Two geniuses: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Milos Forman

Rating: Null/10 (12 April 2001)

When Forman left Europe in 1968 he was a quite famous Eastern-European director mostly among the young because of his early masterpieces like: 'The Firemen's Ball' (1967) and 'The Loves of a Blonde' (1966). But when he arrived to the United States, he was just a young Eastern-European director and he had to prove his talent what he did in the 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' (1976) and 'Hair' (1979). He was one of the biggest and most appreciated director of Hollywood in 1984. This year he decided to make a movie about the life of Wolgang Amadeus Mozart. He decided to go back to Prague and make the film in his homeland, which he left 16 years ago. So this film is not just a fabulous film about Mozart but very important in Forman's life, because he could return back to his home, which was still suffering from the communist tyranny that time. And this detail is so essential in an Eastern-European people's life, because only we, the Eastern-Europeans, can understood that how hard the life of a Czech, Hungarian or Polish people is, if they have to leave their country. He decided to shoot in Prague instead of Vienna or Budapest, because in Vienna there are lot of modern buildings and in Budapest the communication possibilities weren't good enough that time and the price was too high. The Habsburg Empire flourished at the dusk of the 18th century, it was one of the biggest and most powerful empire in Europe. At this decadent time Mozart becomes the most applauded composer of Vienna. He was the indispensable guest of the huge and fabulous balls. Soon he becomes the reason of the intrigues of the royal palace, and the object of Salieri's jealousy. Salieri's (the royal composer) feelings about Mozart are very complex, because in one hand he hates Mozart because of his childishness, but on the other hand he admires him because of his talent. He can't get rid of this complexity all of his life even in the asylum (the pictures of the asylum are very strong, brutal disgusting but beautiful). This rivalry is noticeable between the two actors, F. Murray Abraham (Salieri) and Tom Hulce (Mozart). They were both nominated for the Best Actor Oscar but this time F. Murray 'Salieri' Abraham won. Tom Hulce's performance is also outstanding and he should have won an Academy Award too. This was the hardest decision in the history of the Oscar and nobody could have made a right decision. The costumes and the set design are also terrific. And the cinematography! Miroslav Ondricek is considered to be one of the best cinematographer since his early collaborations with Forman. And he got the Academy Award and became one of the most appreciated cinematographer in Hollywood and made such film like: 'Awakenings' (1989), 'Valmont' (1988) etc. When geniuses meet the result of their collaboration is a masterpiece. And this time that's happened. It's an essential movie of the 80s, all-time classic and the best of Milos Forman's.