"God was singing through this little man to all the world, unstoppable, making my defeat more bitter with every passing bar."

Rating: 9/10 (3 July 2007)

Though Milos Forman is rarely mentioned among the greats of Hollywood directing, he has certainly left an indelible mark on cinema. Creator of at least two indisputable masterpieces, Forman's films have won Best Picture at the Academy Awards on two occasions, and he has also won the Best Director Oscar for these two same films. The film that brought most of his initial fame was the glorious 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' of 1975, based on the popular novel by Ken Kesey and starring Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher. In the next nine years, Forman only produced another three films: 'Hair,' 'Ragtime' and 'Amadeus,' respectively.
Released in 1984, 'Amadeus' is based on the 1979 stage play by Peter Shaffer, which was inspired by Aleksandr Pushkin's short play, "Mozart and Salieri," and loosely traces the lives of composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri. The film opens with Salieri (F. Murray Abraham) in a mental institution, after having attempted suicide. Now old and frail, he speaks to a young priest (Herman Meckler),who has come to hear his confession. Salieri expresses bitterness that his former-talents have faded into obscurity with passing time, whilst the works of the young prodigy Mozart (Tom Hulce) have become legendary. Having known of the talented composer for most of his life, and having developed a hatred towards Mozart because of his own inferiority, Salieri ultimately blames himself for his death. Through his confession to the priest, Salieri explains how his association with Mozart destroyed his entire life.
It is perhaps surprising to newcomers that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is not the main character in the film. As the skilled but envious Antonio Salieri, F. Murray Abraham is the epitome of good acting, delivering a dark and brooding performance that deservedly earned him an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Abraham is mesmeric as the successful composer who makes a pact with God to be the greatest in history, in exchange for his complete and unwavering devotion. When it appears that this gift has been bestowed upon another, Salieri rejects the Lord, and makes it his life's mission to destroy the talented young man through whom God speaks His voice.
Tom Hulce, despite also being nominated for Best Actor for his role, is often cited as the one misstep of the film. I completely disagree, since the idea that Hulce feels out-of-place is the very point that the film is trying to make. When he hears of all that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart has accomplished, Salieri was expecting to meet a sombre, respectable genius, only to first come across Mozart crawling on the floor, engaged in vulgar sex-games and uttering jokes about flatulence. This is what ultimately leads Salieri to abandon his pact with God: after all his own unwavering loyalty, how could the Lord have chosen this "unprincipled, spoiled, conceited brat" through which to channel His voice? Of course Tom Hulce's portrayal of Mozart was juvenile and somewhat irritating, since it was supposed to be.
Hulce based his character's annoying laugh on real descriptions of the composer, which referred to it as "an infectious giddy" and "like metal scraping glass." Also, though the historical accuracy of Shaffer's play was met with much scrutiny, it appears authentic (if slightly over-exaggerated) that Mozart had something of a vulgar and loutish personality. For example, it is known that the famed composer wrote canons on the the words "Leck mich im Arsch" and "Leck mich im Arsch recht fein schön sauber" as party pieces for his friends. However, the supposed rivalry between Salieri and Mozart is most likely completely fictional. In real life, Salieri frequently lent Mozart musical scores from the court library with which he was charged; he often chose compositions by Mozart for performance at state occasions, and Salieri taught Mozart's son, Franz Xaver.
Despite running for almost three hours, 'Amadeus' is a surprisingly easy movie to sit through, helped along by brilliant performances and a brisk pace. The use of a classical musical score  mostly comprised of Mozart's pieces, conducted by Sir Neville Marriner at the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields  is positively perfect for the film, proving that, even though he lived many centuries ago, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is still far better than even the most gifted cinema composers of the twentieth century.