Review of Amadeus (1984) by Andy P — 24 Feb 2014

There's a theory that larger than life music must flow from larger than life personality, and Hulce's wild, over the top performance as the giggling enfant terrible rhymes with it; he cavorts and parades around as if acknowledging the silliness of his frilly frocks and coloured wigs, while an appropriately sour F Murray Abraham plays against him as envy-ridden rival Salieri whose bitterness along with Mozart's foolish ways drive the plot to its tragic conclusion.

With a thunderous score, brisk pace and handsome production, Milos Forman's contemporisation of the life and accomplishments of one of history's greatest fonts of genius is one of the greatest epic biopics made.