by Brandon Matzke

Rating: (theatrical) PG

Wow.

Based on the stage production of the same name, Amadeus could be the best film I have ever seen. I almost never say stuff like that. This masterpiece of cinema is a story about every theme imaginable: love, hate, pride, jealousy, obsession, appreciation, whatever you want; it’s in there. The film follows Antonio Salieri (F. Murray Abraham), a former musician sent to an insane asylum following an attempted suicide. He is soon visited by a priest to whom he confesses to “killing Mozart.” What starts out as a simple life story ends up as a tale of rivalry between the surprisingly immature, yet talented, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (played to perfection by Tom Hulce) and a musician slowly losing his sanity.

Positives
Where to start? Well, the visuals are fantastic. There isn’t any CGI, but this film needed none. The colors reflect the tone perfectly: the uplifting scenes are bright and vibrant, while the more dramatic moments are darker and dimly lit. The costumes and sets put me exactly in this era, and the music, OH THE MUSIC! It’s about Mozart, so of course it’s going to have an amazing soundtrack. And the acting? Purely phenomenal. There isn’t a single dull performance in the film. And the directing is phenomenal; there isn’t a single dull moment in the film. Despite being almost three hours long, I never found myself bored.

Negatives
What negatives? I couldn’t find a single one. Sure, the runtime of nearly three hours can turn off some viewers, but it never stopped me before.

Overall
I consider this film to be one of the best films ever made, and for good reason. I’m not even that big on music, and I still consider this to be a masterpiece. So, of course, I have to give it an 11/10. If I could give it higher, I would immediately. This may be my favorite film of all time, even beating out other classics including Forrest Gump, The Godfather, Drive, Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, To Kill A Mockingbird, Fight Club, Alien, The Dark Knight, The Empire Strikes Back, Rocky, The Shawshank Redemption, Lord of The Rings: Return Of The King, and Back To The Future (all of which I highly recommend). But now I’m curious; since I reviewed my favorite film of all time, I want to know what your favorite movie is. Be sure to comment!

What the critics say:
Rotten Tomatoes: 95%

IMDb: 8.3/10