Reely Bernie Faves: Amadeus (1984)

I cherish my memory of seeing Amadeus (1984) for the first time with my dad when I was in the 6th grade. He would imitate Tom Hulce’s shriek of a laugh as I quickly put the second VHS tape in the VCR to continue watching the madness of a musical genius fall just as fast as he skyrocketed. It was an honor to complete the 160-minute legend of a story.

I also cherish the gleams of awe on my students’ faces when they see Amadeus for the first time and always ask, “Is that really how Mozart died?”

I experience Amadeus every year, and I observe new cinematic elements, character arcs, and musical nuances each time. And, that is what a cinematic masterpiece is—a capsule of never ending time.

The fictionalized history brilliantly holds true the atmosphere of the period and character impressions while also granting Director Miloš Forman the freedom to interpret. Did Mozart really possess an irritating shriek of a laugh and rip gas in front of European royalty? Probably not, but Tom Hulce’s portrayal of Mozart’s documented arrogance (and written obsession with flatulence) is humanly relatable and captures the spirit of Amadeus in one shrill, abrasive laugh.

Like Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin mixed and matched the historical evolutions of Steve Jobs (2015) while preserving the tone of his unparalleled ego, Amadeus portrays Mozart as a hippy prodigy while generating an entertaining education on Classical music, the patronage system, opera, and artistic rivalry.

We follow Mozart’s punkish pink wig and rise in the 18-century Austrian music scene through the eyes of scathingly covetous Kapellmeister, Antonio Salieri—played by F. Murray Abraham, who wholeheartedly deserved the Best Actor Oscar. In the movie, Salieri worships Mozart’s genius as much as he despises God for creating a mediocre composer in himself.

Did the real Salieri envy Mozart this much? No, but the myth is a better story, making for a better play (Paul Schaffer as playwright) and a better, Oscar-winning movie. In reality, if any rivalry existed between Mozart and Salieri, it was in the measly competition for the vocal coach position of Princess Elisabeth of Wurttemberg. (Salieri won it.) In the end, and six years before Mozart passed, the two collaborated on a 4-minute long cantata entitled, “For the Recovered Health of Ophelia.” Not much there for a play, let alone a motion picture.

I prefer to believe in Amadeus’s Salieri who sickly devises to work Mozart to death as he writes his own Requiem literally on his own deathbed. I prefer to believe that Emperor Joseph II really was ignorant of anything music (“There are simply too many notes”). I want to believe that Mozart’s deceased father haunted him and influenced the masterwork, Don Giovanni. And, I want to believe in “Wolfi’s” laugh.

Lastly, one element no one talks about (and the Oscars snubbed for sure) is Amadeus’ seamless execution of editing. Using the process of match cuts, the story propels itself off one moment in time to another like a verse to a refrain. The most memorable match cut is when Mozart’s mother-in-law berates him for his slovenly behavior, and as her mouth moves up and down with mad shouts, the movie turns her voice down but matches her mouth movement to the singing of the Magic Flute Soprano in the next scene. It is an astounding transition only achievable by a movie.

I am jealous of anyone who gets to see this historical fiction phenomenon for the first time. And, if you’ve already heard Mozart’s cackle, please share your thoughts.

Amadeus is my favorite movie of all time. There, I said it 🙂

Reely Bernie Faves:

1. Amadeus (1984)

2. Magnolia (1999)

3. Poltergeist (1982)

4. Pulp Fiction (1994)

5. The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

6. The Godfather Part II (1974)

7. Weekend at Bernie’s (1989)

8. Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)

9. Goodfellas (1990)

10. Nosferatu (1922)

11. Pollock (2000)

12. Kicking and Screaming (1995)

13. Jaws (1975)

14. Fargo (1996)

15. Citizen Kane (1941)

16. The Blair Witch Project (1999)

17. The Endless Summer (1966)

18. Back to the Future (1985)

19. Angel Heart (1987)

20. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)

21. The Goonies (1985)

22. Trainspotting (1996)

23. King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007)

24. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

25. Bambi (1942)

26. The Paradise Lost Trilogy (1996-2011)

27. Psycho (1960)

28. Parenthood (1989)

29. Swingers (1996)

30. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

31. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)

32. Smoke (1995)

33. Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)

34. A Hard Day’s Night (1964)

35. Edward Scissorhands (1990)

36. City of God (2002)

37. 1917 (2019)

38. Black Swan (2010)

39. School of Rock (2003)

40. Mulholland Drive (2001)

41. Groundhog Day (1993)

42. If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)

43. The Greatest Showman (2017)

44. National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983)

45. The Florida Project (2017)

46. Cinema Paradiso (1988)

47. So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993)

48. Shadowlands (1993)

49. Steve Jobs (2015)

50. ¡Three Amigos! (1986)