Amadeus

Within the first few moments of Milos Forman's Amadeus, we get a clear glimpse into the mind of Antonio Salieri (F. Murray Abraham). As the film wears on, the audience gets a further idea of how his demented mind works.

What makes Salieri's mind tick? Well, for starters, he has a consuming jealously towards fellow composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Tom Hulce). It's not strictly because Mozart has more talent than Salieri. Pay attention to Salieri's face when he first witnesses Mozart's behavior. This is clearly the thought running through his mind at the time: how could a man of immature behavior also possess true ability?

It's not that Mozart doesn't give a damn about his talents. He's more oblivious to the impact his music has on people, especially Salieri. The one person he regrets disappointing is his own father. But even then he keeps it hidden from those around him.

The performances from Abraham and Hulce are both phenomenal and ideal contrast pieces. Abraham flawlessly captures the bitter resentment bubbling within Salieri. Hulce in turn effortlessly depicts Mozart not as the anguished artist but rather as the not-always-serious genius. (A far cry from Animal House, don't you think?) Boy, it must have been a tight race that year for Best Actor. (On a somewhat similar note, what ever happened to both of them?)

Amadeus is truly brilliant. Within the first ten minutes of this, I immediately regretted having not seen this earlier. Just watching this makes it very clear on how it won eight Oscars. If you haven't seen Amadeus yet, do yourself a favor and see it. You won't regret it.

My Rating: *****