A great story done well

Rating: 8/10 (29 October 2019)

It was interesting to revisit this film after so long, it has aged really well. The whole concept of the movie is great, following the life of Mozart through the eyes of Salieri. Performances are bang-on, and while F Murray Abrahams walked home with the Oscar, I really enjoyed Tom Hulce as Mozart.
The film looks great, fantastic costumes and design, and is directed with flair. The music is done really, really well, infused throughout the film to create drama. I found the narration by the elderly Salieri perhaps a bit too literal at times, I didn't need to be spoon-fed quite so much. The last hour also dragged a bit, with a bit too much time spent on the re-creation of some of Mozart's operas. That said, I was watching a Director's Cut, with an extra 20 minutes, so maybe the original version is a bit tighter.