Amadeus Back to Index

Imdb Rating: 8.3
Genre: Drama
Directed: Peter Shaffer (play), Peter Shaffer (screenplay)
Country: USA
Year: 1984
Duration: 160 min

Media: Hot stuff

---

Actors: F. Murray Abraham (as Antonio Salieri), Tom Hulce (as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart), Elizabeth Berridge (as Constanze Mozart), Roy Dotrice (as Leopold Mozart), Simon Callow (as Emanuel Schikaneder/Papageno), Christine Ebersole (as Katerina Cavalieri/Costanza), Jeffrey Jones (as Emperor Joseph II), Charles Kay (as Count Orsini-Rosenberg), Kenneth McMillan (as Michael Schlumberg (2002 Director's Cut)), Kenny Baker (as Parody Commendatore), Lisabeth Bartlett (as Papagena), Barbara Bryne (as Frau Weber), Martin Cavina (as Young Salieri (as Martin Cavani)), Roderick Cook (as Count Von Strack), Milan Demjanenko (as Karl Mozart)

---

Description: "The Man... The Music... The Madness... The Murder... The Motion Picture..."

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

Comment: "Amadeus" is a great film that is deep, thought-provoking, and overall exceptional. The film deals with the last few months of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's (Oscar-nominee Tom Hulce) life, told in flashbacks by an old, washed-up musician named Antonio Salieri (Oscar-winner F. Murray Abraham). Salieri tells of the genius, the ingenuity, and the insanity of the young musician who died mysteriously at the age of 35. Salieri's jealousy may have led him to kill the young composer, but that is something that will never be known. "Amadeus" is an interesting commentary that tries to fill holes in history and succeeds amazingly. By mixing fact and probable fiction, the film-makers succeeded in creating a truly remarkable motion picture that is easily one of the best of the 1980s. 5 stars out of 5.

IMDB TRIVIA FOR AMADEUS (1984):
- Cast member Simon Callow originally portrayed the part of Mozart in the 1979 stage production.
- Meg Tilly was originally cast as Constanze. Shortly before shooting began she injured her leg playing soccer with some children in the street in Prague (where the film was to be shot) and the part had to be re-cast.
- Mel Gibson auditioned for the role of Mozart.
- Jeffrey Jones replaced Ian Richardson.
- Several real (or at least apocryphal) events from Mozart's life were incorporated into the screenplay, including the interlude between the child Mozart and Marie Antionette, and the Emperor's comment that "Abduction from the Seraglio" had "too many notes".
- Sets and costumes for the operatic productions were based on sketches of the original costumes and sets used when the operas premiered.
- Entire film was shot with natural light. In order to get the proper diffusion of light for some scenes, the DPs covered windows from the outside with tracing paper.
- The performance of Don Giovanni in the movie was filmed on the same stage where the opera first appeared.
- The concept for Mozart's annoying laugh was taken from references in letters written about him. One described his laugh as "an infectious giddy" while another described it as "like metal scraping glass".
- Milos Forman and Peter Shaffer spent four months adapting the very stylized play into a workable script. They added characters such as the priest, maid, archbishop, and mother-in-law; Mozart's character was enlarged beyond Salieri's perceptions; and Salieri's monologues were reworked visually.
- Prague (Milos Forman's native city) was ideal as a stand-in for Vienna, as modern television antennas, plastic and asphalt had rarely been introduced under Communist rule.
- Only four sets needed to be built: Salieri's hospital room, Mozart's apartment, a staircase, and the vaudeville theater. All other locations were found locally.
- The music was pre-recorded and played in the background as scenes were filmed. Tom Hulce practiced four hours a day at the piano to appear convincing.
- Tim Curry auditioned for the role of Mozart (and played Mozart on Broadway).
- Mark Hamill also played the role of Mozart on Broadway and lobbied heavily for the role in the film.
- Originally, a very young Kenneth Branagh was cast as Mozart, but Milos Forman changed his mind and decided to go with American actors for the principal roles.
- Vincent Schiavelli was informed by director Milos Forman after one take of him walking that, "Television is ruining you."
- In one scene, Mozart refers to Gluck as "boring" and says, "I don't like him," regarding Handel. However, Gluck and Handel were two of Mozart's favorite composers.
- Several professors of music stated, after studying all of the musical keys struck on pianos throughout the film, that not one key is struck incorrectly when compared to what is heard at the exact same moment. In other words, what you see is exactly what you hear.
- During the opening scene, where Salieri is carried through the snowy streets, he is carried past a large extravagant mansion-like building where a party is in progress. According to Milos Forman, this building is, in reality, the French embassy in Prague.
- Peter Shaffer shares his name with the original set designer (for the premier) of Mozart's opera "Die Zauberfloete" (The Magic Flute).
- The "Don Giovanni" scene was being shot in part on the Fourth of July. During one take, upon Milos Forman's call of "Action", a large American flag unfurled from the ceiling. 500 extras stood up from their seats and begun to sing "The Star Spangled Banner". The only extras that did not stand up were about thirty people, scattered throughout the theater- at first thought to be normal people, but it was deduced that these thirty were the secret police.
- The piece of Mozart's music with the oboe and clarinet themes, whose score Salieri so deeply admires in one of the earliest sequences, is the Adagio, or third movement, of the Serenade No. 10 in B-flat, KV361, also known as "Gran Partita".
- Elizabeth Berridge, during the Nipples of Venice scene, did not know she could spit out the candy between takes and ate about 15 whole pieces. She later describes how she thought they tasted terrible and was sick from the taste.
- In preparation for some aspects of the title role, actor Tom Hulce studied footage of John McEnroe's on-court tennis tantrums
- The play, of which the film is based, was first performed on November 2, 1979 at the National Theatre in London.

*** Back to movie list ***