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Amadeus
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Metascore
93 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 12 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.5 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 126 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
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  • Starring: F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce
  • Summary: The Director's Cut of Milos Forman's Oscar-winning 1984 film about the rivalry between composers Mozart (Hulce) and Salieri (Abraham).

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12
  1. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Wilmington
    100
    It still soars, but now it seems richer, more expansive. Amadeus reminds us that movies can be lyrical as well as vulgar, ambitious as well as playful, brilliant as well as down and dirty -- just like Amadeus himself.
  2. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jack Mathews
    100
    "Amadeus is about as close to perfection as movies get," I wrote in 1984. Now, it's 20 minutes closer.
  3. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Dave Kehr
    60
    It binds up introductory lessons in music appreciation, Freudian psychology, and fanciful history with a pulp thriller plot.

See all 12 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 33
  3. Negative: 1 out of 33
  1. JMH
    10
    How better to tell a story of mediocrity, the average human condition, than by telling a story of a genius through the eyes of a mediocrity? Amadeus is not a film about Mozart, played flamboyantly by Tom Hulce; it's a film about his contemporary Antonio Salieri, played by F. Murray Abraham as a sort of composer-everyman. The film's plot is largely fictional, with its earliest source in Alexandr Pushkin's 1830 Mozart and Salieri. Salieri blames God for meting out the greatest gift He could offer a composer, genius, with cruel unfairness. Salieri feels he's a devoted servant of God, via his music. But comes Mozart, in Salieri's eyes a pagan who nonetheless creates, sans effort, music Salieri knows to be genius -- this "idle loafer" (per Pushkin) has been granted God's gift. Salieri can't accept this injustice, and he plots Mozart's death, all the while hearing the voice of God in Mozart's art. Herein, Amadeus tackles two eternal themes in man's relationship with genius. The seeming arbitrariness of genius -- placed in select hands -- belittles ordinary men. Yet the product of genius raises ordinary men beyond the brutalities of worldly existence. Most of us are mediocrities mocked and enlightened by some form of genius we don't fully comprehend. Accordingly, Salieri's mission takes on ironic motive: "I speak for all mediocrities in the world. I am their champion. I am their patron saint." Taking a step back, should genius be stamped out because it's inegalitarian by nature, or relished because it enlightens the vulgar masses of which we're a part? Director Milos Forman allows both possibilities to play out brilliantly. And from Forman there are deeper questions, as the Czechoslovakian-born director lost his parents in the Holocaust and emigrated to the U.S. when the Soviets invaded his homeland. Most specifically, does genius have the potential to save men from themselves and their worst collective impulses? At its heart, Amadeus asserts, emphatically, that it does.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. nutterjr
    5
    Having waited this long to watch it I have to admit that I am somewhat disappointed. It did not woe me at all. It is a long long costume drama about a guy with an annoying laugh and an obvious talent for music.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. stepholicious
    0
    I was quite keen to watch this film but the over top and ridiculous American accent of Tom Hulce detracted from what could have otherwise been an enjoyable historical drama. Does it not matter what country the movie is set it? I'm sick of hearing **** American regardless of the setting.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes

See all 33 User Reviews

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