Amadeus
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Amadeus

Year:
Duration:
160 min | 180 min (director's cut)
Genres:
Biography | Drama | Music
IMDB rate:
8.4
Director:
Milos Forman
Awards:
Won 8 Oscars. Another 34 wins & 13 nominations
Details
Country: USA
Release Date: 1985-04-05
Filming Locations: Tyl Theatre, Plzen, Czech Republic
Earnings
Budget: $18,000,000
Opening Weekend: $86,764 (USA) (7 April 2002)
Gross: $366,401 (USA) (19 May 2002)
Cast
Actor
Character
F. Murray Abraham
Antonio Salieri
Tom Hulce
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Roy Dotrice
Leopold Mozart
Simon Callow
Emanuel Schikaneder
Christine Ebersole
Katerina Cavalieri
Jeffrey Jones
Emperor Joseph II
Charles Kay
Count Orsini-Rosenberg
Kenneth McMillan
Michael Schlumberg (2002 Director's Cut)
Kenny Baker
Parody Commendatore
Lisbeth Bartlett
Papagena
Barbara Bryne
Frau Weber
Martin Cavina
Young Salieri
Roderick Cook
Count Von Strack
Milan Demjanenko
Karl Mozart
Peter DiGesu
Francesco Salieri
Richard Frank
Father Vogler
Patrick Hines
Kappelmeister Bonno
Nicholas Kepros
Archbishop Colloredo
Philip Lenkowsky
Salieri's Servant
Herman Meckler
Priest
Jonathan Moore
Baron Van Swieten
Cynthia Nixon
Lorl
Vincent Schiavelli
Salieri's Valet
Douglas Seale
Count Arco
Miroslav Sekera
Young Mozart
Cassie Stuart
Gertrude Schlumberg (2002 Director's Cut) (as Cassie Stewart)
John Strauss
Conductor
Karl-Heinz Teuber
Wig Salesman
Rita Zohar
Frau Schlumberg (2002 Director's Cut)
Miro Grisa
Figaro in 'The Marriage of Figaro'
Helena Cihelnikova
Countess in 'The Marriage of Figaro'
Karel Gult
Count Almaviva in 'The Marriage of Figaro'
Zuzana Kadlecova
Susanna in 'The Marriage of Figaro'
Magda Celakovska
Cherubino in 'The Marriage of Figaro'
Slavena Drasilova
Barbarina in 'The Marriage of Figaro'
Eva Senková
Marcellina in 'The Marriage of Figaro'
Leos Kratochvil
Basilio in 'The Marriage of Figaro'
Gino Zeman
Don Curzio in 'The Marriage of Figaro'
Janoslav Mikulín
Dr. Bartolo in 'The Marriage of Figaro' (as Jarolsav Mikulin)
Ladislav Krecmer
Antonio in 'The Marriage of Figaro' (as Ladislav Kretschmer)
Karel Fiala
Don Giovanni in 'Don Giovanni'
Jan Blazek
Commendatore in 'Don Giovanni'
Zdenek Jelen
Leporello in 'Don Giovanni'
Milada Cechalova
Queen of the Night in 'The Magic Flute'
John Carrafa
Dancer
Sara Clifford
Dancer
Richard Colton
Dancer
Shelley Freydont
Dancer
Anne Glasner
Dancer
Barbara Hoom
Dancer
Mary Kellogg
Dancer
Raymond Kurshals
Dancer
John Malashock
Dancer
Jennifer Rawe
Dancer
Tom Rawe
Dancer (as Thomas Rawe)
William Whitener
Dancer
Hana Brejchová
Czechoslovakian Actor (as Hana Brejchova)
Miriam Chytilová
Czechoslovakian Actor (as Miriam Chytilova)
Karel Effa
Czechoslovakian Actor
Radka Fiedlerová
Czechoslovakian Actor (as Radka Fiedlerova)
Rene Gabzdyl
Czechoslovakian Actor
Karel Hábl
Czechoslovakian Actor (as Karel Habl)
Atka Janousková
Czechoslovakian Actor (as Atka Janouskova)
Marta Jarolimkova
Czechoslovakian Actor
Gabriela Krckova
Czechoslovakian Actor
Vladimir Krousky
Czechoslovakian Actor
Jirí Krytinár
Czechoslovakian Actor (as Jiri Krtinar)
Radka Kucharova
Czechoslovakian Actor
Jan Kuzelka
Czechoslovakian Actor
Jirí Lír
Czechoslovakian Actor
Lenka Loubalová
Czechoslovakian Actor (as Lenka Loubalova)
Dagmar Maskova
Czechoslovakian Actor (as Dagmar Maskov)
Ladislav Mikes
Czechoslovakian Actor
Jitka Molavcová
Czechoslovakian Actor (as Jitka Molavcova)
Jana Musilová
Czechoslovakian Actor
Vojtech Nalezenec
Czechoslovakian Actor
Pavel Nový
Czechoslovakian Actor (as Pavel Novy)
Jiri Opsatko
Czechoslovakian Actor
Jan Pohan
Czechoslovakian Actor
Therese Herz
Czechoslovakian Actor (as Tereza Pokorna)
Ivan Pokorny
Czechoslovakian Actor
Milan Riehs
Czechoslovakian Actor
Iva Sebkova
Czechoslovakian Actor
Zdenek Sklenar
Czechoslovakian Actor
Renata Vackova
Czechoslovakian Actor
Jiri Vancura
Czechoslovakian Actor
Dana Vávrová
Czechoslovakian Actor (as Dana Vavrova)
Petra Vogelova
Czechoslovakian Actor
Josef Zeman
Czechoslovakian Actor
June Anderson
Queen of the Night in 'The Magic Flute'
Isobel Buchanan
Susanna in 'The Marriage of Figaro' (singing voice) (uncredited)
Michele Esposito
Salieri's Student (uncredited)
Gillian Fisher
Papagena in 'The Magic Flute'
Anne Howells
Cherubino in 'The Marriage of Figaro' (singing voice) (uncredited)
Brian Kay
Papageno in 'The Magic Flute'
Robin Leggate
Don Curzio in 'The Marriage of Figaro' (singing voice) (uncredited)
Felicity Lott
Countess in 'The Marriage of Figaro' (singing voice) (uncredited)
Zdenek Mahler
Cardinal (uncredited)
Suzanne Murphy
Cavalieri in 'Axur' /
Alexander Oliver
Basilio in 'The Marriage of Figaro' (singing voice) (uncredited)
Patricia Payne
Marcellina in 'The Marriage of Figaro' (singing voice) (uncredited)
Samuel Ramey
Figaro in 'The Marriage of Figaro' (singing voice) (uncredited)
Deborah Rees
Barbarina in 'The Marriage of Figaro' (singing voice) (uncredited)
Richard Stilwell
Count Almaviva in 'The Marriage of Figaro' /
Vladimír Svitácek
Pope Clement (uncredited)
John Tomlinson
Dr. Bartolo in 'The Marriage of Figaro' /
Willard White
Antonio in 'The Marriage of Figaro' /
Did you know?
Trivia
The piece of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's music with the oboe and clarinet themes, whose score Antonio Salieri so deeply admires in one of the earliest sequences, is the Adagio, or third movement, of the Serenade No. 10 in B-flat, KV361, also known as "Gran Partita".
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It has been claimed that the concept for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's annoying laugh was taken from "references in letters written about him", including a description of him having "an infectious giddy" laugh, and sounding "like metal scraping glass". No citations have been provided for these letters, however. There is no indication as to who wrote them, to whom or when. And in the absence of further citations, these claims of historical evidence for Mozart's laugh should be regarded as dubious at best. Robert L. Marshall, writing in "Film as Musicology: Amadeus" (The Musical Quarterly, Vol.18/2, 1997, p.177) says that there is "absolutely no historical evidence for this idiosyncrasy [Mozart's infuriating laugh]. We simply have no contemporary testimony at all as to how Mozart sounded when he laughed." Marshall goes on to explain that the laugh is a dramatic device, representing the mocking laughter of the gods, as in fact Antonio Salieri recognizes in the script.
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Meg Tilly originally was cast as Stanze but tore a leg ligament in a street soccer game the day before she was to film her first scene. Elizabeth Berridge and Diane Franklin were both screen tested as replacements, with Berridge getting the role.
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Goofs
At the first meeting of Mozart, Emperor Josef II finishes playing the march for Mozart and as he stands, he picks up the parchment from the piano. As Mozart kneels to kiss the Emperor's hand, the parchment is still held by the Emperor. When Mozart stands, the parchment is back on the piano, remaining there until the Emperor turns and steps back to pick it up.
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Severals scenes show the use of stage smoke, which looks like it was created with dry ice. While dry ice was not achieved until decades after Mozart died, stage smoke through other means is recorded to have been used for instance on the Globe Theater as early as in the 16th century. We might assume that the production crew used dry ice to portray the smoke to not foul up the sets with noxious smells from "genuine" 18th century stage smoke.
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In the scene where Mozart goes into the bedroom late at night to check on his son (and Stanzi awakens and looks at him), the candles on the candelabrum that he's holding are shorter before he goes into the bedroom than when he's in the room.
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Quotes
Constanze Mozart: No. I'm not going to marry you. You're a fiend!
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Salieri: My father, he did not care for music. When I told him how I wished I could be like Mozart, he would say; "Why? Do you want to be a trained monkey? Would you like me to drag you around Europe, doing tricks like a circus freak?"
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Mozart: I am fed to the teeth with elevated themes! Old dead legends! Why must we go on forever writing about gods and legends?
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Faq
Q
Why is this film titled with Mozart's supposed middle name?
A
"Amadeus" wasn't really Mozart's middle name, which is the author's (Peter Shaffer's) first goof regarding the title. The second goof is that Shaffer makes the proposition that the name "Amadeus" means "beloved of God," connecting to Salieri's belief that Mozart is God's instrument. The proposition, however, is inaccurate, as "Amadeus" is more accurately translated to mean "loves God."
Q
What are the differences between the theatrical version and the Director's Cut of the movie?
A
Milos Forman's famous biopic has been released as a Director's Cut on DVD that runs approx. 20 minutes longer and features several extended plot sequences with a more or less sexual undertone but there are also "normal" scenes that have been trimmed for the theatrical version. A detailed comparison between both versions with pictures can be found here.
Q
Was Salieri a real person or just made up for the movie?
A
This just goes to show that Salieri (played by F. Murray Abraham) was right, that he would be forgotten while the upstart Mozart (played by Tom Hulce) would be written in history. Yes, Antonio Salieri [1750-1825] was a real person, an Italian composer and conductor. As the Austrian imperial Kapellmeister from 1788 to 1824, he was one of the most important and famous musicians of his time. However, as near as it's possible to tell, he was not out to kill Mozart. Although they competed for some commissions, all indications are that they had a friendly relationship. Salieri lent Mozart court manuscripts and even tutored one of his sons. He was an important and sought after teacher, and his most famous pupils include Beethoven, Schubert, and Liszt.
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Photos from cast
Elizabeth Berridge Brian Pettifer
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