Amadeus Reviews and Ratings


  • Phonex
    July 6, 2009
    Phonex
    Forman's masterpiece. There are more works. I assume that M.Forman managed producing good films even in the States.
  • Nazgoul
    July 5, 2009
    Nazgoul
    Very Nice movie with a lot of drama and a beautiful soundtrack
  • lucianojoaquim
    July 4, 2009
    lucianojoaquim
    Mais uma obra de arte de Milos Forman
  • foguponLA
    June 28, 2009
    foguponLA
    My absolute favorite movie. Hulce and Abraham are incredible actors and the music is of course, out of this world. (:
  • jimbotender
    June 21, 2009
    jimbotender
    The dense "shadows" of Forman's enchanting halls,corridors,opera-houses....are what make this seemingly outrageous and quite theatrical motion picture an excursion to the depths of artistic madness.Then again,madness is ambivalent...
  • duygulp
    June 21, 2009
    duygulp
    It's a wonderful,wonderful,wonderful film.A shocking entrance with a strong,wrathful and at the same time forgiving and majestic piece of music and then it goes with a splendid narration of what has to be told in a perfectly glorious way,and ends up with great sadness,understandi...( read more)ng hate & love.It's about conscience,one word.I enjoyed,loved every minute of it.Tom Hulce,old-young-adult-mad Salieri are amazing,überhuman performances...So human,so smart...
  • eddiegein
    June 16, 2009
    eddiegein
    This is one of my favorite films, the costumes and the music are beautiful.
    Tom Hulce was good as Mozart, who has very little morals and the way he went on made me feel he was a little mad at times. Laughing But not as mad as Antonio Salieri played by F. Murray Abraham, who want'...( read more)s to be as good as Mozart.
  • macabrescribe
    June 15, 2009
    macabrescribe
    I was impressed with Abraham's fantastic performance. It's lengthy, but it doesn't feel as long as it actually is due to the film's excellent flow.
  • Fragglefreak
    June 9, 2009
    Fragglefreak
    Well-acted but a little much at times. It's very repetitive with it's fairly simple plot and at least half an hour too long.
  • emilymacabre
    June 8, 2009
    emilymacabre
    WHOA! HISTORY IS SO BADASS!
  • eram8t8
    June 6, 2009
    eram8t8
    i beleive Mozart would've approved.
  • Ivan6655321
    June 3, 2009
    Ivan6655321
    An operatic masterpiece and one of the finest films ever made, this film explores human pride, lust for glory, and extreme jealousy. The opera scenes was literally breathtaking, combining great performances with sheer beauty. Now, if you will ask me who gave the better performanc...( read more)e between Tom Hulce and F. Murray Abraham, I would choose the latter by a very narrow margin, as his portrayal is more complex and unusually sympathetic. The only flaw of the film is its historical inaccuracy, but who cares? The film is not about history, it is about man's complicated nature, and that obsession always ends up to madness. A fantastic, involving, and an almost perfect work of art.
  • FilmEstAmour
    June 3, 2009
    FilmEstAmour
    Oh, my, god. I wasn't aware this existed!?
  • sanjurosamurai
    May 26, 2009
    sanjurosamurai
    can be accused of being a tad overlong, but all in all this is a phenomenal film. the music and opera scenes are the real draw, but the entire film is engaging and delightful. the film had a decidingly 80's feel but this doesnt detract at all from what is easily one of the best...( read more) films of the entire decade.
  • Dracula787
    May 22, 2009
    Dracula787
    I just picked this up in a spiffy new Blu-Ray with a classy and well crafted box with a booklet in the center. This has always been a favorite of mine, which is a surprise because I generally have no interest in classical music. A great examination of Jealousy and natural talen...( read more)t, great period production values, well staged opera sequences that give me an appreciation of music that normally bores me. I don?t think I?ve ever heard a negative review of this, great stuff.
  • iLuvPonTheMost
    May 15, 2009
    iLuvPonTheMost
    omg i love this movie. i saw it in choir class
  • drstrangeno24
    May 3, 2009
    drstrangeno24
    Though the venomous relationship Salieri had with Mozart is fictional, it does manage to put the film in an important historical context and deepen the messages of jealousy and mediocrity.
  • bugs106
    April 30, 2009
    bugs106
    Esta película ganó el oscar a mejor película el año en el que yo nací
  • mrpopcorn
    April 23, 2009
    mrpopcorn
    "Amadeus. The man. The music. The magic. The madness. The murder. The mystery. The motion picture."

    The incredible story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, told in flashback mode by Antonio Salieri - now confined to an insane asylum.

    ...( read more)>REVIEW
    "Amadeus" is based on the play of the same name by Peter Shaffer. It portrays a fictionalized account of the life of famous classical composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, emphasizing an intense rivalry between him and composer Antonio Salieri. The film creates a great sense of period with lavish sets and elegant costumes.

    Tom Hulce leads the cast as Mozart with great energy and he creates a memorable character. Mozart is portrayed as a man whose vices and juvenile conduct are only exceeded by his genius in creating music. My favorite performance of the film, however, is F. Murray Abraham's skillful performance as Mozart's rival, Antonio Salieri. He convincingly creates a Salieri that narrates the story as a conniving and bitter man, but manages to elicit sympathy when he laments that he can never be as prolific or well-known as Mozart. There are excellent supporting performances in the film, too, including Elizabeth Berridge as Mozart's patient wife Constanze and Jeffrey Jones as Emperor Joseph II with a matter-of-fact manner.

    The rivalry between Mozart and Salieri is well-developed and the film never becomes tiresome despite its length. In addition to the characterizations, the film appropriately includes dazzling segments of classical music and representations of staged operas. The end narration of Salieri is very well-written and touching. Truly F. Murray Abraham's Salieri is a champion for mediocrity.
  • RThornhill
    April 22, 2009
    RThornhill
    F. Murray is simply mesmerizing in this. A must see!
  • emmaandmatilda
    April 12, 2009
    emmaandmatilda
    I LOVED this when I was about twelve. I must see it again.

    Why was it called Amadeus, come to think of it? I know it's his middle name, but no-one in the films refers to him by it. I seem to remember his wife calls him 'Wolfie'.
  • louffle
    April 8, 2009
    louffle
    a great movie..the characters were very strong !!!
  • tinycherub69
    April 6, 2009
    tinycherub69
    A deep intellectual historical movie with funny moments.
  • frbll2005
    April 6, 2009
    frbll2005
    bleh, this movie was not entertaining nor did i get any inclination to care about mozart after the fact, at least any more so than i already did
  • rongunter69
    March 30, 2009
    rongunter69
    Would have been better if it had been acurate, but still watchable til the end.
  • aurelian76
    March 29, 2009
    aurelian76
    A biopic about one of the greatest classical composers? Featuring people in powdered wigs and 18th century dress? In the 80's?
  • sportboy
    March 29, 2009
    sportboy
    want to see sometime in my life.
  • chococolatedeathmousse
    March 18, 2009
    chococolatedeathmousse
    oh man i had to watch this is music 101...ugh.
  • FreakyLauRa
    March 17, 2009
    FreakyLauRa
    I love Mozart for ever.
    Salieri: "On the page it looked nothing. The beginning simple, almost comic. Just a pulse - bassoons and basset horns - like a rusty squeezebox. Then suddenly - high above it - an oboe, a single note, hanging there unwavering, till a clarinet took over an...( read more)d sweetened it into a phrase of such delight! This was no composition by a performing monkey! This was a music I'd never heard. Filled with such longing, such unfulfillable longing, it had me trembling. It seemed to me that I was hearing the very voice of God."
  • tonydannie
    March 13, 2009
    tonydannie
    Another Masterpiece that gets better with age. Fantastic Film!
  • jclark751
    March 12, 2009
    jclark751
    Not only the music is amazing, but the actor who plays Mozart is entertaining to watch down to his laugh. An all-around great film by Milos Forman, and a great story in general. Based on a play by Peter Shaffer, who is probably one of the greatest playwrights ever.
  • rafaelagb
    March 11, 2009
    rafaelagb
    Translates well not only a figure of a Genious, but also pays great tribute to his music.
  • RisingSunce
    March 7, 2009
    RisingSunce
    Amazing! I have no other words... and of course Mozart's Requiem perfectly fits - obviously. It made me cry, over and over again. That means a lot.
  • marlefox
    March 7, 2009
    marlefox
    This was about Mozart. It won an Oscar. It DESERVED THAT OSCAR! Let NO ONE dispute this. It is just excellent.
  • brenorb
    February 28, 2009
    brenorb
    Mesmo se o filme não fosse bom, valia pela trilha sonora, composta por nada mais nada menos que Mozart.
  • tinasp3
    February 24, 2009
    tinasp3
    awesome movie. wonderful.
  • KevinTheMovieManiac
    February 22, 2009
    KevinTheMovieManiac
    A bit long,but surpising it doesnt seem to bore me at all.
  • AgentLexi2132
    February 18, 2009
    AgentLexi2132
    ''I was staring through the cage of those meticulous ink strokes - at an absolute beauty.''

    The incredible story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, told in flashback mode by Antonio Salieri - now confined to an insane asylum.

    F. Murray Abraham: Antonio Salieri

    ...( read more)>

    Tom Hulce: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Simply Beautiful, musical and a genius study of two men. One hell bent on destroying the other in a haze of jealousy.

    Amadeus is a masterpiece of music and a haunting tragic story of Mozart with a complex duality to his character.
    F. Murray Abraham as Antonio Salieri is fascinating as the man who idolizes Mozart, who burns with jealousy at him, at a talent and creativity he can never possess or muster. We first see him in his old age in a squalid state of madness and memory, in the confines of an asylum.
    His pain is wonderfully conveyed, there's a blur between who you feel for, the jealousy burning in his eyes, i love it!
    He refers to Mozart as a creature, a plague upon the world and his life, a misery with his talent he inflicts, his talent that should of been Antonio Salieris, but is denied by the obnoxious yet inspirational faceted Mozart.
    Antonio Salieri is the mirror reflection of Mozart twisted in the shadows, unlike Mozart's crazy unpractical way Antonio is humble, craving the very thing Mozart possesses, what he takes for granted and uses for his own benefit.
    He admires him from afar and later helps him to write when he falls ill. Them writing a masterpiece is a wonder to behold.

    ''I heard the music of true forgiveness filling the theater, conferring on all who sat there, perfect absolution. God was singing through this little man to all the world, unstoppable, making my defeat more bitter with every passing bar.''

    The beginning is genius yet gutting and in a way amusing:
    Father Vogler: Oh, that's charming! I'm sorry, I didn't know you wrote that.
    Salieri: I didn't. That was Mozart.

    Tom Hulce as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is a wonder to behold, a genius in music but his character, his laugh, his mannerisms are a vast contrast to his intellectual artistic musical vision. He's got controversial ideas that he pulls off much to the disgust of Antonio Salieri.
    Arrogant, childish and very rash in his way, which wasn't my image of Mozart yet shows a talent for musical genius isn't everything.
    Tom Hulce I've seen in other films before but this is the best ever performance I've seen him achieve, latest film i saw him in was Stranger Than Fiction, so he's still around in acting terms.

    It is not clear if Salieri the anti-God actually killed Mozart or if it was the natural order of things, but Salieri gets his comeuppance, his own "Confutatis maledictis" that is helped along by the more savvy Constanze, who knows what sort of man Salieri really is. The scene where Salieri and Mozart hammer out the Mass is one of the most exciting scenes of cinema in the '80s -- with one man sitting at a desk and the other lying in a bed!

    In real life, Antonio Salieri was an accomplished musician, many of whose works remain in print. His stuff fell out of favor -- but Vivaldi predated Mozart and Salieri, and his music was barely heard after his death until the 20th century! Musical tastes change -- how many discotheques are open in the 21st century? Not as many as in the 1970s, I warrant. And there are ample implications in the historical record that Salieri and Mozart got along quite well. So the story inside the beautiful decor is a libelous fiction -- in fact, it's a lot of hooey. But when have novels or films cared for historical fact over a cracking good story? And it's probably more correct to call it a parable.

    Mozart and Salieri aren't really meant to be embodiments of their real-life counterparts. Salieri is an archetype. And if Mozart was this much of a bozo in real life he deserved all he got.

    All the performances are wonderful, especially in the Emperor's court. Charles Kay is superb, Jonathan Moore is the epitome of sincerity, and Jeffrey Jones expresses more by his extreme underplaying than many more notable actors do in several movies of bluster. Sometimes you wonder if someone ought to take Jones' pulse, but you're always aware of what the emperor is thinking.

    The costumes perfect, the beautiful ornate locations shown in all their splendor, all effortlessly combined in a dazzling array of bewitchment and enlightenment.

    Us the audience begin to formulate what will happen and how plotting from madness and hatred begins to surface. When the souls of the music leap forth from the pages, when genius turns to betrayal and madness you know you have a masterpiece of grandeur and wonderment.

    Amadeus is a legendary masterpiece of epic proportions.

    ''Your merciful God...rather than let a mediocity...Share in the smallest part of his glory. He killed Mozart. And kept me alive to torture. 32 years of torture. 32 years...of slowly watching myself become extinct! My music growing fainter, all the time fainter till no one plays at all. And his...''
  • melaniemuskett
    February 18, 2009
    melaniemuskett
    its a pretty sweet movie,that mozart dudes pretty cute!lol hahaha hes funny as heck tho..
  • easilydissolvedinwater
    February 10, 2009
    easilydissolvedinwater
    Terrific job by Tom Hulce and F. Murray Abraham, with fantastic visuals thanks to the production design and costumes.
    The movie tells the tragic story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Hulce) and his meteoric rise to stardom, only to die suddenly, through the eyes of his rival/confida...( read more)nt/fellow composer Antonio Salieri (Abraham).
    The performances really made this movie. Hulce brought a lively childlike energy to Mozart, while Abraham brought a complex and sympathetic light to Salieri. The movie was very well written, also. It had moments of great humor and pure dramatic brilliance. The only problem I had was the runime (nearly 3 hours).
  • pinkychick01
    February 9, 2009
    pinkychick01
    The beauty of Mozarts music is combined with the sadness of his life story, a masterpiece
  • hawkledge
    February 1, 2009
    hawkledge
    Celebration of music and genius. Critical portrait of Mozart with paradox at the film's core. F. Murray Abraham's Salieri portrays tragedy from the inability of talent to live up to desire.
  • lazywomanfromouterspace
    January 29, 2009
    lazywomanfromouterspace
    Stunning performance by F. Murray Abraham, Love the music and the costumes.
  • italiachick
    January 24, 2009
    italiachick
    I found this surprisingly interesting and entertaining. It was really good and Tom Hulce is HOT!
  • shakti03
    January 23, 2009
    shakti03
    My fave music related movie...

Summary

Amadeus Summary