Taking classical music to the level of pop.

Rating: 10/10 (17 December 2014)

Insanity has taken over the envious Salieri, the aged former musical adviser to the Emperor of Austria, and that leads the Ben Franklin look-alike into slicing his throat, claiming that he is being haunted by the ghost of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart whom he claims to have murdered. F. Murray Abraham gives a brilliant portrayal of a brilliant man who let his own insecurities drive him into hating the gifted composer who became a legend in death while his own legacy was pretty much dissolved thanks to Mozart's rise to immortality.
The life of Mozart (the wonderful Tom Hulce), as seen through Salieri's eyes, is one of "why is this crude man so talented while I can't even get my own operas revived?" In his lifetime, Mozart was praised yet had difficulties sustaining his livelihood, but Salieri had great financial success. Even that didn't appease him, so what does one artist do to another to ensure that they don't succeed? Drive them to death, of course! In a plot twist straight out of the classic Gothic horror, Salieri disguises himself in an evil looking masked cape which Mozart's own deceased father had worn, and hires Mozart to write a requiem. The twist of Salieri's scheme? He intends to take claim for writing the requiem-for Mozart's own funeral!
On the surface, Salieri is not an evil man. He's actually pretty decent all around, but when this young upstart comes into the midst of the royal court he works in, Salieri and the other members of Emperor Joseph's court are livid. The madness takes over when Mozart has an affair with the star of his Turkish opera whom Salieri loved. On the opening night, Mozart's engagement to another young lady (Elizabeth Berridge) is announced, which upsets diva Christine Ebersole and alerts Salieri to their affair. Pretending to be Mozart's only friend in the court, Salieri becomes amazed, impressed and even touched as he watches him work. But the evil of envy is a stronger emotion and this leads to the deed that threatens to destroy Salieri's soul.
Eccentric Mozart is presented here as a sort of punk rock Mozart, seeing something in opera besides fat women chewing up the scenery with their sometimes shrill voices. Indeed, his operas are very touching, and are staged with the opulence of the most magnificent musical theater. These shows are fully staged musical dramas which happen to be totally sung through, making the old fashioned style of opera seem totally pretentious. His operas like "The Marriage of Figaro", "Don Giovanni" and "The Magic Flute" are all lavish fantasies or tragedies, and are brilliantly recreated here with the Academy of St Martin in The Fields. Mozart didn't just appeal to the royals or aristocracy, but the gallery as well, poor people who desperately wanted escape. Escape is what you get here, especially with a shot of some genuine Vienese pastries.
Elegant, funny, sad, touching and profound, this adaption of the hit Broadway play is probably the most deserving Best Picture Oscar Winner of the past 40 years. Even at over 2 1/2 hours long, it moves at a fast pace, taking the viewer into a visual eyefest of what life during the pre-days of the French Revolution was like in Europe. In fact, King Joseph (Jeffrey Jones) happened to be Marie Antoniette's brother, and mentions briefly the issues going on with the French people. Poor Mozart isn't some obnoxious show-off fool; He's given many different dimensions that make him truly likable and interesting. Salieri isn't a one dimensional villain, either. His motivations are totally identifiable even if his actions aren't. Not bad for a stage actor whose most remembered film role prior to this was as an effeminate gay bath house customer in "The Ritz".