Well so far as the movie goes, it was just entertainment but probably poor entertainment to those that were well familiar with the wonder of his music and have explored his life in more detail trying to get a glimpse of how it could have come about. To the masses of moviegoers, Mozart was just a historical figure.
The great point of the movie to me is not the story, its the music and if it takes popular art to embellish and distort the story of Mozart the man, there can certainly be no distortion of the greatness of his music and the power of his creativity for a new generation to discover. So the film did have its value in that regard. I just never cease to be amazed when I listen whether it be his opera music, his great piano concertos, his variations on twinkle twinkle, is varied chamber works, when you hear the best of his music you know only he alone could have created it. |
Choosing Tom Hulce to play Mozart in punky-pink wigs and having him act like an american brat really dates "Amadeus" now, IMHO. I always felt the composer could have been portrayed as a deeper, more substantial character, though not without humor. The letters he wrote might have served as resources to gain a better understanding of his true personality. No wonder the Viennese don't like "Amadeus". |
Mozart is indeed a genius of music. Love his opera and horn concerto. The movie is just a movie. My friend told me that the people in Vienna hate that movie when he visited Europe. People there think the story is distorted and too much Hollywood. Eldartford, if read the other thread carefully, you were the person started the arguement. No one demote Mozart there, but some Mozart fans insist Beethoven is overrated. |
Maynard Soloman's biographies are very subjective and authoritative.
On the way to office this morning Mozarts symphonies performed by Klemperer accompanied me. What a drive!
Happy Listening.
Otto |
Speaking as a fan of the movie,allow me to recommend Maynard Soloman's biography of Mozart.(He also did a Beethoven biography.)
The strengh of Soloman's biographies is that English is his native language. Biographies translated from German read like,well,books translated from another language. |
Yu11375...I read the essay. Thanks for the reference. It is packed with great detail about Mozart, far too much to be incorporated in a Play or movie. It is exactly what one would expect from a historian (my dad was one).
For example: Why did the movie leave out their children, who mostly died? Because that aspect, while historically true, had no bearing on the overall story, and would only weaken the dramatic impact. A very reasonable artistic decision, that would only annoy historians.
All in all, after reading the essay I still think that the movie runs as close to facts as most historically-based fiction, and the overall picture that it paints is very believable even if some of the "factual" details are only interpolations of reality. |
|
The movie “Amadeus” is entertaining. But manipulating historical information so intentionally to mistakenly portray Mozart and other related figures in order to simulate the interests of audiences is an act of moral unconsciousness and rather irresponsible.
Here is the detail information regarding the controversial subjects in the movie.
Title: “Amadeus” and Mozart Setting the Record Straight
http://www.mozartproject.org/essays/brown.html
It is a 17-page long essay written by Dr. A. Peter Brown who teaches in the School of Music at Indiana University.
If you are true Mozart fans, please do review it and share it with people who enjoy the movie “Amadeus”.
Happy Listening.
Otto |
Yu11375...The extent to which the Play/Movie embellished Mozart's life is debatable. That it did so to some extent is true. All stories on historical characters are "improved" a bit to make them more interesting, and this one is no worse than most. The one thing that really deviated from fact is the matter of Constanze, his wife. In life she was an talented pianist, and after Mozart's death she made a good living touring Europe and playing his work.
There is some historic record suggesting that Mozart suffered from Torette syndrome, as portrayed in the movie, and a rumor has been around for hundreds of years regarding Salieri's guilt in his death. Perhaps just a rumor, but it does make a great movie. |
How about that beautiful and magical duet from "Cosi Fan Tutte" that they used in the Shawshank Redemption? I'll toast to his genius! |
Newbee,
He's also the guy who wrote the melody they used in the MASH finale. -:)
and all,
(Piano Concerto #21 in C Major;Clarinet Quintet in A Major) |
Mozart, hmmmmmm, is he the guy that wrote the music they used in Elvira Madigan? Nice stuff. :-) |
The biased image of Mozart portrayed by Amadeus always diminishes the pleasure to enjoy this movie. Serving as a stage play should be fine. But presenting an illusory story through mass media should be more cautious when managing the subject like Mozart.
Same can be applied to Immortal Beloved. |
The music is incredible, it is sad to think that a musical genius like Mozart was dropped into a paupers grave with countless other unknowns. I guess death is the great equalizer! |
"It is a sobering thought," Tom Lehrer once said, "that when Mozart was my age, he had been dead for two years." |
Thanks for the reminder?
looks like I'll be watching my Amadeus DVD tomorrow night while sipping some Jagermeister.
A perfect winters evening. |
It's funny, but a lot of times I'll sit down to listen to music and won't even think first about listening to Mozart, but once his music gets going in my system I don't feel a need to listen to anyone else. Pure magic, and seemingly effortless genius.
Now let's get ready for December 16th, Beethoven's birthday... ;-) |
True genius indeed!
If I see Beethoven now, I will raise and bow to show my respect. If I see Mozart now, I will be faint. famed maestro Karl Boehm once stated.
So two weeks from now on 12/17 we should be celebrating Beethovens 233th anniversary of his birth. Just a suggestion.
Happy Listening.
Otto |
As you observe, we can be grateful for Mozart's genius without dimishing in any way the accomplishments of the other great composers. There is hardly a week goes by that I do not listen to some composition by Mozart, but as I've gotten older I found myself with a greater appreciation to the people who preceeded and followed Mozart: Corelli, Vivaldi, Bach, Haydn, Handel, Beethoven, Schumann, Schubert, etc. It's sad that Mozart died so young, and that he did not receive the recognition he deserved while living -- but we are deeply fortunate to have so many wonderful recordings of his work available to us today. |
