Amadeus: 40 Years On

Miloš Forman’s 1984 Oscar-winning Mozart masterpiece still dazzles

Credit: Orion/EMI

Warning: Contains spoilers.

I rarely agree with the choice for Best Picture, but Miloš Forman’s triumph at the Oscars for his 1984 adaptation of Peter Shaffer’s play Amadeus is one such occasion. Well, sort of. A part of me also wishes James Cameron’s The Terminator had been recognised, but it wasn’t even nominated. Such is Academy snobbery about sci-fi, but at any rate, for me, Amadeus was equally deserving. So for once, I have no sour grapes.

For those unfamiliar with the subject matter, Shaffer’s story is a fictionalised take on the life of legendary composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Tom Hulce). It covers his time in Vienna including his career, marriage, the politics and intrigues in the court of Emperor Joseph II (Jeffrey Jones), and most emphatically, his rivalry with court composer Salieri (F Murray Abraham). The latter provides the dramatic core of the film, with the older Salieri, now in a sanitorium, telling his tale to a priest in flashback.

Although Salieri initially welcomes Mozart to Vienna, he is appalled at the musical prodigy’s vulgarity, promiscuity, drunkenness, and generally unruly conduct. In stark contrast with Salieri’s outward piety and decorum, the court composer is baffled as to why God would grant this reprobate with such extraordinary talent. Finding himself increasingly jealous of Mozart’s gifts, he eventually renounces God. He determines to destroy “the creature” (as he calls Mozart in conversation with the priest) to get back at the Almighty, silencing the one on whom had been bestowed, in Salieri’s estimation, underserved talents.