I saw the movie Amadeus over the weekend. It’s about the life of composer Mozart and is based on the play of the same name written by Peter Shaffer. The story is narrated by composer Salieri who was the court composer at Vienna when Mozart appeared there. Mozart is shown as a musical child prodigy. In his teens he is already composing operas. Salieri is eager to see this talented man, but is disappointed when he discovers the boorish and vulgar behaviours of Mozart. He is not able to believe that such immense talent is trapped in a body prone to such behaviour. Disappointed with his own mediocrity, from then on he starts to plot to destroy Mozart. But, Mozart continues to churn out prodigious works, one after another and becomes famous. In the end, Mozart dies of drinking and overwork while working on his Requiem.
This movie is a delight on the ears. You are treated to Mozart’s compositions continuously in the background either directly referring to something in the movie or just to setup the mood. The louder pieces are simply fabulous to listen to. Salieri’s acting (played by F. Murray Abraham) is excellent. The costumes are over the top though. The movie is really long at 2.5+ hours, but I didn’t get bored at any moment since I knew zilch about Mozart’s life. The movie raked in 8 Oscars including Best Picture, Actor, Director and Sound.