A piece of music history

Rating: 9/10 (27 January 2011)

In the beginning we see Antonio Salieri attempting a suicide by splitting his throat.He claims he killed Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1791.He tells his story to a young priest in lunatic asylum.Milos Forman has done an excellent job in bringing the stage play of Amadeus to the big screen.The original play is the work of Peter Shaffer, who also wrote the screenplay.He earned an Academy Award nomination.The film won eight of those awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor in a Leading Role.The play happened in 1979, the movie happened in 1984.F. Murray Abraham gives an outstanding performance as Salieri.Tom Hulce was nominated for an Oscar, and his portrayal as Mozart is unique.Elizabeth Berridge is amazing as Constanze Mozart.Roy Dotice does brilliant work as the father, Leopold Mozart.Richard Frank is very good as Father Vogler.Christine Ebersole is wonderful as Katerina Cavalieri.Jeffrey Jones does good job as Emperor Joseph II.Charles Kay is great as Count Orsini-Rosenberg.The young Cynthia Nixon makes a good Lorl.The story that is told of Mozart and Salieri is most fascinating, even though it's only loosely based on their lives.It is pretty unbelievable to watch this young genius battling with his final work, the Requiem, which was left unfinished.The music we hear in this motion picture is absolutely amazing.And the way it's used...This is a classic you don't want to miss.