Best Picture of 1984: Amadeus

Never has music caused such a stir in cinema. Usually when we think of music and movies we think about how music sets the tone. Music helps us to understand how the characters are acting and helps us to understand how they feel or what they are thinking. Never has music been the cause of jealousy or contemp. Yet, Amadeus shows that it is very possible for music to be the cause of these issue in film. This films follows the story of Mozart's life as told by rival composer Antonio Salieri. Salieri was the court composer in the 18th Century. He tells the priest that he used to be the most famous composer in Vienna until Mozart came on the scene. Salieri believed that God gave him the gift of music and wanted to use it to glorify him. He gave up everything so he could be the best composer alive. He believed that God turned his back on him when Mozart not only became more popular, but when he realized that Mozart was actually great at composing. Salieri them becomes obsessed with taking down Mozart any way he can.




Nominated for 11 Academy Awards in 1984 Amadeus was a powerhouse that never really was the popular of a film. It is one of five Best Picture Winners that never made it into the top five Weekend Box Office sales since they started recording the number in 1982. Orion took home the top prize bearing out: Enigma Film Productions The Killing Fields; G.W. Films A Passage to India; Tri-Star's Places in the Heart; and Columbia's A Soldier's Story.




I really had to look into the story once the movie was over. This was a great film but it seemed very out there in some parts. Turns out it was because this is a fictionalized biography of Mozart's life. It made for a very good film! It was a really interesting story to follow and it was thoroughly entertaining the whole way through! I loved that they only used Mozart's music through the whole film rather than added more. Mozart seems like a very interesting character in general, even if some parts of his life are made up for the film. This would be a film that I would really want to watch again.