Shoot the Glass

Amadeus (1984, Milos Forman)

Not having seen this has, for many years, been my biggest embarrassment. Truth is, I have seen bits of it, but the universe seems to conspire against me, always coming up with some devilish scheme to stop me completing it. Therefore, I was delighted when I finally made time to see it, and managed to get through it all without any interruptions.

When the movie came out, over twenty years ago now, it won eight Academy Awards (it had eleven nominations) and actually brought Mozart’s music to a whole new generation.

If you’ve seen this movie, you already know about F. Murray Abraham’s performance as Antonio Salieri. And if you haven’t, well, you’ve probably heard about it. He owns this movie from start to finish.

Tom Hulce (of Animal House “fame”), of course, plays the titular prodigy. It’s really quite a clever move to cast him in a part he seems so unsuited for. He plays Mozart with defiance, as a sort of 18th century rock star. He’s immature, yet his genius seems so effortless.

This, naturally, only serves to infuriate Salieri. He sees himself as a third-rate composer, yet he has a fine musical ear and can tell how great Mozart is. His own inadequacies become clear to him, constantly living in Mozart’s shadow.

The dialogue is well-written, effortless and delivered with delight from most of the cast. As for the music, well it hardly needs mentioning, does it? It is always there, strengthening the story, enhancing the words. It’s confident, it’s clear, and it’s, of course, brilliant. The sets and costumes are a visual feast, full of gorgeous detail.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the number one thing people talk about when they discuss this movie: the historical inaccuracies. Yes, it’s true, the story is largely made up. There is no concrete evidence to suggest that Salieri ever plotted against Mozart, or that they were in any way enemies. Salieri, in fact, was an accomplished and well-respected composer in his day, and evidence seems to suggest that he and Mozart were colleagues and friends.

But you know what? It’s not important. This is a story, a movie, and as such, is brilliantly entertaining. That’s all it ever has to aspire to be — a great and enjoyable piece of fiction. It’s charming, tragic, and surprisingly funny.

I’m deliberately keeping this review relatively free of detail. That is because, in my opinion, this movie has to be experienced on one’s own. You have to breathe it in, live it, soak it all up. So instead of giving you any plot details, I will simply urge you to set aside the time to watch this gem.

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