Amadeus

Amadeus is a 1984 American period biographical drama film directed by Miloš Forman and adapted by Peter Shaffer from his 1979 stage play of the same name. Set in Vienna, Austria, during the latter half of the 18th century, the film is a fictionalized story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart from the time he left Salzburg, described by its writer as a "fantasia on the theme of Mozart and Salieri". Mozart's music is heard extensively in the soundtrack. The film follows a fictional rivalry between Mozart and Italian composer Antonio Salieri at the court of Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor. The film stars F. Murray Abraham as Salieri and Tom Hulce as Mozart. Abraham and Hulce were both nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor, with Abraham winning. Amadeus was released by Orion Pictures on September 19, 1984, thirteen days after its world premiere in Los Angeles on September 6, 1984. Upon release, it received widespread acclaim and was a box office hit, grossing over $90 million. Considered by many to be one of the greatest films of all time, Amadeus was nominated for 53 awards and received 40, including eight Academy Awards (including the Academy Award for Best Picture), four BAFTA Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, and a Directors Guild of America award. , it was the most recent film to have more than one nomination in the Academy Award for Best Actor category. In 1998, the American Film Institute ranked it 53rd on its 100 Years... 100 Movies list. In 2019, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Plot In the winter of 1823, Antonio Salieri is committed to a psychiatric hospital after barring his doors and attempting suicide, during which his servants overhear him confess to murdering Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. A young priest, Father Vogler, approaches Salieri for elaboration on the latter's confession. Salieri plays two of his own melodies; Vogler admits that he doesn't know them. Salieri then plays Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, which Vogler knows perfectly well. Unsurprised that Vogler knows this melody but not his, Salieri recounts how, ever since he could remember, he desired to be a composer, much to his father's chagrin. He prays to God that if He allowed Salieri to become a famous composer, he would, in return, promise his faithfulness, chastity and diligence.