Amadeus

Anyone who thinks this is a slow-paced way-too-long biopic made to be Oscar bait and everyone pretends to enjoy just to fit in, you couldn't be any further away from the truth. Miloš Forman's Amadeus is a magnum costume drama which perfectly encapsulates how one can be almost possessed while vying against a passionate adversary. Instead of being a straight life story about Mozart, Amadeus guides the audience through the perspective of his professional rival, Antonio Salieri, expertly performed by the talented F. Murray Abraham. The film follows him as he thoroughly believes that Gid blessed Mozart the talent that he truly deserved. This gives the film a jealousy-driven framing device that adds mythic mass to everything. The perspective is what distances it from a boring biopic and more into a somewhat Shakespearean tragedy. The duo of the two real life composers makes for a spectacular duality as Abraham's Salieri is all at once sympathetic, pathetic, tormented and ultimately terrifying while the character of Mozart, performed by Tom Hulce, is presented as brilliant and yet also obnoxious. His polarity humanises him, makes his talent even more miraculous and gives Salieri's anguish real bulk. Oh the music. Thank the lord for this film's music. Both Forman and editors [](http://letterboxd.com/editor/michael-chandler/)Michael Chandler and Nena Danevic use the real life compositions of Mozart as emotional architecture e.g. the Requiem scene: the editing, the the pacing and the music all fusing into one of the greatest sequences in all cinema. Scenes often play out rhythmically, like musical movements. It's such a visual stunner all throughout the runtime: the lavish costume design, the beautiful candlelit sets and the opera stages. However, the emotional core is a simple yet powerful triangle: God, Mozart (the chosen) and Salieri (the overlooked). It is epic and personal at the same time. Also, above all, it is entertaining as hell! For a three-hour historical film, it feels more like a thriller. It's simultaneously funny, tragic, suspenseful, emotional, visually rich and punctuated by some of the greatest music to ever grace the Earth. Overall, Forman's three-hour epic is a completely unique film as bias overweighs history as the sin of envy dominates Abraham's character of Salieri which contrast his religious beliefs because of the child-like rendition of Wolfgang Mozart performed by Tom Hulce whose talent balances his immature nature. Each frame is a beautifully crafted work of art and is edited to perfection with gorgeous symphonies. The pacing incredibly gallops rapidly for its long runtime as no scene is not less intruiging than the last. An absolutely genius piece of cinema. Masterpiece!> "I will speak for you, Father. I speak for all mediocraties in the world. I am their champion. I am their patron saint."