When a film wins the 'Best Film' Oscar, more often than you might expect its been a bad choice. Some of the winners are good if not great films, but not movies you'd call "the best of the year". Is "Kramer vs. Kramer" better than "Apocalypse Now"?, "The Sting" better than "The Exorcist"?, "Driving Miss Daisy" better than "Dead Poets Society"?, "Gladiator" better than "Traffic"?However every now and then comes one year when there's a clear winner above all others - when the critical, box-office and public reaction all align so perfectly that the nominations are a formality. "Lawrence of Arabia", "The Godfather" and "Silence of the Lambs" are well known examples of films which stood out amongst a crowd of great movies and both easily and deservedly took the gong. In 1984, despite such great films as "The Killing Fields" and "The Terminator", there was one movie which stood out as a masterpiece and swept up eight Oscars including four of the 'major five' (film, actor, directing, script). That film was "Amadeus".
Truly one of the most superbly crafted films ever made, Milos Forman gave us a biographical story like no other. Instead of the whitewashed 'follow his life and difficulties' standard mold of biographical filmmaking used even today in such flicks as "A Beautiful Mind", Forman took a bold step. The title may be Mozart's middle name and he figures prominently in the film sure, but our protagonist is failed composer and rival Salieri.
This is the perfect tale of a man who struggled and achieved a moderate level of success on sheer hard work, only to become thoroughly consumed by envy and jealousy of the success of Mozart - a partying buffoon but one blessed with a true gift of musical talent which Salieri can not only see (whereas others of this time can not) but realises he can never hope to match it no matter how much effort he puts in. As a result, he goes about setting the downfall of this man whose work tortures and inspires him with equal share.
F. Murray Abraham perfectly brings to life with an extremely nuanced performance the role of Salieri, a tough order considering the lead character is not only the villain of the piece but not a particularly nice guy. You may not like the character but you understand his motivations and Abraham perfectly internalises all sorts of mixed emotions of anger, rage, fury, false charm and more through some of the best physical acting and delivery you'll ever see.
The use of his voiceover as he recounts the story as an elderly man in an insane asylum works wonders too as it doesn't ramble on with tired exposition but rather voices the character's emotional thoughts and desires at any one time - it works with rather than against the action on screen to help make each sequence that much more richer than a story simply set in the one place and time.
In fact casting wise there's some superb choices here - Hulce gives it his all as the naughty playboy like composer with his hyena-like laugh, crude manner and childish temperament but its the quieter more serious moments such as the great sequence towards the end where he and Salieri are penning the Requiem together that really allow him to shine. Jeffrey Jones shows off and combines both the artistocratic seriousness of his position with a hint of cynical rebeliousness. Berridge is probably the weakest link as Constanze, yet considering her then young age and lack of preparation for the role she has that practical sense and unpredictability the character requires.
Production values are exquisite. The use of the Czech Repulic in a time before it became a tourist haven still gives the production a far richer feel than many films shot there today. Costumes, wigs, sets, theatre pieces, makeup, etc. never fail to delight at every turn and its the small imaginative things from the use of colour to the ornate costumes at a fancy dress ball that make some scenes just that much more luxurious.
The music, oh the music is just divine. Many a time there's sequences in this in which the characters are audibly describing the music and its emotional reaction to them that really just sucks you right in and almost brings you to tears yourself. At three hours this is not a short film and yet there's practically no slow or dull patches at all, even as things turn somewhat more darker and drawn out towards the end.
Honestly though for me practically every shot is like a rich oil painting. I saw this as a child many years ago and was enraptured with it, as an adult I've grown to appreciate it even more. Forman's masterpiece is truly deserving of such a title. This is one of the reasons that cinema was invented for, not just for entertainment but for art as well. Excellent in every way.
