Amadeus (1984) - Full Reaction

Of all the reactions of yours I have enjoyed, I think this is my favorite so far. Your reactions to the music were wonderful to watch. One thing of many I love about this movie is how some of the pieces, particularly at the end with the Requiem, are broken down into their component parts, so a person with no musical training might get an idea of how orchestral music is composed and then orchestrated for the instruments and voices. It's an amazing movie and I really enjoyed watching it with you. :)

SteveW

What do you mean you didn’t get your you redemption?

Nolofinwe

Great movie and stage play! In case you didn't know, the songs were translated into English from Italian or German. Back in the day, my voice teacher had me sing "Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen" from The Magic Flute. German is tough.

Stephen Dias

Thanks for this reaction, love this movie.

Korny

Solari 's story was lest true, but I bought a CD of his music, Solari's music wasn't impressive to me,

Steve H

In all my decades of watching films of all kinds, I firmly believe that F. Murray Abraham's performance as Antonio Salieri is the greatest acting performance that I've ever seen. Do yourself a favor and purchase the marvelous soundtrack, Amadeus (The Complete Soundtrack Recording) by the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields and Sir Neville Marriner. You'll find yourself listening to it all the time and being transported.

Damon

Ready for another famous composer? Check out Immortal Beloved! (Beethoven)

Aaron

I love this film, and I love the legend it tells—but I also realise it's unfair to the real-life individuals involved if we take it literally. 1. Salieri was not a bad sort (and he almost certainly didn't have this kind of love-hate relation with Mozart). He was one of history's great musical teachers (he taught Beethoven) and he was willing to teach for free if the pupil had talent and was otherwise too poor to afford him (he taught Franz Liszt for nothing). 2. Salieri, in the movie, says he was the most famous composer in Europe, but this was never true, and Salieri would never have said it. The most famous composer in Europe at the time—and the one everyone would have acknowledged as the best, and with good reason—was Joseph Haydn. And very touchingly: Haydn and Mozart knew each other, considered each other equals, and were very close friends. Haydn, the older of the two, was on tour in London when Mozart died, and was deeply upset on hearing the news, and according to some accounts never quite got over it.

Henry Fitzgerald

Ahh so you are Swe/Dan? Cool 😀 You see, I harass every Scandinavians here 🤪😝🙃 Have you seen the swedish movie Fcuking Åmål aka Show me love??? I know it was a success in Denmark as well back in the days. I think they even did a theater performance of the movie in Denmark, some years ago 😀 Can you help a swede and request this movie? The name of the movie in popcorn request is Show me love. 😇 btw... Blinkande lyktor is an awesome movie. It's in the popcorn request now 👍

Björn Karlsson

To me Amadeus had the very strange effect of suddenly making the music that my parents loved, cool. My father had a “music room” with state of the art sound equipment and shelves filled with classical music - and only two Abba records, which my mom (who was born in Sweden) slipped in. In 1985, when I was a teenager, we had an American summer student, Brian from Illinois, stay with us in Denmark for 6 weeks, and at one point the whole family decided to watch Amadeus in the local movie theater. We loved it, but Brian was not impressed. He didn’t dislike the movie, but a few days later, he suggested going again, but this time he would pick “a really good movie”. So soon after, we all went to watch Beverly Hills Cop - Brian’s choice - and as we tried to find our seats, being the teenager that I was, I had a sudden realization and quickly turned to my mother with a desperate plee: “Mom, please don’t laugh too loudly”.

Jens Pouplier

She has expressed interest in watching more Coen brothers movies and I think both RAISING ARIZONA and HUDSUCKER PROXY (which was my own introduction to those wacky sibling auteurs) would only increase her appetite for them.

Stick Figure Studios

The scary thing is that Mozart and Beethoven only had access to a fraction of the music we take for granted today.

ArsTropica

Hoping that one day soon Cassie will circle back to the actor that started it all for her: Tim Robbins. The Hudsucker Proxy is a gorgeous looking picture, and that one sequence in the middle is as close to film perfection as I've ever seen.

ArsTropica

If I remember the story is fiction (there was no rivalry between Mozart and Salieri - although Mozart did die penniless and was burried in a pauper's grave.

Rob Thomas

I think Cassie would like ED WOOD. Also BIG FISH.

Stick Figure Studios

A ton of my friends were at that John Williams concert! Looked like a great time!

Philip Alan

“Well…there it is” Thank you for all you do Cassie, I’m so happy you got to this movie. It’s right up at the top of my list of all time favorites. I got a little chuckle when you caught the Emperor’s “Mmhuh”

Robert Harper

"Mediocrities everywhere! I absolve you!" I love that line so much. It's cheeky, but it also cuts to a valuable truth that is often missed in our culture. So often our stories tell us - follow your dream and you can be whatever you want! Well, no, you can't. Most of us simply don't have it in us to be Mozart, however hard we work, or how much we "deserve" it. And that's okay. The value of our lives is not measured by our raw talent or celebrity. That is a lesson that both Salieri and Mozart struggle mightily with throughout the film. But in those last moments, I think Salieri does begin to make peace with it, and so *does* achieve a measure of redemption. In this I often think of AMADEUS as a companion film to Tim Burton's ED WOOD, which is also a biography about a man of great aspirations who just... doesn't possess the talent to match, yet finds meaning and value in his life all the same. I guess we haven't found a Burton film you like yet, but I think ED WOOD might be it. A bit of trivia. AMADEUS was a stage play before it was a movie. Notable actors to play Salieri on Broadway include Ian McKellan (Gandalf) and Frank Langella. Notable actors to play Mozart include Tim Curry and Mark Hamill. Hamill was seriously considered for the film version. Tom Hulce - Mozart here in the film - originated the role of Lt. Kaffee in the stage version of A FEW GOOD MEN.

Robin T

When I went to THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO (the first opera I ever saw on stage and still my favorite), I remember recognizing quite a bit of the music... particularly that letter-writing scene from the third act as the piece that Andy plays over the last speaker in SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION. Red says he has no idea what those two Italian ladies were singing about, but I found out that night. ;)

Stick Figure Studios

Great reaction Cassie! I haven’t seen this in a while. I almost forgot how good it was. I’m glad you enjoyed it. It may have not had the happy ending you were hoping for. But the fact that you immediately wanted to go research Mozart after seeing the film is a good indicator of a great film. Mozart composed over 600 works in his short 35 year life. His first documented work was when he was 5 years old. Here’s a clip on YouTube if you want to give it a listen https://youtu.be/bke8MvLws5M I’m an adult I could even imagine writing anything like that now. Let alone when I was 5 years old! 😀 I would recommend you also check out Immortal Beloved. Which is about the life of Beethoven.

Robert da Spruce

Loved that movie. Also, I did notice that Cassie hasn’t seen other great Kevin Costner movies like The Bodyguard and The Guardian; or Harrison Ford’s courtroom drama Presumed Innocent.

Uncle Phoenix

Always enjoy your thoughful comments, I think we all do! please dont stop!!

Cassie

that was such an amazing and heartbreaking scene

Cassie

Movies about real. people that take tremendous liberties with the truth.

Stick Figure Studios

The actual Salieri really did have a weakness for sweets and you see him eating them throughout the film.

Stick Figure Studios

In his personal letters, too, Mozart seemed to display a bizarre fascination with people's bowel movements and other scatalogical subjects.

Stick Figure Studios

"I'm a vulgar man, but I assure you my music is not." This is one of the best films I've ever seen. It functions quite effectively as both a harrowing exploration of jealousy and a penetrating portrait of genius (many of the characteristics Mozart exhibited in the film, though exaggerated, have basis in truth... and in fact lots of eccentricities are left out; he was so gifted at concocting catchy melodies, for example, that if he encountered a beggar in the street but had no money with him, he would jot down a simple musical phrase on a scrap of paper that the beggar could take to a publisher for payment). If you researched it afterwards as you said you would in the outro, then you have a better idea of how much of it is true (not much) but it's historical liberties do not take away from it's merit as a powerful story and an immensely entertaining film... and certainly not from it's value as a work of art. Born out of my passion for orchestral film scores, I'm a huge lover of classical music myself (though I've had no formal training in it; what little I do know it's entirely self-taught) and this film played a big part in that. Indeed it re-ignited an interest in Mozart in the general populace when it was released in 1984 (I remember EVERYONE had the soundtrack to this film) and even, ironically, some of Salieri's music. The first opera I ever saw on stage was THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO and it's still my personal favorite (THE MAGIC FLUTE is another one). Like you, I was surprised at how much of the music I recognized from other things while I was watching it. Mozart's music is quite ubiquitous nowadays and for good reason. The opening scene where Salieri plays two tunes of his own and then "A Little Night Music" by Mozart which the priest -- and everyone in the audience -- instantly recognizes is a perfect scene as it sums up the entire theme of the film in a few short minutes. Glad you got a chance to watch this and it looks like, though it's not *your* typical kind of film (no happy ending or redemption for the main character, for example, but that's just how some stories end), you were able to appreciate it. Another one you might be interested in checking out is IMMORTAL BELOVED starring Gary Oldman as Beethoven. It's not the great film that AMADEUS is, but it's still very good and it is another fictional answer to an actual mystery surrounding a great composer's life.

Stick Figure Studios

I think that's my favorite too.

Stick Figure Studios

That is one of my favorites scenes from any movie ever.

Stick Figure Studios

A live Don Giovanni performance will hit you in your soul. A true masterpiece.

Mike Kay

My favorite Mozart piece is the Overture to Le Nozze di Figaro. It’s my wake up alarm song every morning at 9:00 AM and sets the mood for a great day. (The London Philharmonic Orchestra version directed by Sir Georg Solti)

N M

Great watching this again with you Cassie. I love the look on your face during the scene when Salieri is assisting Mozart with the Requiem, when you realized Mozart could hear all of the parts in his head. Then we got to hear those parts as well. Definitely one of my favorite movie scenes ever, and brilliantly acted by Tom Hulce.

John Courtright

Hmm…I tried downloading the full reaction. Said the quota has been exceeded. I’ll try again tomorrow.

Robert da Spruce

It's rare to find that kind of openness without having the feeling it's false somehow. Watching Cassie, one is left with no doubt--she may be naive, but she is no fool, and her viewing experience is genuine.

Ben Livingstone

Whatever the subject matter, Cassie invests herself so openly and completely... and an observation that is very apaerent and easily seen here, but it's always true...Cassie has the perfect facial expressions to convey 'wonder.' - Yet again... Thank You for another excellent PiB reaction

Terry Yelmene

I like it more than Amadeus perhaps because Beethoven >> Mozart.

Michael Threapleton

"Picking the right Opera to see first is important" Totally agree, had I started with Peter Grimes rather than Gounod's Faust I wouldn't be the opera fan I am today. The Met's opera productions are world class. They also offer The Met Live in HD streaming to movie theaters. This is a simulcast of a matinee from NY so it's an early start for those of us on the west coast. Wagner's Das Rheingold at 10 am on the big screen with full sound! In some ways it is a more enriching experience than attending in person.

Michael Threapleton

Salieri never "confessed" because he almost certainly didn't do it, but he did claim to have killed Mozart during a mental / physical decline in a sanitarium in his later years..in his more lucid moments, however, he denied it.

Stick Figure Studios

Also, just so don’t think the burial thing is true-he was not buried in a mass grave. Mozart was in a common grave, which was a single person grave for people who weren’t aristocrats. These graves could be excavated 10 years later to make room. This was normal practice in Vienna at the time.

Tinkerbell

Hi Cassie, glad you watched this one. There are some big factual errors, but I love the way it respects Mozart’s gift and genius and the performances are wonderful. As for Mozart and Salieri, there are letters from Mozart to his father complaining about Salieri and “the Italians” preventing him from getting work, but as much Mozart and Salieri were in completion for the same jobs, there is also plenty of evidence showing they sometimes worked together and helped each other out. Also, Salieri was not celibate-he was married and had children. The official COD for Mozart was severe military fever, but there have been hundreds of theories as to what he actually died of, but we will never really know for sure. If you liked the music, you might want to check out an opera. (probably not for a reaction-just for you). Both Figaro and the Magic Flute are good gateway operas. The Metropolitan Opera has excellent versions of both available for streaming (i think they have a free 7 day trial). Both operas are available in full on YouTube, but I’m not sure how good those productions are. I think people generally think opera will be boring or stuffy, but they can be extremely powerful. Most people either love it or hate it, but picking just the right opera to see first is important.

Tinkerbell

You may recall in "Shawshank Redemption," Andy plays a bit of "The Marriage of Figaro" over the loudspeakers.

Daniel

The cleaning lady Solieri hired reminded me of Amy Adams but then she turns out to have been played by Cynthia Nixon, the attorney in Sex and the City. Amazing.

Ian Cano

I have to say this that the death of Mozart is still unknown how he died. salieri never confessed to anything, and most of it came from just gossip building up to a story that people started spreading around so most of this film is accurate but the salieri stuff isn’t. Like the emperor did tell Mozart there was too many notes which doesn’t make a lick of sense.

Night King01

Great movie and reaction, and I have to recommend a similar one that I think Cassie will like and that I personally love, "Immortal Beloved", with Gary Oldman as Beethoven.

Joe D. MacGuffinstuff

Oh by the way, Cassie. You wondered if they "talked like that" when Mozart comes up with some dirty lines backwards, and also at the end if Mozart really was like that. Well, he did compose a song called "Leck mich im Arsch" which literally means "lick me in the arse/ass" which is used equivalent to "kiss my ass". Probably meant for those drunk parties he attends frequently in the movie. So, yes, probably not to far off.

Tobias Eiken

Two movies featuring Jennifer Connelly - 40s pulp adventure flick "The Rocketeer" and true story "A Beautiful Mind" also starring Russel Crowe.

Robert

The romantic baseball movie "Love of the Game" starring Kevin Costner - you will love it if you have not already seen it.

Robert

Recommendations:

Robert

Greetings! Congratulations on having the best YouTube channel (as voted by me, but a win is a win!)

Robert

Brilliant film, one of my favourites growing up as a kid. Weird i know...

Alex

F Murray Abraham's performance in this is beyond perfect. A fantastic turn.

Dryfesands

Been a while since I'd seen this, forgot how entertaining it was. This was fun. Glad you liked it.

Larry Darrell

this is a perfect film

MetallicOpeth

Fun fact: Kenny Baker aka/ R2D2 plays the Emperor on the horse in the commoner's opera.

London Davis

I can count on one hand the director's cuts which have improved on the theatrical releases. One hand.

Carol_White

Proof positive the Oscars past poll is a good idea!

Celeste McAllister

Not sure if you recognized him but F. Murray Abraham, the actor that played Salieri also played Mr. Mustafa in The Grand Budapest Hotel. He won the Oscar for Best Actor for his brilliant performance in Amadeus.

Tim Raths

This was a great reaction. I admit I was modestly optimistic but a bit worried whether Cassie would actually enjoy it. After all it is a 3 hour long period drama about classical music. But I got the feeling throughout the reaction that she really liked it. Personally I think I liked this movie even more now watching it the second time, than I did two decades ago. Despite taking huge liberties in the story, it does a great job inspiring appreciation for the amazing talent Mozart was and can even make someone like me, who's not into classical music and almost never listens to it (apart from few contemporary film scores), to get caught up by their passion and fascinated by their compositions. I think I might even look for and listen to some Mozart later today. And Salieri, as he deserves recognition too and shouldn't be remembered as the jealous, spiteful person he was portrayed here. Edit Poll idea for the future: biopics There are some really good suggestion in Popcornrequests filtering for the 'biography' genre.

Gábor Árki

Looking up Mozart's life and death can lead back to questions. It's not exactly known what killed him, although bronchopneumonia is one possibility.

Kristopher Wood

C'mon Tobias 😃 I requested The wave, King's choise (I think) and Trollhunter in popcorn request. Awesome norwigian movies. I like Jens Stoltenberg's cameo role in Trollhunter 😊 Can you request Fcuking Åmål/Show me love? (They had to change the name for the US) Neighbours must help each other 😃👍🥰😇 you know, söta bror 😄

Björn Karlsson

One little detail Ive always liked in this film is that *SPOILER* Salieri's father dies by choking on his food, and thereafter whenever we see Salieri, he often has food around him.

Christian Yoder

That was excellent! A great film. Winner of 8 Academy Awards. Thank you to everyone who voted for this, my favorite film. And thank you, Cassie, for watching it. :)

Noby

What kind of whiskey

N M

He was only 35 when he died

N M

I love how deeply involved in it Cassie got when Mozart and Salieri were composing the requiem together. What a glorious film this is. I so enjoyed revisiting it for the first time in years today.

Henry Graham

You can visit Mozart’s apartment in Vienna. I’m a Mozart fan and experiencing his only surviving Viennese residence and also visiting the huge and impressive Zentralfriedhof where the graves and memorials of the world’s most famous composers (Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Johannes Brahms, Antonio Salieri, various members of the Strauss family, Arnold Schoenberg, etc) was a definite highlight. A monument of Mozart is in the Central Cemetery but we visited Mozart’s burial site at the nearby St. Marx Cemetery. My parents love classical music and they had me study the piano for 9 yrs before I decided to quit. Mozart’s Rondo Alla Turca was my last piano recital and is the only piece I can still play by heart.

Rose

If you like movies about real people, you should add A Beautiful Mind (2001) to your list. edit- Dang it! It's on the already watched list.

Mike Lemon

I love Mike Leigh. I think Cassie would like Secrets and Lies.

Carol_White

I think you might appreciate Mike Leigh's masterpiece Topsy-Turvy, a wonderful film about Gilbert and Sullivan that is so full of humour and humanity, and revealing about the creative process.

Henry Graham

bit of trivia: one of austria's famed chocolate treats is called Mozart kugeln (balls)

Wu Sha Ling

I will have to catch the YouTube edit as my schedule isn’t movie friendly anymore. I high sped through looking for snack time but didn’t see one, might have missed it. Any how, both my boys are in band and I was just talking to my younger son the other day about what fascinates me about music is all the musicians are keeping time and controlling their breath to produce the sound in time or the string players are doing the same thing with their arms and fingers. But the composer could hear all the music in their head before it existed. That’s fascinating to me. Because I have so much hearing loss I cannot hear music like my son does. We listen to a piece together and he breaks Down what each different instrument is doing and it’s particular purpose at that point in the piece. Sometimes I’m able to hear it but most of the time I cannot. It’s a great way for us to bond and he is able to teach me about music! So glad you do these reactions Cassie!!

Steven Ashford

This is one of those films that gets better every time you watch it. The first time I watched it I liked it but didn’t love it. Now I think this film is a masterpiece.

Tim Raths

I think the key factor is what Patrons can stream to watch . If I cant watch the same version it defeats the purpose.

David

This movie obviously takes huge liberties with history, but is of course told by a man in what was then probably called a lunatic asylum. Although there were rumours and indeed some evidence of antagonism between Salieri and Mozart, there is also evidence to the contrary. Anyway, it's a great movie with fantastic music. The scene with Salieri assisting Mozart composing the Requiem is one of my favourite movie scenes of all time. The confusion of Salieri as the individual parts is dictated, and then the realization of Mozarts genius as we hear it all together is wonderful. Mozarts Requiem is my absolute favourite when it comes to classical muisc. Oh, and by the way, you said you recognized the maid/spy... Think Sex and the City... Great reaction, Cassie!

Tobias Eiken

Glad you enjoyed it, seemed like the 3 hours went fast for you!

Ginko

That majesty guy you recognized towards the beginning was the vice principal Rooney that was trying to bust Ferris Bueller

Goony71

Even though this is a period piece based on real historical figures, it is very loosely based on real events. The main goal of the writer and the director were creating entertaining drama instead of providing historical accuracy. I recommend checking out the video History Buffs made: https://youtu.be/_X_iAGFaE80 As for which version to watch from a movie, I'm advocating this should be a case-by-case decision. An extended/director's cut does not automatically mean it is better. There are also many examples where it is just pointless tinkering or making a great movie slightly or significantly worse. But there are several examples where they are making clear and significant improvements and by sticking to the theatrical cut I think you would be doing a disservice to yourself. Movies, that were cut way too short hurting the story and character development (Kingdom of Heaven, The Abyss), where the studio and director had creative differences (Alien 3), or when they simply ran out of time before properly finishing the movie as intended (Star Trek: The Motion Picture), etc.

Gábor Árki

Can't be theatrical. The reaction timer ends at 2h55m when credits start to roll.

Gábor Árki

John Cranberry

Imagining being there in the audience,How amazing that must have sounded!...Hit it Wolfie!!!🎼🎶🎵🎻

Celeste McAllister

"Rock Me Amadeus" -Falco https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVikZ8Oe_XA

Christopher Smith

220 am Saturday night/sunday notification. Up drinking whiskey playing wolfenstein. Let's do this. Rock Me Cassiedeus

Eric Wallace

This is going to be educational

Jason Dolan