"It seemed to me that I was hearing the very voice of God."
Amadeus, so titled for one of it's leading characters, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, took home 8 Oscars in 1985, including Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Picture. After finally having seen it, I have no question as to why it won so many awards. This movie is a work of pure art. The writing, based on Peter Shaffer's play with the same title, was brilliant. The costumes and set design were absolutely breathtaking (the movie took home Oscars for both). The acting was great, the cinematography was skillful, and the pacing flowed smoothly. But the best aspect of the film was undoubtedly the music.
In many movies where music is present, it resides in the background and swells momentarily in order to evoke a certain emotion at a specific point in a scene. Not so with Amadeus. In this film, the music IS the story. I expected music in a movie about composers, but I did not anticipate the perfect synchronicity between the visual images and the music at every moment of the film. Each piece was specifically chosen to tell the viewer, through their ears and not just their eyes, what was happening. The music carried me through the 3 hours of the Director's Cut.
Also, this movie made me FEEL. As I've mentioned multiple times throughout this blog, when I sit down to watch a film, I want to be emotionally invested. I want to empathize with the characters and feel what they feel. Or at least feel something about them. During Amadeus, my emotions were all over the place (in a good way). I laughed, I cried, I grieved, I got pissed off - and I loved every second of it.
Also, this movie made me FEEL. As I've mentioned multiple times throughout this blog, when I sit down to watch a film, I want to be emotionally invested. I want to empathize with the characters and feel what they feel. Or at least feel something about them. During Amadeus, my emotions were all over the place (in a good way). I laughed, I cried, I grieved, I got pissed off - and I loved every second of it.
Okay, yes, there is one thing about this movie I could complain about... and when have I ever not taken the opportunity to do that? So...the accents... oh, dear me, the accents. The Austrians all spoke with English accents, except one random hairdresser who clearly enjoyed his w's being v's. Only 1 of the Italians actually spoke with an Italian accent and Mozart - pure American, baby. It definitely took me a minute to get past that issue. But if confusing accents are the only negative thing I mention, the rest of the film must have been pretty impressive.
And it was. So I say again:
This movie is pure art.
And it was. So I say again:
This movie is pure art.
It was directed by a Czech director, so I think it's kind of funny that the accents were off...
ReplyDeleteAre you aware that your Aunt Kate acted in a play with Tom Hulce, who played Mozart?
ReplyDeleteAlso, your father and I felt like the play is more effective than the movie overall. Just sayin'!
Outstanding review! When you say, "...the music IS the story," and "...this movie made me FEEL," you remind me of the scene where Mozart's wife and father are arguing, and he tries to intervene to calm them, but they ignore him to keep fighting with each other, so as he turns helplessly away from them, the sound of them arguing gets quieter, and the sound of the beautiful opera in his head gets louder; a blissful escape to the utter joy of his gift! That scene still gives me goosebumps!
ReplyDeleteI shouldn't give away the ending to the stage version (I think everyone I've described it to has said, "Wow!"), but it is true that the stage version has more brilliant dialogue than the movie!
Again, excellent review!
Al Firestone