Jealousy is a Man's Best Friend

Rating: 8/10 (19 May 2009)

"Amadeus" was a historical biography about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The movie opens with an old man in a wheelchair, whispering Italian. This man, Saleri, plays a key character. Saleri plays as the narrator for some parts in which he is telling about his past and being with Mozart. He then has flashbacks of when he was a court composer and Mozart was just in his youth. Saleri was in love with the music that came from Mozart and was somehow always around Mozart when he had come up with new music. Saleri, himself, being so intrigued with the music and melodies, came up with his own composure's to try and please the Emperor. The Emperor is pleased, however, has Amadeus play it and while doing so, he changes a few keys here and there. This made Saleri upset because Amadeus did this quite often and leads us to believe that Saleri should've been the "real celebrity." A lot of Mozarts ideas are inspired by Saleri but with no credit given to him. Amadeus is married and has four children but the movie only portrayed one. He is quite the drunk, he spent all his time writing material and the moment he got paid for it, he spends it all on going out and getting drunk. He has the nice house and all, but his only happiness is coming up with music for everyone to hear. Even though this film is historical, I enjoyed the plot. Describing someone's life is definitely not easy, but Peter Shaffer did a great job with coming up with the plots and screen work. And showing the inside drama within each of the leading characters (Amadeus and Saleri) was interesting and led you into each of their lifes. The acting and music was great, I liked that they actually used his own works and used them correctly. The dramatics between roles were extreme but not the point where it was too much. And having Amadeus have a ridiculous laugh made it more enjoyable and more humorous. Some things I think the director should've pushed more for would be a better German accent. These characters seemed to have more of an English talk. The way they made Amadeus seem like nothing more than a drunk, turned me away. In many scenes in which he was coming up with plays, he always had some sort of drink in his hands, making it seem like it was his only getaway. They made Saleri seem more of like the jealous type and that the only thing he was living for was to get revenge on Amadeus, when in fact Saleri was quite the composer himself and is well-known. With the time transition, they should've made the characters age as years went on. Amadeus looked just about the same the whole movie. The choice of the cast was great, to me there were no actors that are too well-known and would be more favorable than others just because of their acting experience. They made acting seem effortless Amadeus is obviously a story about Wolfgang Mozart and his life. its factual, yet comical. The acting is great and holds drama you don't want to miss. If your into music, biographies, good humor, and a man's jealousy, this movie is definitely worth your time. I would rate "Amadeus," by Milos Forman 8 out of 10. Great movie with a killer laugh!!