Should Have Been Called "Salieri"

Rating: 10/10 (27 May 2015)

Make no mistake, although this movie is titled "Amadeus", it's really the story of tortured composer Antonio Salieri, who was forced to acknowledge that he would never be the musical equal of the brash, crass, immature prodigy Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
The framework for this movie is a "confessional" by Salieri to a priest who is visiting him while he is recovering in a sanitarium after a failed suicide attempt.
As portrayed by actor F. Murray Abraham, in a performance more than deserving of his Academy Award, Salieri is both pitiful and terrifying in his desire to destroy a man who he feels was unjustly given his talents from God. Abraham does an incredible job portraying a man who seethes with fury while plotting his perceived rival's undoing, all the while maintaining his composure in public.
Tom Hulce turns in a great performance as the incredibly gifted but reckless Mozart, a man with immense talent who tends to squander what he gains on living lavishly and wallowing in alcohol.
Also of special mention is the work of Jeffery Jones as the tone-deaf Roman Emperor Joseph II, and Elizabeth Berridge as Mozart's long-suffering wife Constanze Mozart.
This film is both a testament to incredible acting as well as a feast for the eyes and ears.