User Score
8.5 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 172 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Negative: 10 out of 172

Review this movie

  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
  1. FlorianH.
    Feb 20, 2004
    10
    Yoon C. makes some good points, but Amadeus was never intended to be a realistic documentary so the analysis is a bit flawed. Also remember the tale is told to a clergyman through the eyes and ears of Salieri. Mediocrity comsumed Salieri's mind.
  2. AshleyK.
    Oct 6, 2002
    10
    To be succinct: the best movie I have ever seen, indisputably!!
  3. JohnT.
    Apr 6, 2002
    10
    This is an unforgetable movie from start to finish.
  4. Dec 14, 2012
    9
    This wonderful piece of historical-fiction brings to the table a variety of entertainment. Milo
  5. Danny
    May 1, 2002
    10
    My favorite movie of all time. And in my view, F. Murray Abraham's performance is the greatest acting performance in the history of movie and drama-making. His performance is THE standard against which ALL acting performances should be measured.
  6. BillS.
    Sep 21, 2003
    10
    Every time I see this movie it seems to get better.
  7. MichaelA
    Aug 11, 2009
    10
    A celebration in music, cinematography, with witty dialogues, & interesting story, told in the flashback mode from an asylum.
  8. MaestroMulroneycakes
    Dec 9, 2002
    10
    If there has ever been a better biopic, please let me know, because as far as I can tell, "Amadeus" is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. F Murray is spot-on as the seething Salieri, Tom Hulce is almost as good, perfect as a wonderfully irritating but oddly endearing Mozart. And Jeffrey "Say it ain't so" Jones is hillarious. Forman, meanwhile, has never done a better directorial job, and Shaffer's adaption of his own play is only criticizable on two scores: leaving out most of the "grazie, signor" speech; and slight historical inaccuracy, which has only come to light recently anyway. This is powerful, compelling film-making that needs to be seen. Oh, and the soundtrack rocks bells as well. Obviously. Expand
  9. BradleyE.
    May 17, 2002
    9
    In terms of times seen (at least ten) my all-time favorite. The greatest composer of all time portrayed as someone you'd more expect to meet a frat house still makes me smile. Great casting all around. Some great lines and of course great music.
  10. DCLWolf
    May 28, 2002
    10
    Brilliant! One of the major accomplishes of this film that rarely is acknowledged, is how it captures the spirit of creativity, and the amazingly destructive while still inspiring magic of genius, and how perilously close it runs alongside madness.
  11. jayL
    May 19, 2008
    10
    Sublime, superb, marvelous-do I need say more?? The whole movie had a rich, creamy, completely finished feel. Everything was perfect, from the philosophical questions right down to the heart-breaking soundtrack who no one could have composed but Mozart. Oh!! The questions it stirred, the way it, not mocks but observes human faults and then the humour!! It somehow found the perfect balance to make you laugh and cry in exact unison. It had me completely hooked. I'd give it an 100000000 if I could. A+. Expand
  12. Stacie
    Apr 5, 2002
    10
    My favorite movie of all time.
  13. BrianJ.
    Sep 3, 2002
    10
    10 points from Denmark!!!!!
  14. NeilK.
    Dec 6, 2003
    10
    It is unfair that a brilliant film from 1984, got BETTER!!! I was amazed at how much richer the supporting performances became. (particularly Elizabeth Berridge)
  15. RickR.
    Apr 14, 2003
    10
    I'm 55 and an AVID movie fan. This is on my top ten list. It hits ALL the buttons--acting, editing, cinematography, score, etc. and excels in all categories.
  16. LijunH.
    May 22, 2004
    10
    Wonderful music.....sorry for the sad ending.
  17. BryanH
    Feb 4, 2007
    10
    It had it all; the best acting from the entire cast including competing best actor noms, the best cinematography ever, music (of course, extraordinaire). Costuming, make-up, the finest of any film ever made and a juxtaposition of comedy and tragedy that defines drama.
  18. EnzoP.
    Jul 2, 2009
    10
    Amadeus is one of my favorite movies ever a near perfect movie. It's dazzling, very interesting and funny. Also F. Murray Abraham puts on a one of a kind performance.
  19. PatC.
    Dec 22, 2003
    9
    I thought the original was a 10 movie, but I agree with Yoon's observation below. Mozart was as good as he was presented, but his contemporaries were not as bad.
  20. AndrewM.
    Nov 3, 2004
    10
    Amadeus is an effortlessly entertaining film, to put it mildly. I won't, in fact I cannot, critique it in detail as I have only seen it the onc time, as an 8 yr old when it was first released. To be honest I can remember very little about it, other than Hulce, Abraham, Berridge and of course the music. The question must arise then: how can I rate it if my memory of it is so scant? Simple, because as an 8 yr old I was completely bowled over by this film. I was enthralled, stunned, shocked and entertained - and wild horses could not have dragged me away, not for any one of the 158 mins that it ran. While everything else may be hidden in cloudy haze of time-worn memory, I will never forget how this film captured my heart, imagination and soul. A classic. Collapse
  21. JoeB.
    Mar 11, 2005
    10
    Great movie that doesn't take itself too seriously...so it should be viewed in that respect. If I wanted a documentary, I'd watch the history channel special on Mozart.
  22. JennyG.
    May 19, 2006
    10
    this has always been and will forever be my favorite movie of all time. i have honestly seen this movie at least 30 or 40 times; about half of those viewings was when i was a child, not able to even follow the story line completely. i suppose most of what kept me coming back for more was mozart's brilliant compositions, which all have a certain sweetness to them that no other composer has ever been able to duplicate. as i got older and was able to understand everything that was going on in the story, i fell even deeper in love with this film. it was just about six months ago that i bought the director's cut - the deleted scenes (although strange to see after having seen the original dozens and dozens of times) shed a whole new light on the movie that i have basically memorized line for line. truly brilliant. Expand
  23. Rev.Rikard
    Jun 23, 2006
    10
    What a great vehicle for presenting an ancient, yet still relevant theological/existential question: Why does God give gifts of remarkable creativity and ingenuity to those who treat those gifts with such shallow reverence? Furthermore, why does God endow those who passionately desire these gifts with medicore ability? Almost everyone could identify with Salieri.
  24. Mar 8, 2011
    10
    great movie. Tom Hulce a great actor.i love when he does his nervous laugh. it is true most artists are weird they have a artistic mind. being a genius has its cons.
  25. Jan 9, 2012
    10
    Amazing movie! Great story and brilliant music. Maybe it's a bit too long, but on the end it's worth every second of your time. Totally a must watch!!
  26. Aug 12, 2012
    9
    From the most important contemporary Czech director Milos Forman, whose sole work I have watched before is THE PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLYNT (1996, an 8/10) and he has gotten hold of two Oscar wins for BEST DIRECTOR, one for this film and another one for ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO
  27. Sep 10, 2012
    9
    A near perfect fim that is just magical and marvelous. This type of film might appear to be very tedious, but is wasn't. Everything about it was just great. Wonderful acting. That laugh will be instilled in my mind forever.
  28. JMH
    May 7, 2012
    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
  29. Sep 4, 2012
    10
    Absolutely amazing. The watcher needs no prior knowledge of classical music to enjoy this movie because the plot is so riveting and the acting is so great. Afterwards the viewer may become interested in classical music just because this movie does an exceptional job displaying Mozart and Salieri's lives in an extremely interesting and captivating way.
  30. Dec 19, 2012
    10
    I saw this film when i was in eigth grade. I thought it would be boring, dull and incredibly moronic. How wrong I was. This movie is AMAZING! There are no words to describe its greatness. It is a visual treat that attracts the eye, and a glorious feast for music fans (and non-classical fans as well) It is close to perfection as movies come. Like Jaws, The Godfather, Raiders of the Lost Ark,Toy Story 3, and other great classics- i consider this to be my top favorite all time movie. It deserves all the awards it received. The only flaw it has, Tom Hulce didn't win best actor (but F. Murray Abraham did) IT IS AMAZING! Expand
  31. Nov 28, 2012
    9
    Massive in terms of scale, talent, and allure, "Amadeus" remains an epic in every sense of the word.
Metascore

Universal acclaim - based on 12 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 12
  2. Negative: 0 out of 12
  1. 100
    Remains the most popularly successful film ever to render the inner life of an artist.
  2. Amadeus needs an additional 20 minutes running time like "The Magic Flute" needs a drum solo. Though the production is gussied up with more frills and decoration than a Viennese dessert trolley, Forman is generally workmanlike in his visual style and very uneven with his handling of actors.
  3. 88
    Except for the Mozart music and Tharp movements around the edges, Amadeus plays like a monument to mediocrity. The movie belongs to Salieri.