57th Academy Awards · 1985
Amadeus
Directed by Miloš Forman
“The man... The music... The madness... The murder... The motion picture.”
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The story
Disciplined Italian composer Antonio Salieri becomes consumed by jealousy and resentment towards the hedonistic and remarkably talented young Salzburger composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
What critics & audiences say
Tomatometer90%Fresh#57 of 98 winnersIMDb8.4474K votes#12 of 98 winners
Metacritic87/ 100#33 of 93 winners
TMDB8.0/ 10
Famous lines
I speak for all mediocrities in the world. I am their champion. I am their patron saint.
Count Von Strack: Mozart, you are not the only composer in Vienna.
Mozart: No. But I'm the best!
Your merciful God. He destroyed His own beloved rather than let a mediocrity share in the smallest part of His glory.
From now on, we are enemies... You and I.
All I ever wanted was to sing to God. He gave me that longing... and then made me mute. Why?
Father Vogler: Yes, I know that! Oh, that's charming! I'm sorry, I didn't know you wrote that.
Old Salieri: I didn't. That was Mozart. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Displace one note and there would be diminishment. Displace one phrase and the structure would fall.
It seemed to me that I was hearing the voice of God.
That was Mozart. That! That giggling dirty-minded creature I had just seen, crawling on the floor!
Salieri: How...Did my work please you?
Mozart: I never knew that music like that was possible!
Quotes via Wikiquote
Fun facts
- At the Oscar ceremony, an ailing Laurence Olivier skipped reading the Best Picture nominees entirely and simply announced, "The winner for this is Amadeus," before an Academy official hurried onstage to confirm all was well.Wikipedia · Accolades
- Mark Hamill, who played Mozart late in the original Broadway run, was rejected by Miloš Forman because of his association with Luke Skywalker; Forman believed audiences would not accept him as the composer.Wikipedia · Production
- Tom Hulce reportedly drew on tennis star John McEnroe's mood swings for his Mozart, and claimed he did not find the character's signature laugh until he downed a bottle of whiskey.Wikipedia · Production
- Maurice Jarre, accepting the Best Original Score Oscar for A Passage to India that same night, joked, "I was lucky Mozart was not eligible this year."Wikipedia · Accolades
- Tim Curry, who originated Mozart on Broadway, was not allowed to reprise the role, though at Peter Shaffer's suggestion he was allowed to screen-test for Salieri instead.Wikipedia · Production
- Meg Tilly was cast as Mozart's wife Constanze but tore a ligament in her leg the day before shooting began, and Elizabeth Berridge replaced her.Wikipedia · Production
- Forman shot in Prague's Estates Theatre, the very house where Mozart's Don Giovanni had premiered two centuries earlier, lighting the interior by candlelight.Wikipedia · Production
- The soundtrack album sold over 6.5 million copies and earned thirteen gold discs, making it one of the most popular classical music recordings of all time.Wikipedia · Music
- Unlike the film's lonely, chaste Salieri, the real Antonio Salieri was a married family man with eight children and at least one mistress, and he even gave Mozart's son music lessons after Mozart's death.Wikipedia · Historicity
- Amadeus is one of the few Best Picture winners never to reach the weekend box office top 5, peaking at No. 6 in its eighth weekend in theaters.Wikipedia · Accolades