Review of Amadeus (1984) by Eric A — 02 Dec 2011

Perhaps the lone fault of this film remains the fact that it is rife with inaccuracies and occasionally poor characterizations. I also find that Tom Hulce -- while clearly a competent actor who plays a fine Mozart -- rarely manages to overshadow F.

Murray Abraham, who is deviously sinister in his relative youth and bitterly charming as an old man. Hulce showcases a true ability only a handful of times, whereas it is extremely rare to find any instance where Abraham is anything but fantastic.

Perhaps the finest performances come from Simon Callow and Jeffrey Jones, as Mozart's closest friend and the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph, respectively. Forman's direction and Miroslav Ondricek's cinematography are the most superb aspects of the film, with the opera scenes in particular being sometimes hilarious, other times intensely dramatic and dark.

Mozart's death, with the unfinished Requiem mass--supposed to be his magnum opus--being played deafeningly loud over scenes of his burial never cease to haunt me.