Amadeus Reviews and Ratings


  • 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...
  • ononbt1
    January 18, 2009
    ononbt1
    Amadeus is a 1984 drama directed by Milo? Forman and written by Peter Shaffer. Based on Shaffer's stage play Amadeus, the film is based very loosely on the lives of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri, two composers who lived in Vienna, Austria, during the later half of t...( read more)he 18th century.
  • nicole8angel
    January 17, 2009
    nicole8angel
    movie that is somewhat based on Mozart
  • TioBradski
    January 14, 2009
    TioBradski
    Tom Hulce brings an ANIMAL HOUSE sensibility to his portrayal of Wolfgang "Puck" Mozart. With Belushi having done Beethoven on SNL, one asks: when will Flounder make that Igor Stravinsky biopic?
  • glenn931
    January 12, 2009
    glenn931
    Yawn... No, no, no! I can't understand why i watched this, awful music and almost 3 hours wasted. I wont watch this movie again.. I am sure that this music was very popular when amadeus was alive, but now i just cant understand what's so good with it. Anyways i think Elisabeth Be...( read more)rridge and specially Tom Hulce played their roles very good in this movie.
  • berniebagaman07
    January 10, 2009
    berniebagaman07
    Visually ravishing and entertainingly crafted costume drama!
  • paulanthonynelson
    January 10, 2009
    paulanthonynelson
    Milos Forman at the top of his game is the toe-to-toe match of any director who ever lived.
  • crspx2
    January 9, 2009
    crspx2
    F. Murray Abraham is incredible as Salieri, who exemplifies envy in the light of the truly gifted Mozart.
  • v1vinnymac
    January 7, 2009
    v1vinnymac
    Amazingly directed. A outstanding movie!
  • mingsysar
    January 6, 2009
    mingsysar
    A compelling exploration of a musical genius who is one of the most fascinating people in history, brilliantly seen through the eye's of one of his contemporaries.
  • Karez2much
    January 5, 2009
    Karez2much
    Tom Hulce and F. Murray Abraham are spectacular as Mozart and Salieri. Mozart's laugh made me laugh throughout the entire movie.
  • markrowen
    January 4, 2009
    markrowen
    Murray Abraham delivers one of the best ten performances of all time in this movie. This is a movie done right, a movie done perfectly.
  • Sebdinovitch
    January 3, 2009
    Sebdinovitch
    Breathtaking performance and film ! Mozart's got a quite weird-funny laugh !
  • onomatopee
    January 2, 2009
    onomatopee
    Wonderful performances by all the crew. The only major disappointment I have is from the way Mozart and Stanzi talks. They seem to be in an 80s drama rather than a story set in the late 1700s in Vienna. Of course, most of the facts are inaccurate but it's a piece of fiction and i...( read more)n this field, it truly does the job. It was very moving, funny and dramatic at the same time. It really deserves the awards.
  • kurvanas
    December 26, 2008
    kurvanas
    Love this movie. Captures the madness of genius wonderfully.
  • savvas172007
    December 22, 2008
    savvas172007
    I watched it due the Music classes and I was not fascinated. Although, it is a good film. But, I am not keen on biopics.
  • bettyboop262
    December 21, 2008
    bettyboop262
    Childhood scary movie lol! Nice true story
  • MetalStar
    December 15, 2008
    MetalStar
    Phenominal period piece despite abysimal acting of Elizabeth Berridge.
  • KellyRikDixon
    December 10, 2008
    KellyRikDixon
    Follows the man who invented classical music and set screamingly high standards for creativity which to this day are rarely exceeded. I think we all know it didn't quite happen like this, but a wholly accurate biography will hardly ever live up to the excitement of one that sligh...( read more)tly bends the truth. How much is credible is arguable, but it really doesn't matter, as it is supposed to be a film, not a point of reference. A truly powerful drama, with flawless performances, an imaginative script, and a soundtrack that total Mozart nutters like myself will love it for. Although extremely long, 'Amadeus' is surely one of the best films of its kind...
  • mcgregorcarlos
    December 6, 2008
    mcgregorcarlos
    Incredible acting. Shows a fresh and compeling sight at the life of a genius.

Summary

Amadeus Summary