A great mass of death

Rating: 10/10 (1 May 2002)

Has there ever been a greater facial expression than the one worn by Salieri (Abraham) when he utters those lines? Maybe, but probably not. That's one reason why Abraham deserved to win the Oscar for his role, but not the only reason why this is an amazing movie.
Amadeus is more than a movie about a petty jealousy. This film would rather tell the story of how a pious man turned his mediocrity against the God who had implanted the passion of music in him and denied him the talent to create it. Unfortunately for him, and for Mozart, his talent had to be measured by that of Mozart's, an unfair comparison for almost any composer.

What he sees is a licentious young man undeserving of his talent, the talent Salieri feels he should have had. But while it may seem as if he devises a way to claim ownership of the Requiem, he is rather using what he considers to be God's voice (Mozart) against God himself; why else would he have stayed to work with Mozart at his deathbed, instead of simply killing him and taking the unfinished Requiem. No, he wants God to write the music to His own funeral because he has lost his faith, perhaps why he laughs at the priest at the end of the film.
And what does God do instead. He kills Mozart before it can be finished, and He keeps Salieri alive as an added punishment to hear his music fade into nothing, while His music is resurrected, so to speak.
That is a great story by any stretch of the imagination, and the film does everything to make it a reality. Nothing in the 1984 version is out of place. However, on the new director's cut there is a seen in which Constanze has to bare her breasts for Salieri in return for his recommendation. While this seen may be prized by the superficial male, it seems unnecessary, as Salieri is not interested in sex or in defiling Mozart's marriage. He only cares about getting back at God, but how can anyone do that?