# Is Amadeus (1984 film) a great movie/do you enjoy watching it?



## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

I think many of us here have viewed this film. I viewed the director's cut version, which is over three hours long and I loved every second of it!

I'm curious what do you think of it?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amadeus_(film)


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

I love these Salieri scenes


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## DaveM (Jun 29, 2015)

F. Murray Abraham was astounding. Mozart role with that laugh was annoying. Constanze actress was awful and I think her career tanked. On the other hand, the music was wonderfully selected and beautifully presented and produced. I saw that movie 4 times in one week solely because of the music and it inspired me to become familiar with almost all his operas. I had already worn out my Mozart Concerto and Symphony recordings, but except for 4 or 5 of his concertos, for me, the operas were the real Mozart and the final 5 were way ahead of their time and there is reasonable doubt whether they have ever been surpassed.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Yes, a great movie and I enjoy watching it:angel:


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## david johnson (Jun 25, 2007)

Go, Wolfie Wolfgang!


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

It's not a great movie for me in the sense that I can pick holes in it and I do like historical films to feel authentic. Amadeus is a bit too trendy - fashionable for the time it was made. 

But I do love watching it - it's a well-paced good story and the music is divine.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

A wonderful cartoon. Right up there with Ken Russell's fabulous _Lisztomania_, a truly great film (1975). All must see it.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

DaveM said:


> F. Murray Abraham was astounding. Mozart role with that laugh was annoying. Constanze actress was awful and I think her career tanked. On the other hand, the music was wonderfully selected and beautifully presented and produced.


I thought the movie was outstanding, and I enjoyed all the major characters including Mozart's wife. I did have some doubts about a modern orchestra playing Mozart's music; a period instrument orchestra would have been an improvement.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

It's fine if you don't take your mind with you too much, but the 'Salieri as murderer' angle distorts the premise too much for my liking.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

elgars ghost said:


> It's fine if you don't take your mind with you too much, but the 'Salieri as murderer' angle distorts the premise too much for my liking.


Was there a "Salieri as murderer" angle? I thought the movie clearly indicated that illness killed Mozart, although Salieri did feel some responsibility because he wanted Mozart dead.


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## julide (Jul 24, 2020)

What if we had a pta movie about mahler


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Bulldog said:


> Was there a "Salieri as murderer" angle? I thought the movie clearly indicated that illness killed Mozart, although Salieri did feel some responsibility because he wanted Mozart dead.


Point taken - I should have said Salieri as wannabee murderer. Still, probably no less plausible than most of _Immortal Beloved_.


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## TxllxT (Mar 2, 2011)

I especially like the exquisite cembalo playing of emperor Leopold II (1790-1792) who has been wonderfully casted by Jeffrey Jones because of his big nose.


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

Ingélou said:


> It's not a great movie for me in the sense that I can pick holes in it and I do like historical films to feel authentic. Amadeus is a bit too trendy - fashionable for the time it was made.
> 
> But I do love watching it - it's a well-paced good story and the music is divine.


Thank you. May I ask you which parts of the move you think there are holes in it? I would like to see this from your perspective and it might make me see the film differently. Yes, the music in the film is divine.


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## NoCoPilot (Nov 9, 2020)

I did not vote because there was not an option with sufficient disdain. I thought it was a silly movie that trivialized its subject and made buffoons of everyone else. In a word, I HATED it.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

NoCoPilot said:


> I did not vote because there was not an option with sufficient disdain. I thought it was a silly movie that trivialized its subject and made buffoons of everyone else. In a word, I HATED it.


It was a cartoon. It was meant to be viewed as a cartoon.


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

NoCoPilot said:


> I did not vote because there was not an option with sufficient disdain. I thought it was a silly movie that trivialized its subject and made buffoons of everyone else. In a word, I HATED it.


This option: "It's not a great movie and I do not enjoy watching it".


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## NoCoPilot (Nov 9, 2020)

"Not a great movie" isn't sufficiently vitriolic for me.


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

NoCoPilot said:


> "Not a great movie" isn't sufficiently vitriolic for me.


My apologies for not having a sufficiently vitriolic option then.


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## DaveM (Jun 29, 2015)

IMO, the problem was that F. Murray Abraham took the role very seriously and added ‘gravitas’ to the subject while the Mozart and Constanze characters were spoofs with lousy acting to go with it.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

DaveM said:


> IMO, the problem was that F. Murray Abraham took the role very seriously and added 'gravitas' to the subject while the Mozart and Constanze characters were spoofs with lousy acting to go with it.


Good point. :tiphat:
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## Skakner (Oct 8, 2020)

Just a good movie, not a great one. I enjoyed it.
For my taste, Mozart's character was too caricaturesque.


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## Guest (Mar 10, 2021)

I think is a great and entertaining film and presents the music in a delightful light (the fact that fidelity to the actual facts of Mozart's life is dubious). I also enjoyed the film "Immortal Beloved," which was also a great film that plays fast and loose with facts.


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## Varick (Apr 30, 2014)

I never look to Hollywood for giving an accurate historical depiction to a historical figure or event. If they get it right, then bonus. It's a pleasant surprise. That being said, I mainly watch movies for entertainment. And on that front, Amadeus had that in spades. Great movie, well done, F Murray Abraham did an outstanding job. It's one of my favorite acting roles in any movie. As said above a few times, the music was great as well. 

V


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

I watched it from when I was a kid, and always found it absorbing. The 'God's instrument' vs mediocrity bit was kind of over-the-top and stagey. I thought Hulce's transformation over the movie was good too. But the "I have to have a penalty!" and stomping was totally unnecessary; we get that he's an emotionally immature genius, that was too much. The sound and film editing was great, and what made the film a masterpiece (even if flawed).


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## pianozach (May 21, 2018)

The film is marvelous, with the exception of . . .



elgars ghost said:


> It's fine if you don't take your mind with you too much, but the 'Salieri as murderer' angle distorts the premise too much for my liking.


The filmmaker takes a great deal of liberty in order to create some drama.

Pretty typical of films that depict actual events, especially those that took place before the invention of recording devices.

I will say, however, that this 'distortion' of events still takes place. The film *Scully*, which is about the pilot that landed a jet full of passengers on the Hudson River, didn't really have any drama other than the actual landing and rescue, so the screenplay included some sort of drama about an inquiry board, and Scully's license being in danger of being suspended. THAT 'cliffhanger' scenario never happened. Yes, there was an investigative board, but the pilot's heroism was never questioned.

There are dozens (perhaps hundreds) of films which take liberties with the facts in order to make the film more "interesting".


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Phil loves classical said:


> I watched it from when I was a kid, and always found it absorbing. The 'God's instrument' vs mediocrity bit was kind of over-the-top and stagey. I thought Hulce's transformation over the movie was good too. But the "I have to have a penalty!" and stomping was totally unnecessary; we get that he's an emotionally immature genius, that was too much. The sound and film editing was great, and what made the film a masterpiece (even if flawed).


I urge everyone to see Ken Russell's _Lisztomania_ to try to place _Amadeus_ in its rightful place along a spectrum of fantasy/realism. _Lisztomania_ is truly a wonder. And, curiously, some of the really bizarre touches and elements in it are historically accurate!


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

Here's something far better:














*Wolfgang A. Mozart (1991)
part 1: 



part 2: 



part 3: 



*


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

Baron Scarpia said:


> I think is a great and entertaining film and presents the music in a delightful light (the fact that fidelity to the actual facts of Mozart's life is dubious).


Yeah, it's entertaining, but very inadequate as a biopic. It emphasizes his relationship with Salieri way too much, which, in reality, wasn't even really that important in his life (I know it's a big part of the fictional "plot", but it isn't even accurately portrayed), while not dealing with important topics in Mozart's life such as the freemasonry. There is also a scene where Mozart complains to Joseph II and his subjects; "Why must we go on forever writing only about gods and legends?". But in reality, Idomeneo, an opera seria, was Mozart's own favorite opera.
I like the film "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1991)" far better; it's more complete as a biopic; it deals with his relationships with Archbishop Colloredo, and the freemasonry with more interesting detail.


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