Oscar-winning biopic, based on the play by Peter Shaffer, which tells the story of the composer Antonio Salieri (F. Murray Abraham) and his relationship to the man he later claims to have murdered, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Tom Hulce). Having already gained the confidence of the Emperor, Salieri is frustrated by the arrival of the genius Mozart, a man who quickly usurps his position in the court. His frustration is magnified by both his disapproval of Mozart's vulgar behaviour and by the fact that it is he, more so than anyone else, who can appreciate the true beauty of the young composer's work. When Mozart dies under mysterious circumstances, can it really be Salieri who is to blame?
The satirical sensibilities of writer Peter Shaffer and director Milos Forman (One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest) were ideally matched in this Oscar-winning movie adaptation of Shaffer's hit play about the rivalry between two composers in the court of Austrian Emperor Joseph II--official royal composer Antonio Salieri (F. Murray Abraham), and the younger but superior prodigy Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Tom Hulce). The conceit is absolutely delicious: Salieri secretly loathes Mozart's crude and bratty personality but is astounded by the beauty of his music. That's the heart of Salieri's torment--although he's in a unique position to recognise and cultivate both Mozart's talent and career, he's also consumed with envy and insecurity in the face of such genius. That such magnificent music should come from such a vulgar little creature strikes Salieri as one of God's cruellest jokes, and it drives him insane. Amadeus creates peculiar and delightful contrasts between the impeccably re-created details of its lavish period setting and the jarring (but humorously refreshing and unstuffy) modern tone of its dialogue and performances--all of which serve to remind us that these were people before they became enshrined in historical and artistic legend. Jeffrey Jones, best-known as Ferris Bueller's principal, is particularly wonderful as the bumbling emperor (with the voice of a modern mid-level businessman). The film's eight Oscars include statuettes for Best Director Forman, Best Actor Abraham (Hulce was also nominated), Best Screenplay and Best Picture.