Amadeus (1984)

The incredible story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, told in flashback by his peer and secret rival Antonio Salieri - now confined to an insane asylum.

Director:

Milos Forman

Writers:

Peter Shaffer (original stage play), Peter Shaffer (original screenplay)

Stars:

F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce, Elizabeth Berridge

Top 250 #91 | Won 8 Oscars. Another 33 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
F. Murray Abraham	...	Antonio Salieri
Tom Hulce	...	Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Elizabeth Berridge	...	Constanze Mozart
Simon Callow	...	Emanuel Schikaneder / Papageno in 'The Magic Flute'
Roy Dotrice	...	Leopold Mozart
Christine Ebersole	...	Katerina Cavalieri / Constanza in 'Abduction from the Seraglio'
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 in 'The Magic Flute'
Barbara Bryne	...	Frau Weber
Martin Cavina	...	Young Salieri (as Martin Cavani)
Roderick Cook	...	Count Von Strack
Milan Demjanenko	...	Karl Mozart

Storyline

Antonio Salieri believes that Mozart's music is divine. He wishes he was himself as good a musician as Mozart so that he can praise the Lord through composing. But he can't understand why God favored Mozart, such a vulgar creature, to be his instrument. Salieri's envy has made him an enemy of God whose greatness was evident in Mozart. He is set to take revenge.

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Plot Keywords:

composer | emperor | musician | told in flashback | opera | 

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Taglines:

...Everything you've heard is true

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for brief nudity

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian Latin German

Release Date:

19 September 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Amadeus: The Director's Cut

Filming Locations:

Kromeríz, Czech Republic

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$86,764 (USA) (5 April 2002)

Gross:

$366,401 (USA) (17 May 2002)

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Saul Zaentz Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

160 min 180 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby Digital (director's cut) Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Salieri's chaste, unexpressed love for Katarina Cavalieri is shattered by the realization that Mozart slept with her. In real life, Cavalieri was Salieri's mistress, not Mozart's.

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Goofs

This film is not a biopic. It is a work of historical fiction. Many of the events shown did not occur exactly as portrayed in the film, or happened at different times. Some did not take place at all and are included purely for dramatic purposes.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Salieri: Mozart! Mozart, forgive your assassin! I confess, I killed you...

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Crazy Credits

"Amadeus" was originally a National Theater Production in London, then produced in America by The Shubert Organization, Elizabeth I. McCann/Nelle Nugent and Roger Berlind.

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Connections

Referenced in The Informers (2008)

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Soundtracks

"Harpsichord Piece in F Major, K33B"
(uncredited)
Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performed by Young Mozart on harpsichord and on violin when blindfolded

User Reviews

An Excellent film of describing Mozart's life from wealthy with great fame that shatters in pieces

Amadeus is one tremendous film. The acting was great. Tom Hulce did wonderful and I have only seen him once in a film and that was Animal House. The rest of the cast was great to like F. Murry Abraham did a terrific job in his performance. The music was brilliant, I have never seen a film with such great performances in their plays. I really did admire this movie, everything in it was very interesting and after I watched the film I did a little research on Mozart. The script and directing was superb and the cinematography was brilliant. I couldn't of asked for a better film than Amadeus. I'm glad I saw this film!

Hedeen's outlook: 10/10!! **** A+