Amadeus

Amadeus - Pop Culture Metaphor

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The genius lunatics dreaded by the masters of mediocrity: Amadeus

Recommendations: The Matrix , Fratello sole, sorella luna , The Visual Bible: The Gospel of John

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Last updated: 2010-04-03 11:51:41 by McDozer

Amadeus: The Madness of Genius

The madness of genius is seemingly gifted from the gods and imbued into an unworthy vessel of flesh and bone, where creation is more important than the creator. Director Miloš Forman crafts an allegorical drama that deviates from fact, a narrative that has little basis in history but is a template for examination of human frailty: consuming jealousy, debasing humility to an imaginary and silent god, and sadistic pleasure in seeking another’s destruction.

The film is called AMADEUS but it is really about his peer Antonio Salieri, one of the great composers of his time. Peter Shaffer’s script focuses upon the (fictional) devouring passion of Salieri to condemn Mozart, a virtuoso whose musical talent must be a gift from the heavens, or a curse to taunt Salieri into accepting his own mediocrity. History aside, the film is quite entertaining and Forman chooses to tell his story as a confession in a madhouse, shortly after Salieri the aged composer has tried to end his own life.

The story is told is flashbacks, short vignettes that often veer beyond Salieri’s perceptions to impart knowledge and insight into the genius of Mozart. It works to a large degree because of the exceptional performance of F. Murray Abraham, his diminished ego reflected upon a tortured and aged visage, his voice a croak of scornful regret that echoes a hollow epitaph to become Patron Saint of Mediocrity.

Tom Hulce’s over-the-top rock star legendary performance is immensely prescient and entertaining, bringing the 18th century Mozart into being as a 20th century boy. What becomes intriguing is the dominating aptitude that posses Mozart as the world around him recedes into musical passion, human beings become caricatures to be performed in his operas, as reality’s viscous acid begins to digests his world: he is dying for his Art. Whereas his peers are content to create “pop songs”, Mozart pushes the boundary of expression to the breaking point, and dies while unknowingly writing his own Requiem: his voice to be preserved forever…while Salieri lingers forgotten amid the insane and hopeless. Final Grade: (B)

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Recommendations: The Birds, Breathless (Jean-Luc Godard, 1960), Funny Games

All reviews copyright Korova, Ltd. Visit Alex at his Home Theatre Blog, http://korovatheatrepresents.blogspot.com/

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Last updated: 2010-01-17 22:29:44 by malikaziz

Amadeus — 3

So for a while now I have been hunting down The IMDB’s top 250 list. Also this Movie won Best Picture in 1985. Also the cover art is beyond epic. So what did I assume? That the movie would be badass. Holy crap was I wrong.

First off the movie is literally 3 hours long, 3 fucking hours of Mozart. Now don’t get me wrong, I love Classical music but this movie did nothing but just drag on. I could easily of edited this myself and still kept it just under 2 hours. It was so long that I actually had to watch it in 2 sittings. I really hate having to do that because it breaks up the flow of the movie. That and the emotions won’t hit you as hard when/if they do.

Now the music was awesome, but that’s to be expected from a movie about Mozart. What blew my mind was that it seemed like every single person in the movie could read sheet music, and I mean everyone. From his associates to the ‘king’ to the house maids, it covers literally everyone. It seems a bit far-fetched in the time era that this movie took place that everyone could read sheet music like they were listening to the radio.

Now the story, oh god the terrible story. Never did I cry, I laughed once, and I was not really that interested in it and it dragged on for 3 fucking hours. 3 hours of being completely bored. The only thing that kept me going was the fact that is won best picture. With that in mind I expected something truly epic to happen, but it didn’t….ever.

All in all if someone asks if you want to watch a movie and they bust this one out, then leave. Find something else to do because it will be far more entertaining than watching this POS.

Base Score = 4
-1 for 3 fucking hours of boredom
+1 for good Music
-1 for a shitty boring story
= 3/10

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Last updated: 2010-01-12 01:40:12 by Tolll

Amadeus

I know that most people these days don’t listen to classical music, and some may not even know who Mozart is. That is quite a sad fact of today’s society. I know this film, with all its historical inaccuracies, is often showed to classes as a way to show them the music of Mozart.
Tom Hulce may best be known as the voice of Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame,but he was nominated for a best actor Oscar in this role. After you watch this film, you’ll see why. He gives a riveting performance as the fun-loving and sometimes conflicted Mozart. It’s a shame we haven’t seen more of him since this film.
F. Murray Abraham does a pretty good job of making Salieri the villain of the film, even though history tells us that he had nothing but the utmost respect for Mozart. Abraham best moments are those when he is the aged Salieri, though. It is no wonder he won the Oscar for best actor.
The biggest issue with this film is the historical inaccuracies. As a student of music history, these irk me, but I still enjoy the film.
The opera scenes are done so well, that I actually wanted to go out and see an opera. If you’re going to make a film about a musician, especially Mozart, you better be sure to do his music justice, and they manage to do just that, even in the abbreviated forms that are used.
This film won the Oscar for best picture in 1985 and is listed as one of the best movies of all time. It’s not very hard to see why. As I’ve said before, I’m not really into “artsy-fartsy” movies, but I am a fan of music and Mozart, so of course I was going to watch and love this film. Although it is based on a play and not the actual story, it is very enjoyable and the 3 hours are gone before you know it. I recommend this fully for anyone.

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