Amadeus (1984)

My Review

The Best Picture of 1984 is…..”Amadeus.” The story centers around classical music composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) and Antonio Salieri (1750-1825), the court conductor for the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II of Austria, who becomes jealous of Wolfie’s talents when he comes into the emperor’s employ. The performances of Tom Hulce and F. Murray Abraham are real gems and a delight to watch. Both were nominated for Oscars, but only Abraham won.

Director Milos Forman (“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” 1975) and screenwriter Peter Shaffer assembled an almost perfect film that ran for 161 engrossing minutes. It was adapted from Shaffer’s 1979 Broadway play. The film was nominated for eleven Oscars, winning eight: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Abraham), Best Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup, and Best Sound. The non-winners were Best Actor (Hulce), Best Cinematography (Miroslav Ondricek), and Best Film Editing.

Co-stars include Simon Callow, Jeffrey Jones, Kenneth McMillan, Kenny Baker, Cynthia Nixon, Vincent Schiavelli, Elizabeth Berridge, Roy Dotrice, and Christine Ebersole as Caterina Cavalieri. “Amadeus” was a big hit in theatrical release for The Saul Zaentz Company and Orion Pictures. The music coordinator was John Strauss, with music conducted and supervised by Neville Marriner. The orchestra was Academy of St. Martin in the Fields of London, UK. It was filmed in the Czech Republic.