Everything you’ve heard is true…|Sep. 06, 1984|United States, France, Czechoslovakia, Italy|160 Min.|TV-PG
Genre: Drama;History;Music
Description: In the winter of 1823, Antonio Salieri is admitted to a psychiatric hospital after a failed suicide attempt, during which his servants hear him confess to murdering Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Father Vogler, a young priest, visits Salieri to learn more about his confession. Salieri recounts his early life in the 1760s, when he aspired to become a composer despite his father’s disapproval. He prays to God, promising faithfulness in exchange for fame as a composer. After his father’s unexpected death, Salieri believes God has accepted his vow. By 1774, he becomes the court composer for Emperor Joseph II in Vienna.
Seven years later, at a reception honoring Mozart’s patron, Salieri is astonished to discover that the exceptionally talented Mozart is crude and immature. As a devout Catholic, Salieri struggles to understand why God would grant such extraordinary talent to Mozart instead of him. Convinced that God is mocking him, Salieri renounces his faith and vows revenge by destroying Mozart.
Mozart’s struggles with alcoholism worsen his health, marriage, and reputation, even as he continues to create remarkable works. Salieri hires a young woman to spy on Mozart, discovering that he is working on an opera based on *The Marriage of Figaro*, a play the Emperor has banned. Despite Salieri’s efforts to sabotage him, Mozart convinces the Emperor to allow the opera’s premiere.
When Mozart learns of his father’s death, he composes *Don Giovanni* as an expression of his grief. Salieri devises a sinister plan: he convinces Mozart that his father has returned to commission a Requiem. Salieri intends to finish the piece, kill Mozart, and claim the work as his own, staging its premiere at Mozart’s funeral.
Cast director: Miloš Forman
Cast actor: F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce, Elizabeth Berridge, Roy Dotrice, Simon Callow, Christine Ebersole, Jeffrey Jones, Barbara Bryne, Cynthia Nixon, Douglas Seale
Original name: Amadeus