The story of Amadeus is told through the eyes of the composer Salieri , a musician of high standing, and a man of unwavering religious beliefs. When not composing or teaching music he spends his time in prayer and quiet contemplation. This devotion to god, he believes, is the reason he has been gifted with musical ability. This belief is shattered, however, with the arrival of a young composer by the name of Mozart.
As the movie opens we meet an aging Salieri . His life is tatters. He’s racked with guilt. He’s living in an insane asylum. As he recounts his story we learn he was once a successful musician. He served in the emperor’s palace. He composed concertinos. He taught opera to the finest singers in Vienna. All of this means nothing, though, after he hears the music of the composer named Mozart for the first time.
The musical elite of Vienna enjoy this new composer’s work, but Salieri recognizes the true genius behind the compositions. This rocks his confidence and he begins to question his own musical ability. Will all his life’s work be rendered mediocre by this new composer?
And if that wasn’t bad enough, he comes face to face with the genius and finds a childish slob. A womanizer. A drunk. Why, Salieri questions, has God bestowed such a precious gift to a godless man?
Amadeus is a story of jealously and rivalry, two traits we are all familiar with. Salieri befriends Mozart, but also plots and schemes his downfall. Atrocious actions but actions we understand completely. At times this movie spoke fluently to the vindictive person living inside my head. We’d all like to think, in similar circumstances, that we would act differently, but who knows.
Salieri's actions are not good for Mozart, and ultimately, they are not good for himself either. One ends up in an early grave, the other in an insane asylum.
But is any of this story true? This is one question that gets asked again and again about this movie. Believe it or not great chunks of this are based on real life events. The rivalry between Salieri and Mozart was true. Mozart’s eventual rejection from the musical elite was also true. His music – so new and revolutionary - was considered by many to have “too many notes.”
The movie, of course, won’t satisfy history purists; they will no doubt nitpick everything from the costumes to the accents. And what about Mozart’s personality? Was he really a childish womanizer? Many might consider this poetic license on the side of a Hollywood screenwriter, but Mozart did write a song called “Lick me in the arse”, so I’ll let you make up your own mind about that.