Review of Amadeus (1984) by Adrian B — 18 Feb 2011

Although the topic area of "Amadeus" is not all that interesting to me, the film succeeds mainly because of the costumes, colour (surprisingly very well done), opera singing, and F. Murray Abraham's Oscar winning role.

The film is an autobiography on Mozart and his creation of operas, which are quite well sung. Tom Hulce is a bit goofy to me and little beyond insane to be highly praised, although he is quite funny at times.

Abraham is much better and quite a bit more commanding on the screen. The film also at times goes at an inconsistent pace. The first hour and a half is fast, although the remainder is bit slow for me.

It is a good film, despite reservations of mine. It is also, oddly, the second Best Picture winner I have seen from the 1980's (the first being "Ordinary People").