Beautiful scenery and eccentric Mozart portrayal.

Rating: 9/10 (5 March 2014)

This is a beautiful movie about the life of Classical era composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Tom Hulce), and how court composer Antonio Salieri (F. Murray Abraham) recounts his envy towards Mozart for his brilliance in composing music, and his taste for revenge against the composer whom he sees as childish and arrogant.
Set in Austria but filmed in France and the Czech Republic, this film captures the majesty, beauty and charm of the classic homes, castles, statues and structures of the time. Tom Hulce gave an eccentric portrayal of Mozart - childish, arrogant, annoying and brilliant all at once, which made me shockingly wonder if Mozart behaved like that in real life. F. Murray Abraham gave a disturbed, powerful and dramatic performance as Salieri. Him using Mozart's difficult relationship with his father Leopold (Roy Dotrice) into making him feel guilty of being a bad son is a captivating subplot that only enhances the intrigue of the plot.
The magnificence and splendor of the classical music played in this movie is a joy to listen to, and it helped engage the audience in experiencing what it's like to live in the 1700s Europe.
Overall, a masterpiece of a movie, rich and vibrant in its day and continues to be an iconic piece of cinema history.
Grade A