to pose as Mozart's maid and discovers that Mozart is working on an opera based on the play ''The Marriage of Figaro'', which the Emperor has forbidden. When Mozart is summoned to court to explain, he manages to convince the Emperor to allow his opera to premiere, despite Salieri and the advisers' attempts at sabotage. When Mozart is informed that his father has died, he writes ''Don Giovanni'' in his grief. Salieri recognizes the dead commander in the opera as symbolic of Mozart's father and concocts a scheme; he leads Mozart to believe that his father has risen to commission a ''Requiem''. He then plans to kill Mozart once the piece is finished and premiere it at Mozart's funeral, claiming the work as his own. Meanwhile, Mozart's friend Emanuel Schikaneder invites him to write an opera for his theatre. Mozart obliges despite his wife Constanze's insistence that he finish the ''Requiem'', as the opera is a riskier venture financially. After arguing with Mozart, Constanze leaves with their young son, Karl.

The opera in question, ''The Magic Flute'', is a great success, but the overworked Mozart collapses during one performance. Salieri takes him home and persuades him to continue the ''Requiem'', offering to take the bedridden Mozart's dictation; the two lay down the opening of the ''Confutatis'' together. The next morning, Mozart thanks Salieri for his friendship, and Salieri admits that Mozart is the greatest composer he knows. Constanze returns and demands that Salieri leave immediately. In her guilt, she locks the unfinished ''Requiem'' away in a cabinet, keeping it away from both composers; as she and Salieri argue, Mozart dies from exhaustion. Mozart is taken out of the city and unceremoniously buried in a mass grave.

Back in 1823, Vogler is too shocked to absolve Salieri, who surmises that the "merciful" God preferred to destroy His beloved Mozart rather than allow Salieri to share in the smallest part of his glory. Salieri promises, with bitter irony, to both pray for and absolve Vogler along with all of the world's mediocrities as their "patron saint". As Salieri is wheeled down a hallway, absolving the hospital's patients of their own inadequacies as he passes by, Mozart's laughter rings in the air.

Cast

Production

In his autobiography ''Beginning'', Kenneth Branagh says that he was one of the finalists for the role of Mozart, but was dropped from consideration when Forman decided to make the film with an American cast.

Mark Hamill, who replaced Tim Curry as Mozart towards the end of the run of the stage play on Broadway, recalled in an interview that he read with many actresses auditioning for Mozart's wife Constanze and after the reads, Forman decided to not cast him because of his association with the character of Luke Skywalker, believing that the audience would not believe him as the composer. Tom Hulce reportedly used John McEnroe's mood swings as a source of inspiration for his portrayal of Mozart's unpredictable genius.''The Making of Amadeus''. DVD. Warner Bros Pictures, 2001. 20 min.

Meg Tilly was cast as Mozart's wife Constanze, but she tore a ligament in her leg the day before shooting started. She was replaced by Elizabeth Berridge. Simon Callow, who played Mozart in the original London stage production of ''Amadeus'', was cast as Emanuel Schikaneder, the librettist of ''The Magic Flute''.

The film was shot on location in Prague and Kroměříž. Notably, Forman was able to shoot scenes in the Count Nostitz Theatre in Prague, where ''Don Giovanni'' and ''La clemenza di Tito'' debuted two centuries before. Several other scenes were shot at the Barrandov Studios and Invalidovna building, former "hôtel des invalides", built in 1731-1737.

Forman collaborated with American choreographer Twyla Tharp.

Reception

Critical reception

''Amadeus'' holds a score of 89% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes based on 151 reviews, with an average rating of 8.9/10. The site's consensus states: "''Amadeus'' liberties with history may rankle some, but the creative marriage of Miloš Forman and Peter Shaffer yields a divinely diabolical myth of genius and mediocrity, buoyed by inspired casting and Mozart's rapturous music." Giving the film four out of four stars, Roger Ebert acknowledged that it was one of the "riskiest gambles a filmmaker has taken in a long time," but added "(here is the genius of the movie) there is nothing cheap or unworthy about the approach," and ultimately concluded that it was a "magnificent film, full and tender and funny and charming". Ebert later added the film to his Great Movies list. Peter Travers of ''People'' magazine said that "Hulce and Abraham share a dual triumph in a film that stands as a provocative and prodigious achievement." Stanley Kauffmann of ''The New Republic'' put it on his list of films worth seeing. In one negative review, Todd McCarthy of ''Variety'' said that despite "great material and themes to work with, and such top talent involved," the "stature and power the work possessed onstage have been noticeably diminished" in the film adaptation. The film's many historical inaccuracies have attracted criticism from music historians.

Box office

The film grossed $52 million in the United States and Canada and by November 1985, while still in theaters overseas, had grossed over $90 million worldwide to date.

Accolades

The film was nominated for eleven Academy Awards, winning eight (including Best Picture). At the end of the Oscar ceremony, Laurence Olivier came on stage to present the Oscar for Best Picture. As Olivier thanked the academy for inviting him, he was already opening the envelope. Instead of announcing the nominees, he simply read, "The winner for this is ''Amadeus''." An AMPAS official quickly went onstage to confirm the winner and signaled that all was well, before Olivier then presented the award to producer Saul Zaentz. Olivier (in his 78th year) had been ill for many years, and it was because of mild dementia that he forgot to read the nominees. Zaentz then thanked Olivier, saying it was an honour to receive the award from him, before mentioning the other nominees in his acceptance speech: ''The Killing Fields'', ''A Passage to India'', ''Places in the Heart'' and '' A Soldier's Story''. Maurice Jarre won the Oscar for Best Original Music Score for his scoring of ''A Passage to India''. In his acceptance speech for the award, Jarre remarked "I was lucky Mozart was not eligible this year".

The film along with ''The English Patient'', ''The Hurt Locker'', '' The Artist'', and '' Birdman'' are the only Best Picture winners never to enter the weekend box office top 5 after rankings began being recorded in 1982. The film peaked at No. 6 during its 8th weekend in theaters. Saul Zaentz produced both ''Amadeus'' and ''The English Patient''.

Historicity

From the beginning, writer Peter Shaffer and director Miloš Forman both were open about their desire to create entertaining drama only loosely based on reality, calling the work "fantasia on the theme of Mozart and Salieri".

The idea of animosity between Mozart and Salieri was popularized by Alexander Pushkin in 1830 in his play '' Mozart and Salieri''. In it, Salieri actually murders Mozart on stage. The play was made into the opera '' Mozart and Salieri'' by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov 67 years later, which in turn had its first screen adaptation by silent-film director Victor Tourjansky in 1914.

Another significant departure in the film is the portrayal of Salieri as a pious loner trapped in a vow of chastity, when in reality he was a married family man with eight children and at least one mistress.

Mozart was indeed commissioned to compose a Requiem Mass by an anonymous benefactor. In reality, the patron turned out to be Count Franz von Walsegg, who was grieving after the death of his wife.

Alternative version

''Amadeus'' premiered in 1984 as a PG-rated movie with a running time of 161 minutes. Director Miloš Forman introduced an R-rated version with nearly 20 minutes of restored footage. This version was released by the studios as a ''Director's Cut'' on September 24, 2002. Forman justified why those scenes were cut in the first place in the 1995 supplemental material for Pioneer's deluxe LaserDisc. However, he explains why the scenes were eventually restored in a subsequent 2002 interview with ''The A.V. Club'':

Music

Film credits

* Music conducted and supervised by Neville Marriner
* Music coordinator: John Strauss
* Orchestra: Academy of St Martin in the Fields, conducted by Neville Marriner
* Choruses
** Academy Chorus of St Martin in the Fields, conducted by László Heltay
** Ambrosian Opera Chorus, conducted by John McCarthy
** The Choristers of Westminster Abbey, conducted by Simon Preston
* Instrumental soloists
** Piano Concerto No. 22 in E-flat major, K. 482: Ivan Moravec
** Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466: Imogen Cooper
** Adagio in C minor for Glass Harmonica, K. 617: Thomas Bloch with The Brussels Virtuosi, conducted by Marc Grauwels
* Parody backgrounds: San Francisco Symphony Chorus
* "Caro mio ben" by Giuseppe Giordani: Michele Esposito, soprano

Original soundtrack recording

The soundtrack album reached No. 1 in the Billboard Classical Albums Chart, No. 56 in the Billboard Popular Albums Chart, has sold over 6.5 million copies and received thirteen gold discs, making it one of the most popular classical music recordings of all time. It won the Grammy Award for Best Classical Album in 1984.
* Disc 1
# Mozart: Symphony No. 25 in G minor, K. 183, 1st movement
# Giovanni Battista Pergolesi: '' Stabat Mater:'' "Quando corpus morietur" and "Amen"
# Early 18th Century Gypsy Music: ''Bubak and Hungaricus''
# Mozart: Serenade for Winds in B-flat major, K. 361, 3rd movement
# Mozart: ''The Abduction from the Seraglio'', K. 384, Turkish Finale
# Mozart: Symphony No. 29 in A major, K. 201, 1st movement
# Mozart: Concerto for Two Pianos in E-flat major, K. 365, 3rd movement
# Mozart: Great Mass in C minor, K. 427, Kyrie
# Mozart: Symphonie Concertante in E-flat major, K. 364, 1st movement
* Disc 2
# Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 22 in E-flat major, K. 482, 3rd movement
# Mozart: ''The Marriage of Figaro'', K. 492, Act III, "Ecco la marcia"
# Mozart: ''The Marriage of Figaro'', K. 492, Act IV, "Ah, tutti contenti"
# Mozart: ''Don Giovanni'', K. 527, Act II, Commendatore scene
# Mozart: ''Zaide'', K. 344, Aria, "Ruhe sanft"
# Mozart: Requiem (Mozart), Requiem, K. 626, Introitus (orchestral introduction)
# Mozart: Requiem, K. 626, Dies irae
# Mozart: Requiem, K. 626, Rex tremendae majestatis
# Mozart: Requiem, K. 626, Confutatis
# Mozart: Requiem, K. 626, Lacrimosa
# Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466, 2nd movement

All tracks on the album were performed specifically for the film. According to the film commentary by Forman and Schaffer, Marriner agreed to score the film if Mozart's music was completely unchanged from the original scores. Marriner did add some notes to Salieri's music that are noticeable in the beginning of the film, as Salieri begins his confession.

The aria "Ruhe sanft" from the opera ''Zaide'' does not appear in the film.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

''More Music from the Original Soundtrack''

In 1985 an additional album with the title ''More Music from the Original Soundtrack of the Film Amadeus'' was issued containing further selections of music that were not included on the original soundtrack release.
# Mozart: The Magic Flute, ''The Magic Flute'', K. 620, Overture
# Mozart: ''The Magic Flute'', K. 620, act 2, Queen of the Night aria
# Mozart: Maurerische Trauermusik, Masonic Funeral Music, K. 477
# Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466, 1st movement
# Antonio Salieri: ''Axur, re d'Ormus'', Finale
# Mozart: Eine kleine Nachtmusik, Eine kleine Nachtmusik (Serenade No. 13 for Strings in G major), K. 525, 1st movement, arranged for woodwind octet by Graham Sheen
# Mozart: Concerto for Flute, Harp, and Orchestra (Mozart), Concerto for Flute and Harp in C major, K. 299, 2nd movement
# Mozart: Six German Dances (Nos. 1–3), K. 509
# Giuseppe Giordani: "Caro mio ben"
# Mozart: ''The Abduction from the Seraglio'', K. 384, Chorus of the Janissaries (Arr.) and List of concert arias, songs and canons by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart#Bass, "Ich möchte wohl der Kaiser sein" ("Ein deutsches Kriegslied"), K. 539 (Arr.)

The ''Maurerische Trauermusik, Masonic Funeral Music'' was originally intended to play over the closing credits, but was replaced in the film by the second movement of the Piano Concerto No. 20 (Mozart), Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor (included on the Original Soundtrack Recording).

Director's Cut soundtrack

In 2002, to coincide with the release of the Director's Cut of the film, the soundtrack was remastered with 24-bit audio, 24-bit encoding and reissued with the title ''Special Edition: The Director's Cut – Newly Remastered Original Soundtrack Recording'' on two 24-karat gold CDs. It contains most of the music from the previous two releases, but with the following differences.

The following pieces were added for this release:
* Salieri's March of Welcome turned into "Non più andrai" from ''The Marriage of Figaro'' (includes dialogue from the film)
* Adagio in C minor for Glass Harmonica, K. 617 (from a new 2001 recording)
The following pieces, previously released on ''More Music from the Original Soundtrack of the Film Amadeus'', were not included:
* Maurerische Trauermusik, Masonic Funeral Music, K. 477
* Six German Dances (Nos. 1–3), K. 509

Notes

References

External links

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Analysis of ''Amadeus'' – the play and the film


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{{Authority control

1984 films
1980s English-language films
1984 drama films
American drama films
BAFTA winners (films)
Best Drama Picture Golden Globe winners
Best Foreign Film César Award winners
Best Picture Academy Award winners
Fiction with unreliable narrators
Films about classical music and musicians
Films about composers
Films based on plays by Peter Shaffer
Films directed by Miloš Forman
Films featuring a Best Actor Academy Award-winning performance
Films featuring a Best Drama Actor Golden Globe winning performance
Films produced by Saul Zaentz
Films set in 1774
Films set in the 1780s
Films set in the 1790s
Films set in 1823
Films set in Vienna
Films shot in Vienna
Films that won the Academy Award for Best Makeup
Films that won the Best Costume Design Academy Award
Films that won the Best Sound Mixing Academy Award
Films whose art director won the Best Art Direction Academy Award
Films whose director won the Best Directing Academy Award
Films whose director won the Best Director Golden Globe
Films whose writer won the Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award
Films about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Cultural depictions of Antonio Salieri
Cultural depictions of Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Films shot in Prague
United States National Film Registry films
1980s American films