Amadeus

[vinyldavid]

Originally Posted by macfreak

Schubert -- Love his Unfinished Symphony, especially the first movement.

Can you imagine teaching the likes of the aforementioned geniuses and thinking, "man, I would like to get home and have a beer, my feet are killing me. And that damn Beethoven kid, I'll beat his butt. Who the hell does he think he is?!"

Aren't we the luckiest folk on the planet? Just pop the cd in and listen to the best music ever, whenever we want, as much as we want, at virtually no cost?

For me, it is an LP, but still the same idea...

and

[no1maestro]

Amadeus is an absolute gem. It is a well done movie, it was a great play and I used it in teaching music history due to its closeness to the truth. There was a certain amount of artistic license to be sure, but basically it is very close to reality. Mozart was a foul-mouthed little shit but what talent otherwise! I wish all the great composers had their stories told as well as this film!!!!!

[vinyldavid]

dulcimerlex and I just got done with side one of the DVD, and WOW! She loved it! So did I, again.

What a wonderful movie. I am still in the afterglow of it.

[Urizen]

Originally Posted by vinyldavid

I am still in the afterglow of it.

Dude.

[donoghue]

Originally Posted by Njord Noatun

the Requiem is probably my favorite piece of Mozart's music, if not my favorite classical piece.

I agree. There was a free to the public performance of it about a year ago here at IU which has a well-regarded music program. They performed in one of the smaller venues and the performers took up basically all of the stage, they really raised the roof. It was pretty special.

[vinyldavid]

Originally Posted by donoghue

I agree. There was a free to the public performance of it about a year ago here at IU which has a well-regarded music program. They performed in one of the smaller venues and the performers took up basically all of the stage, they really raised the roof. It was pretty special.

I Wish that my theater department could put that on...but we don't have the budget for that. I know that I would be there helping out all that I could.

[Agent928]

The most hillarious thing about this film to me is that in the movie the antagonist, Antonio Salieri, hates Mozart in old age because his songs are more well remembered. In real life Salieri was more or less a forgotten composer until Amadeus premered and renewed peoples interest. Now his complete works can be had on CD.

[vinyldavid]

Originally Posted by Agent928

The most hillarious thing about this film to me is that in the movie the antagonist, Antonio Salieri, hates Mozart in old age because his songs are more well remembered. In real life Salieri was more or less a forgotten composer until Amadeus premered and renewed peoples interest. Now his complete works can be had on CD.

That explains why I never say a Salirei LP....

[BrassTeacher]

Originally Posted by Sansui Louie

Not to be a party pooper, but remember that this was a *story*. Most historians have concurred that the movie was just conjecture, pure Hollywood. Still, it's a fantastic movie when taken in that context and there's enough biographical and historical fact in it to get one's interest.

Hard to believe that the lead (Tom Hulce) was also "Pinto" in Animal House!

My favorite scene is when Wolfie is mocking Salieri at that party and farts.

LOL, this reminds me of my freshman music history professor, Dr. David G. Phillips, at the University of South Carolina. You have to imagine this outwardly grumpy old man, so grumpy that he could've made Walter Matthau tuck his tail between his legs, but with this slow, higher-class sounding, old-fashioned Southern drawl. His comment on the movie "Amadeus": "It's lies, all lies! Now, E.T., that's a good movie, I love E.T.!"

[RussinOhio]

Great movie!

I just love F. Murray Abrahams portrayal of extreme jealousy.


Russ

[geaugafletcher]

Originally Posted by BrassTeacher

...but with this slow, higher-class sounding, old-fashioned Southern drawl. His comment on the movie "Amadeus": "It's lies, all lies! Now, E.T., that's a good movie, I love E.T.!"

...never met the guy, but I can hear it in my mind's ear, pretty funny...

While we were in school together, one of my buddies had a visit from his South Carolina dad. Dad listened to one of the professors play a short recital and came through the exit door saying in his distinctive, sub-bass whiskey and cigar voice, "That man's a g0d--damn vir-tuoso...", all gravity and serious looks. [/OT]

Amadeus illuminated Mozart for me at a young age, up until then I saw none of the simple beauty. Sometimes one needs somebody else to offer a little guidance, then the door to the world opens up. Mozart's stuff got even better when I heard what most composers of his day were up to...yuck! There was a whole lot of half-assed stuff written in those days...even the better stuff just sucks compared to good ol' Wolfgang.

[Mr. Lin]

Originally Posted by Njord Noatun

The most important thing the movie did for me is that it introduced me to Mozart's Requiem: Up to the point of the movie being released, I had mostly listened to Mozart's "happy-go-lucky" music (most of his works are light-hearted and uncomplicated, at least on the surface), but avoided his darker works. After Amadeus, the Requiem is probably my favorite piece of Mozart's music, if not my favorite classical piece.

I'm really glad David started this thread because, I'm ashamed to admit, I had never in my 27 years seen this movie. The lady and I watched it the other night and I absolutely loved it! She couldn't stand his laugh, but I thought that was pretty funny, actually. By the way, where did the obnoxious laugh come from? Any reason to believe he had such a laugh, or was it creative license on the part of the director?

It helps that I'm currently on a classical music kick, and becoming very excited about it in general. Until I saw this movie I'd been neglecting Mozart since he seems the most "obvious" composer to listen to in the genre, and I wanted to hear things I'd never heard before. But I must say now that I understand classical music a little better I was able for the first time to truly appreciate his music, and I have the quote above because I too was so captivated by the final scenes of Wolfgang writing Requiem that I've already ordered a vinyl copy of it.

And next payday I'm ordering a copy of the movie for myself, because I really need to watch it again, and again...

[nicole1586]

Originally Posted by vinyldavid

I just got done with watching this movie, and I feel as if I was transported to another time watching it. Absolutely AMAZING. IMHO, one of THE BEST movies ever made, in my own humble opinion. Who else likes this?

One bone that I have to pick:

In the dialog track:
Normally, there is a tape hiss, along with the ambient sounds and vocals. During the talking, the noise floor plummeted during each word and them came back after each word and in the pauses....and in the parts where there is no dialog....

Anyone else catch this? REALLY disconcerting at the end, and annoying.

Also, It gave me goosebumps while watching it. The Dynamics are amazing. I gotta find a clean copy of the soundtrack. Mine's REALLY dirty and unlistenable.

I also love the movie, I agree that it put you in the moment. I didn't recall hearing any hissing but I did get the director's cut on DVD, so they could've fixed it. The director's cut is three hours long, but it'd still good.

[Njord Noatun]

Originally Posted by nicole1586

The director's cut is three hours long, but it'd still good.

I sat down to watch the Director's Cut for the first time this week: A lot of content has been added to this version compared to the original - some of it good, some not so good, IMHO. The long section where Salieri coerces Ms. Mozart to come to his house, for example: I really didn't have to see Constanze strip in front of Salieri - this part seemed unnecessary, if not exploitive. Or maybe it it's just that I have gotten used to the "standard" version after having watched it numerous times, and that the added content therefore "did not sit right" with me.

[dread31]

My favorite classical music based movie.

Along with "Immortal Beloved" and "The Red Violin".

Might have to see the Directors Cut version. Seeing
Constanze naked wouldn't bother me.

But, that just how I am.

Dave