MUBI

Understanding the intent of a director is of paramount importance when evaluating a film. Without grasping that Milos Forman did not set out to make Amadeus as a lush period piece on the life of Mozart, but instead a quirky game on reimaging of the life, one could easily point out the historical discrepancies and American accents throughout the film. To hold the former expectation toward Amadeus is unreasonable. The very premise of the movie should be indication enough given that the claim that Antonio Salieri (here played by F. Murray Abraham), the court composer for Emperor Joseph Ii (Jeffrey Jones), murdered Mozart is unsubstantiated at best. In fact, while Salieri was jealous of Mozart in real life, the two had a mostly amicable relationship. The latter standard is absurd as no one would have been complaining had British actors been cast, supposedly adding class to the accents. That wouldn’t have made sense either since German was the predominant language in Vienna.
Amadeus is similar to Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette in that both are punked-up versions of historic lives. In neither film does it feel like the past, but (in Amadeus anyway) an almost Mel Brooksian spoofing costume epic, and that is high praise.
Given the effect that Forman was aiming for, Tom Hulce was a great casting choice for Mozart, bringing a youthful prankish spirit to the musical genius. He shakes up the older generation of music lovers with his provocative symphonies, his giddy laugh, and irreverence for the Emperor’s court. As much as he composed about love and its meaning, Mozart had a flimsy attitude toward matrimony. Mozart, who is the epitome of high culture today, was considered low class in his time, proving that cultural concepts are often relative. But if Mozart was misunderstood during his lifetime, he was also widely reveled by others. As hard as his arrogance was to take, Mozart was one of those people who really are as good as they say they are.
It is Salieri, however, that is used as the protagonist decoy of the story. He is an earnest man who is intimidated by and resentful of Mozart, while also having admired him since his youth. He even goes as far as defending him against charges of blasphemy before the Emperor’s court. It isn’t hard to see why this story of an obsessed fan that pushed his idol to death resonated so strongly in the 80s. Without the fuzzy wigs and European palaces, this same story could take place in any American high schools and be about a studious lad struggling to impress while watching the class clown succeed effortlessly. We first see the anger in Salieri’s eyes when Mozart presents a rearranged version of his work.
Salieri makes an evil turn (despite his fake “promises to God”) when he takes advantage of Mozart’s young bride (Elizabeth Berridge) Constanze, who is the ony purely sympathetic character in the film, humiliating her. Salieri becomes a difficult figure to sympathize with. He’s manipulative, stews in anger, and takes delight in Mozart’s misfortunes. In the frame narrative set in 1823, an old and raving Salieri confesses his guilt to the asylum priest. By then, Salieri has lost it, although we do have to wonder how reliable he is as a narrator. For all we know, the bulk of the movie could be a fabrication of his delirium after a forgotten life.
At numerous points, Amadeus deliberately confuses the viewers in identifying Mozart’s father Leopold (Roy Dotrice) with Salieri. The first time we see Leopold Mozart, he is wrapped in a dark cloak. For a moment we think this could be Salieri, who has turned against God (in the previous scene he was shown throwing a crucifix into the fire), until we realize not only that this is Mozart’s father, but that his visit is not entirely a pleasant surprise for the Mozarts. He is an overbearing man and highly critical of his son’s taste in music. At the masquerade ball it is not with his father that Mozart runs afoul but Salieri, albeit it unknowingly. A drunken Mozart makes a mockery of one of Salieri’s tunes, unaware that the composer is in the audience, wearing a dark cloak much like that of his father. When a maid appears at Mozart’s door, the composer mistakenly believes that she was hired by his father, when she is actually a spy for Salieri. Mozart, like the viewer, has confused the doing of Salieri with that of his father. This confusion seems rooted in an oedipal resentment Mozart subconsciously held for both men. Both Salieri and Leopold were patriarchal figures in the musician’s life, but both (Amadeus hints) were instrumental to his destruction.
Leopold Mozart is always associated with the underworld, largely due to the color of his attire, and Salieri follows that path. In the opera Mozart composes after his father’s death, Don Giovanni, the older Mozart is depicted as a sinister apparition. Perhaps, this was Mozart’s closure to his father’s menace.
Amadeus shifts to a darker tone after the death of Leopold, and the film seems to be playing with allegories of resurrection when a mysterious and foreboding masked figure appears at Mozart’s door to commission him for work. Of course, we figure out that this is Salieri and this composition will be the one that ultimately brings Mozart to his death, but to Mozart this is his father continuing to haunt him from beyond the grave.
Maybe Mozart’s gift for composing came so easily because he created art from the very life he knew. He drew sources from his domineering father, shrill relatives, and suppressed sexual desire. Amadeus is not, contrary to many claims, a costume drama in the traditional sense. It doesn’t tell us what happened or is here to teach. Rather, it is a hypothetical look into the mind of a genius, his art, his triumph, and the forces that led to his downfall, which is not unlike the sad fate of many contemporary musicians (although dying at 35, Mozart avoided the 27 Club). It wouldn’t have been such a dramatic and yet lively experience otherwise.

For me, watching Amadeus was a very emotionally fulfilling experience. It’s a two part Film, with the first half funny and drawn out, with every detail articulated wonderfully. The second half is darker, and things become hectic and start blending together. It turns into somewhat of a depressing Film, in a good way. The young Mozart, played by Tom Hulce, is a witty and charming young Man, and gives the Film its brilliant sense of humor. The acting was absolutely fantastic from every single member of the Cast, but it takes a special talent to be able to act without sound, a talent that Hulce and Abraham definitely have. For a while, I was stressed because I felt like I should know what they were saying in the movie (I unknowingly watched the soundtrack only version), but I relaxed and realized it wasn’t about the words, and what they were saying would eventually be played out. The Film is about a Man and his Music- incredible Music. It’s obvious that it took a lot of dedication to make the Film, and the passion shines through every second of Film.

Mainstream success brings money and fame. But for many artists this not only is insufficient, but also somewhat disgraceful. After watching Milos Forman’s Amadeus, one must ask themselves, was Forman satisfied with his newfound success in Hollywood? Forman uses the life of composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his quite possibly fictional, and most definitely one-sided, rivalry with fellow composer Antonio Salieri, as a backdrop to explore his own insecurities as an artist. To explore the film in this manner, one must first put Forman in the role of Salieri. This may seem absurd since Forman is very talented and should not be jealous of anyone, but it is important to remember that this is a reflection of his insecurities, not the facts. The three main struggles of Forman shown in Amadeus are becoming a commercial artist, jealousy of other artists, and the fear of mediocrity.

The first artistic concern Forman confronts through the film is his worry of becoming too commercial or mainstream. Forman was born in Czechoslovakia, and until 1973 he was a Czechoslovakian filmmaker. Films such as Loves of Blondes and The Fireman’s Ball made him an art-house sensation, but in 1975 with his film One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest he became a whole other type of sensation. The film won the Oscar for Best Picture, and he won for Best Director. The film’s great success officially made him a Hollywood filmmaker. This of course isn’t a bad thing. Cuckoo’s Nest is an incredible film, but it is clear that Forman was not so sure about where he was artistically. There is a scene in the film where Salieri’s newest opera is declared by the emperor as “the greatest opera that ever was”, but Salieri knows this isn’t true. No matter how many people come to see his music, and how few go see Mozart’s Salieri knows in his heart that Mozart is much better than he. Any praise he gets just frustrates him. Salieri longs to switch places with Mozart, and be the one who is poor and unliked, but most importantly talented. Salieri, like Forman, wants to be a true artist.

The next insecurity shown by Forman, jealousy of other artsists, is not so much insecurity, but more of a result of his other artistic insecurities. This is not special for Forman, but something that almost all artists face. Everyone wants to be the best, and wants there work to be soon. When another artist is superior it causes them to worry about their own ability. The plot of the film revolves around this issue. Salieri is so extremely jealous of Mozart’s talent that throughout the film he continually tries to sabotage Mozart, be it advising the emperor against Mozart’s wishes, or his final scheme, which eventually leads to the death of Mozart. Salieri’s actions are downright evil, but yet it is hard not to sympathize with him. He just wants to be a talented composer, and he sees Mozart as the one preventing him from this. If he can just lower the bar, maybe he could jump over it. This shows Forman’s (and almost all artist’s) secret desire for others to fail.

The final worry of Forman’s shown in this film, is the fear of being mediocre. Sadly being passionate and strong willed are not enough to make an artist truly great. An artist needs to have talent. Talent is something that you are born with, so the lack of it is really the only thing stopping a persistent artist. Sadly Salieri had very little talent. This frustrates him to the point of madness. He continually curses God for his misfortune, and dreams so dearly that he could no longer be so mediocre. He is not a bad composer, but he is not, he is not great, and he is definitely not Mozart. Forman is most definitely not mediocre, but without a doubt the fear of being mediocre was in the back of his mind. All Salieri can do is destroy those who are not mediocre, because there is no way around mediocrity, and Forman knew this.

In his film Amadeus, Milos Forman confronts his mental demons as an artist, by using the much-embellished story of rival composers Mozart and Salieri. The three main insecurities he explores are the worry of losing artistic integrity when becoming commercial, the jealousy and envy of other artists, and the terrifying idea of having little or no talent. It is somewhat ironic, and most definitely beautiful, that while confronting his artistic fears, he created his very best work of art.