Amadeus (1984) USA
Amadeus Image Cover
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Director:Milos Forman
Studio:Warner Home Video
Producer:Saul Zaentz
Writer:Peter Shaffer, Peter Shaffer
Rating:4.5
Rated:PG
Date Added:2007-03-05
Purchased On:2007-05-03
ASIN:6304712936
UPC:0085393621827
Price:$19.97
Awards:Won 8 Oscars. Another 32 wins & 13 nominations
Genre:Drama
Release:1997-12-16
IMDb:0086879
Duration:158
Picture Format:Widescreen
Aspect Ratio:2.35:1
Sound:Dolby
Languages:English, Dolby Digital 5.1, French, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, Commentary by Alternate music-only track featuring
Subtitles:English, French
Features:Anamorphic
Milos Forman  ...  (Director)
Peter Shaffer, Peter Shaffer  ...  (Writer)
 
F. Murray Abraham  ...  Antonio Salieri
Tom Hulce  ...  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Elizabeth Berridge  ...  Constanze Mozart
Roy Dotrice  ...  Leopold Mozart
Simon Callow  ...  Emanuel Schikaneder
Christine Ebersole  ...  Katerina Cavalieri
Jeffrey Jones  ...  Emperor Joseph II
Charles Kay  ...  Count Orsini-Rosenberg
Kenneth McMillan  ...  Michael Schlumberg (2002 Director's Cut)
Kenny Baker  ...  Parody Commendatore
Lisabeth Bartlett  ...  Papagena
Barbara Bryne  ...  Frau Weber
Martin Cavina  ...  Young Antonio Salieri (as Martin Cavani)
Roderick Cook  ...  Count Von Strack
Milan Demjanenko  ...  Karl Mozart
Peter DiGesu  ...  Francesco Salieri
Michele Esposito  ...  
Richard Frank  ...  
Patrick Hines  ...  
Nicholas Kepros  ...  
Lisbeth Bartlett  ...  Papagena (as Lisabeth Bartlett)
Comments: Amadeus. The man. The music. The magic. The madness. The murder. The mystery. The motion picture.

Summary: The satirical sensibilities of writer Peter Shaffer and director Milos Forman (One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest) were ideally matched in this Oscar-winning movie adaptation of Shaffer's hit play about the rivalry between two composers in the court of Austrian Emperor Joseph II--official royal composer Antonio Salieri (F. Murray Abraham), and the younger but superior prodigy Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Tom Hulce). The conceit is absolutely delicious: Salieri secretly loathes Mozart's crude and bratty personality, but is astounded by the beauty of his music. That's the heart of Salieri's torment--although he's in a unique position to recognize and cultivate both Mozart's talent and career, he's also consumed with envy and insecurity in the face of such genius. That such magnificent music should come from such a vulgar little creature strikes Salieri as one of God's cruelest jokes, and it drives him insane. Amadeus creates peculiar and delightful contrasts between the impeccably re-created details of its lavish period setting and the jarring (but humorously refreshing and unstuffy) modern tone of its dialogue and performances--all of which serve to remind us that these were people before they became enshrined in historical and artistic legend. Jeffrey Jones, best-known as Ferris Bueller's principal, is particularly wonderful as the bumbling emperor (with the voice of a modern midlevel businessman). The film's eight Oscars include statuettes for Best Director Forman, Best Actor Abraham (Hulce was also nominated), Best Screenplay, and Best Picture. --Jim Emerson