#660) Amadeus (1984)

#660) Amadeus (1984)

OR “Tuesdays with Salieri”

Directed by Miloš Forman

Written by Peter Shaffer. Based on his stage play.

Class of 2019

Note: This post is based on my viewing of the Director’s Cut, which runs about 20 minutes longer than the original theatrical version.

The Plot: In 1823 Vienna, elderly composer Antonio Salieri (F. Murray Abraham) confesses to the murder of his legendary contemporary Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Tom Hulce). Via flashback to 40 years earlier, Salieri recounts his time as the court composer to Vienna’s Joseph II (Jeffrey Jones), devoting his life to composing in hopes of achieving fame and recognition. Upon meeting Mozart, Salieri is shocked to discover that he is a crude young man, yet with a seemingly God-given talent for composition. Salieri’s jealousy leads him to exact any sort of revenge he can on Mozart, who despite his alcoholism and troubled marriage to Constanze Weber (Elizabeth Berridge), is composing his most famous operas (The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, The Magic Flute). As Mozart succumbs to his alcoholism, it turns out Salieri’s murder of Mozart wasn’t literal, but rather a metaphorical one through his jealousy. Kind of a letdown after three hours.

Why It Matters: The NFR praises “Amadeus” for being a “deeply absorbing, visually sumptuous film”, highlighting F. Murray Abraham’s performance.

But Does It Really?: I guess. “Amadeus” is iconic enough for eventual NFR induction, though clearly no one was rushing to get it on there (it made the cut 25 years after becoming eligible). Everything about the movie works: the aesthetic, the direction, the overall story, and especially the lead performances by Abraham and Hulce. But ultimately, all I have to say about this movie is that it’s fine. In a way, “Amadeus” has become its own Salieri – or at least this film’s version of him: a highly respected if not spectacular film whose legacy has started to fade in the shadow of its low-brow but more impactful contemporaries like “Ghostbusters“, “The Terminator” and “This Is Spinal Tap“, all films from 1984 that made the NFR before “Amadeus”.

Title Track: Amadeus was, of course, Mozart’s middle name, and is Latin for “love of God”, a major theme of the film.

Seriously, Oscars?: A critical and commercial success upon release, “Amadeus” tied David Lean’s “A Passage to India” for the most Oscar nominations of the year (11), going on to win eight, including Best Picture, Director, Actor for F. Murray Abraham, and a boatload of tech awards. When “Passage to India” composer Maurice Jarre won Best Original Score, he accepted by saying he “was lucky Mozart was not eligible this year.”

Other notes

As your history teacher was quick to point out before plopping “Amadeus” into the VCR, the film is a fictional riff on historical events. There is no evidence to suggest that Salieri and Mozart were rivals, though they weren’t exactly best buds either. The mystery around Mozart’s tragic death has lent itself to creative theories over the years, with playwright Alexander Pushkin speculating that Salieri did it with his 1830 play “Mozart and Salieri”. 150 years later, Peter Shaffer took this idea and fleshed it out into the play “Amadeus”, turning Salieri’s envy into a metaphorical killing rather than a literal one. It was not long into the play’s theatrical run that director Miloš Forman and producer Saul Zaentz approached Shaffer about a film adaptation.
“Amadeus” was filmed primarily in Prague, which architecturally looked very much like Vienna did in the 1800s and didn’t need much set-dressing to look era-appropriate. It was Miloš Forman’s first trip back to Prague after he left his native Czechoslovakia following the 1968 invasion. Czechoslovakia was still under Communist rule at the time, and many cast and crew members, including Forman, recall the shoot being constantly under surveillance by secret police.
It occurred to me during this viewing that “Amadeus” is a bit of an outlier in the NFR. We rarely get this kind of expensive costume drama on the list, which tends to favor smaller, contemporary character studies by independent auteurs. Also interesting to note that “Amadeus” and “Platoon” are jointly the first Best Picture winners from the 1980s to make the list, despite being eligible since the mid-’90s. Compare that with later winners like “Schindler’s List” and “Unforgiven“, which made the NFR within their first few years of eligibility.
The film’s dance numbers were staged by legendary choreographer Twyla Tharp, best remembered today as the third name Robin Williams shouts during that one scene in “The Birdcage”.
As always, a tip of the hat to makeup artist Dick Smith, who knocks it out of the park with Salieri’s old age makeup. Making a middle-aged man convincingly appear to be 81 is no easy task, but Smith does an incredible job, and F. Murray Abraham is relishing the chance to disappear into the makeup.

Fun Fact: The F in F. Murray Abraham stands for Fahrid. His birth name is Murray Abraham, and he added the F to his stage name as a tribute to his father, Fahrid Abraham.
Once again, I struggle to write about registered sex offender/actor Jeffrey Jones, seen here as Emperor Joseph II. He’s very good in this, adding some light comic relief to the proceedings, and I found myself laughing at his performance and then immediately getting mad at myself for doing so. So much for separating the art from the artist. To the best of my knowledge, Jones had not committed any of the things he would later be arrested and charged for when he was making “Amadeus”, so I have that to cling to for my own sanity.

Man, Tom Hulce is great in this. He makes Mozart a living artist rather than a cardboard historical figure. Plus he did his own piano playing (I mean, it’s dubbed, but the actual playing is accurate). With all due respect to F. Murray Abraham’s great work, I think I would have voted for Hulce if I had an Oscar ballot.

This movie is a cornucopia of recognizable character actors, including Christine Ebersole, Roy Dotrice, Vincent Schiavelli (a Forman go-to), Simon Callow (the original Mozart on the London stage), Barbara Bryne, Douglas Seale, a 17 year old Cynthia Nixon, and personal MVP Patrick Hines as Kappelmeister Bonno. Plus, the “Don Giovanni” parody performance includes Kenny Baker in his only NFR appearance where he’s not hidden inside a remote-controlled trash can.
What was the wig budget on this movie?
Elizabeth Berridge was a last-minute replacement for Meg Tilly, who injured her leg the day before shooting began. No offense to Ms. Berridge, but I wish I could have seen Meg Tilly in the role. On its own the role of Constanze is little more than “the wife”, and you need an actor like Tilly to bring their own unique quality to make the part stand out. Berridge is not helped out by the fact that her main subplot, in which Constanze is seduced by Salieri, was cut from the theatrical release, depriving the character of most of her nuance. Also, is it just me or does Elizabeth Berridge kinda look like Stockard Channing?

It amuses me that this movie is so high-brow that not even a fart joke can convince me otherwise. Tom Hulce farts for musical punctuation and we still gave this movie eight Oscars.

Joseph: “My own dear sister Antoinette writes me that she is beginning to be frightened of her own people.” I assume this was originally followed by Joseph saying “Shall we eat cake?” and then winking so hard at the camera it cracked the lens.
It takes almost two hours, but the guy from the poster finally arrives. Turns out it’s the costume Mozart’s dad wears, later donned by Salieri when he commissions Mozart to write a requiem. I guess it’s a metaphor about death or something.

In one of his last drunken binges, I think Mozart accidentally invents rock and roll. “Charles! It’s your cousin Marvin von Berry! You know that new sound you’re looking for? Well listen to this!”
Points deducted from this movie for a severe case of “Volume Up, Volume Down”. Every time I had to crank up the volume to hear the dialogue, I get blasted by a choir belting Requiem. Bad form, “Amadeus”.
I always watch the full credits on these movies because you never know what gems you’ll find, and “Amadeus” has a real doozy. The special thanks section begins with the producers thanking different groups for “their boundless assistance in our effort to present the physical authenticity and aura you have seen and felt in ‘Amadeus’.” Sheesh. Get over yourselves, it’s just a movie.

Legacy

“Amadeus” was released in September 1984, and was an immediate hit. In addition to its acclaim by critics and end-of-year awards ceremonies, the film’s soundtrack sold over six million copies, making it one of the most successful classical music albums ever released.
Somewhat ironically, the success of both the play and film of “Amadeus” brought renewed interest in Salieri’s music. There have been a few revivals of his operas, but his work continues to be overshadowed by Mozart’s.
Miloš Forman’s next movie was 1989’s “Valmont”, another costume drama, this time with Meg Tilly. Unsurprisingly, “Valmont” received unfavorable comparisons to another recent adaptation of the same novel: “Dangerous Liaisons”. Forman’s latter filmography includes two quirky biopics: “The People vs. Larry Flynt” and “Man on the Moon”.

“Amadeus” is one of those films that gets referenced more than parodied, usually brought up in passing as part of Oscar history or the filmography of its stars. Most parodies revolve around the film’s overall concept and/or framing device, and this “Family Guy” parody has always tickled me just right. I think it’s Peter’s deadpan delivery of “Play Peter Griffin.”

And last, but far from least: In 1985 Austrian musician Johann Hölzel, aka Falco, blessed us with his hit song “Rock Me Amadeus”. I have no idea if it was made in response to the movie or not, but the two are forever linked. I would have given this movie an automatic four stars if it had ended with “Rock Me Amadeus”.