Salieri and the Obscene Child

An elderly man screams "I killed Mozart," then attempts to slash his own throat. Transferred to an asylum, former court composer Antonio Salieri (F. Murray Abraham) tells a visiting priest (Herman Meckler) his life story, and why he believes that he killed Amadeus (1984).

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra hosted another film with live orchestra (back when we were still allowed to go to the theatre), this time the award-winning story of the lives of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri. With a score consisting almost entirely by the works of Mozart, this is a film that fairly shouts for a performance with a live symphony orchestra, and it did not disappoint. The glorious music added immensely to this fascinating film.

I saw the film when it first came out. I'd already seen the play three times on Broadway (I've since seen it another three times) and confess that I was disappointed in the film then. I love the stage play - I truly feel it is one of the best modern plays - and the focus of the movie was different than the play. The stage version was about Salieri, while the movie is centered more on Mozart. It's a subtle difference, since their lives keep intersecting, but an important one. This time, I made the determination that I would push the play out of my mind as much as possible and view the film as an independent entity. The result - I really enjoyed the movie.

I'm going to begin with a bit of history about the play. It opened on the West End in 1979 with Paul Scofield as Salieri. When the play transferred to Broadway in 1980, Ian McKellen starred in the show (I had the opportunity to see him; later I saw Frank Langella and David Birney). That production ran for 1,181 performances with actors David Dukes, John Wood, and Daniel Davis also taking over the part of Salieri. The play also opened with Tim Curry as Mozart (Simon Callow had played Mozart on the West End) and Jane Seymour as Costanza - later Mark Hamill and Amy Irving would later take on those roles.  In 1999, the play returned to Broadway, this time with David Suchet and Michael Sheen as Salieri and Mozart. It ran for 173 performances (Yes, I saw that one too). This past December, The Folger Theatre did a superb imagining of the play with Ian Merrill Peake as Salieri.

Director Milos Forman made two determinations before he began filming - one was that the filmed version needed to be substantially altered from the stage play. He cited the movie Equus as an example of what happens when you try to transfer a play directly to the screen (New York Times article). He also wanted virtual unknown Americans for the two lead roles (New York Times article).  Thus, he selected Tom Hulce as Mozart over contenders such as Mark Hamill, Kenneth Branagh, David Bowie and Mikhail Baryshnikov (Mental Floss article); and F. Murray Abraham over Mick Jagger and John Savage (AFI catalog). Costanze Mozart went to Elizabeth Berridge after Meg Tilly injured her leg; Patti LuPone was also in the running at one point. (F. Murray Abraham discusses his casting in this Rolling Stone article)

The film's cast is remarkable, and give a depth of performance that contributed to its success. New characters such as Leopold Mozart (with a sinister Roy Dotrice playing the part) and Emanuel Schikaneder (Simon Callow, the only actor from a stage production to appear in the film) add nuance to the movie. We also have a couple of future stars introduced - Christine Ebersole plays Salieri's protege Katerina Cavalieri (she does not, however, do her own singing. Suzanne Murphy was given the vocals) and Cynthia Nixon plays maid and Salieri spy, Lorl. She was 17 years old during production - the year of the film's release she would appear in TWO Broadway plays (The Real Thing and Hurlyburly) simultaneously, so far the only actor to do this on Broadway (Playbill).

There always seem to be questions as whether Salieri actually poisoned Mozart. It's unlikely. This BBC article looks at the historical anomalies in the play and the film. Author Shaffer was influenced by a play written in the 19th Century by Alexander Pushkin. The murder story serves only as a means for giving Salieri vent to the real concern of the play - what happens when God gives you the ability to identify true genius, without the capability of creating it yourself. While the play includes quite a bit of music, the film is able to incorporate so much of Mozart's work that the sheer beauty of his compositions is undeniable. The film introduced many people to his work (TCM article), as well as to the compositions of Salieri (if you've never heard his work, here is a link to his Requiem).

The film was a huge hit - it grossed $51.97M and was number 12 on the box office list for 1984.  It won both the Oscar and Golden Globe for Best Picture, Actor (F. Murray Abraham), and Screenplay (Peter Shaffer). Director (Milos Forman) won the Oscar and Director's Guild Awards.  It also won Oscars for Art-Set Direction, Costume Design, Sound, & Makeup. Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields won the Grammy for Classical recording.  It received Oscar nominations for Tom Hulce in the Best Actor category, for Cinematography & Film editing. A director's cut of the film was released in 2002 that includes a number of cut and lengthened scenes (Movie-Censorship.com). In 2019, it was added to the National Film Registry in 2019.

On many levels, this is a remarkable film.  I'll leave you with a trailer, and the recommendation that you view film. And, if the opportunity arises, do see the play.