Amadeus is a remarkable film. Although it's not the all too epic one would expect for an Oscar Best Picture way back 1984, and although it doesn't have the elements that a sure-fire box office hit has, it is nonetheless a very original movie and surely earns my humble respect. In fact, this is probably the most respected musical biopic Hollywood has ever crafted.
Speaking about originality, the credits go to the director, Milos Forman, and its screenplay by Petter Shaffer. Its direction is marvelous and helming a picture as this requires an abundant patience and intricate detrmination to carefully bring out the scenes, until they all roll into a recognizable pattern - a horrible yet almost beautiful story behind a man's madness into his own ambition and dreams. Also, its own writing and dialogues accompanies a fantastic study within a man's behaviour, particularly about his own obsession for a certain skill that in all the world he couldn't have.
What was awesome was that the film didn't shed the main limelight to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - but although he was the main reason for the existence of this film. Instead, the film centers on the character of Antonio Salieri, a venerated court composer serving the line of the French Royals, especially Emperor Joseph II. It all revolved around this man, the very man who dreamed to become great, who dreamed to be the greatest musical genius that ever lived - yet lacked that certain spin-of-the-destiny skill that was graced to the legendary Mozart. For the very time I have seen the film and watched the first sequence, one would really believe that the old man you would see speaking would be Mozart himself, but no, it was a terrific formula that the director to mislead you at the beginning.
So to study Atonio Salieri, he was the man who had envied Mozart's skills, who secretly hates everytime he would play in the public, who would want to do anything to stop this musical genius for ever. In this film, this kind of madness was wonderfully portrayed and F. Murray Abraham did an astounding job at that. He gives subtlety to Salieri, who dwells in his own obsession with great control and sometimes with a wicked eye and grace. One of the best scenes in the film was when Salieri was applauded by the Emperor for composing such a lovely piece for Mozart's arrival, but when the Emperor challenged Mozart to play Salieri's piece, he received it with a smile and said that he had already memorised the "sequence with a tune that goes over and over again".
Another thing that made this picture a delight was that they did not depict Mozart to be a perfect figure of the Renaissance, that musical man who captured perfection of the Marriage of Figarro, and the Requiem, but instead depict him as a loony, clownish jokester with such a sharp, girlish laugh. He's almost like a lampoon, and not the genius who lives by notes and chords all by his life. He does not take life seriously and his presence was made as though he was filled with innocence, such an ironic twist to Salieri's contemptuous character. All played brilliantly by Tom Hulce, who received a nomination for this heavenly mess he had made.
Watch Amadeus, it is a good film. No. A great film. It also serves as a psychological insight and study about man's intuitions and behaviour. It carefully and strategically bisects a man's obsession, its development and its own impending doom. Not only that, Amadeus is a carefully constructed film, noteworthy is its deepest sense. I just adore how the film was able to bring out the cunning evolution of the characters and the story's own prudent progression from ambition, to obsession until the man's own downfall.

Rating: A