Amadeus
In the winter of 1823, Antonio Salieri is committed to a psychiatric hospital after a suicide attempt, during which his servants overhear him confess to murdering Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The young priest Father Vogler approaches Salieri for elaboration on Salieri's confession. Salieri recounts how, even in his youth in the 1760s, he desired to be a composer, much to his father's chagrin. He prays to God that if He makes Salieri a famous composer, he will, in return, promise his faithfulness. Soon after, his father dies, which Salieri takes as a sign that God has accepted his vow. By 1774, Salieri has become court composer to Emperor Joseph II in Vienna. Seven years later, at a reception in honor of Mozart's patron, the Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg, Salieri is shocked to discover that the transcendentally talented Mozart is obscene and immature. Salieri, a devout Catholic, cannot fathom why God would endow such a great gift to Mozart instead of him and concludes that God is using Mozart's talent to mock Salieri's mediocrity. Salieri renounces God and vows to take revenge on Him by destroying Mozart.
MPAA Rating: | R |
Genre: | Drama, Biography, Music, History |
Country: | France, United States |
Produced By: | Bertil Ohlsson, Saul Zaentz, Michael Hausman |
Directed By: | Milos Forman |
Written By: | Peter Shaffer |
Cast: | Christine Ebersole, Charles Kay, Karel Fiala, Roy Dotrice, Kenneth McMillan, Martin Cavina, Karel Hábl, Elizabeth Berridge, Therese Herz, Michele Esposito, Zdenek Jelen, Douglas Seale, Rita Zohar, Vincent Schiavelli, Richard Stilwell, Rene Gabzdyl, Jeffrey Jones, June Anderson, Patrick Hines, Pavel Nový, Milan Riehs, Josef Zeman, Vladimír Svitácek, Tom Hulce, Jan Blazek, Barbara Bryne, Willard White, Kenny Baker, Brian Pettifer, Atka Janousková, Cynthia Nixon, Simon Callow, Karel Gult, Ivan Pokorny, Roderick Cook, Philip Lenkowsky, Alexander Oliver, Milan Demjanenko, Jirí Lír, Samuel Ramey, F. Murray Abraham, Cassie Stuart, Herman Meckler, Jan Pohan, Jan Kuzelka, Jirí Krytinár, Miro Grisa, Nicholas Kepros, Miriam Chytilová, Radka Fiedlerová, Dana Vávrová, Peter DiGesu, John Carrafa, Lenka Loubalová, Jitka Molavcová, Eva Senková, Richard Frank, Hana Brejchová, Karl-Heinz Teuber, Zdenek Mahler, Ladislav Krecmer, Karel Effa, Robin Leggate, Lisbeth Bartlett |
In Theaters: | Sep 19, 1984 |
Runtime: | 2 hours 40 minutes |
Production: | AMLF, The Saul Zaentz Company |
Budget: | $18,000,000 |
Box Office: | $51,973,029 |
Available On: | Amazon, Itunes, Netflix, Vudu |
Read More On: | Wikipedia |