Amadeus... Rock me Salieri

Amadeus: 7 out of 10: Amadeus is a brilliantly filmed fictional accountof the rivalry between Antonio Salieri (Well-deserved Oscar winner F.Murray Abraham) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Tom Hulce in a daringperformance).

Thecostumes and settings are spot on, as only great Hollywood historicaldramas can pull off. This is truly one place independent film does nothold a candle to Hollywood. With the exception of Elizabeth Berridgeas Mozart's wife, the supporting cast is excellent; paramount isJeffery Jones who plays Emperor Joseph the second like Martin Sheenplaying a Kennedy.



Theplot line of an old Salieri confessing to a priest how he turned hisback on God after realizing the almighty gave Mozart, not himself; thisdivine talent is a wonderful and emotionally satisfying tool to hangthe plot. Salieri is a wonderful protagonist as it is easy to identifywith the jealousy one feels towards those to whom talent comes so easyand seems almost squandered.

BesidesBerridge's performance, there are a few minor quibbles with the film.The music is very opera heavy and not terrible representative ofMozart's work. It is a bit like doing a biopic of Beethoven and leavingout his fifth and ninth symphonies.

Themovie is also bit long and drags a bit in the middle. One scenelampshades this; during the performance of The Marriage of Figaro theEmperor yawns and Salieri goes into great detail how the number ofyawns affects how long the opera will run. Considering Amadeus runs 2hours 40 minutes, it saying something that Amadeus only rated one yawnfrom me.




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