The irony is that this movie actually helped rekindle interest in Salieri's work. There's even been a few annual Salieri music festivals as a result. Some of his music has even been featured in movies. Not so forgotten now, I'd say.
You are so right. I never even heard of Salieri until I saw this movie way back in 1984 and I'm glad I did. As an amatuer musician who's had experience with 4 instruments I'm glad. I did. I even have some of Salieri's recordings which i really enjoy.
Saliery has always been famous in Italy and Germany. The only reason he was forgotten in Austria was because of nationalism. Italian operas were forbidden in Vienna.
When a man who was considered the greatest composer of his time, considers himself to be a mediocrity next to Mozart, it really shows how big of a genius Mozart was.
What a shame that so many people don't realize that is a mostly fictionalized story. The part about people remembering Mozart's music is true, but Salieri's was a great composer in his own right. Neither of them were like the characters they were portrayed as in the movie. The movie is a very good fictional comedy.
In any event, Mozart's music isn't for everyone hahaha. For me, I just find a lot of it to be overly saccharine. I'll take Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, etc.etc. over him any day.
I know what you're going through. I'm very mediocre also and lately feel like I have failed in many things in my life. I'm not even going to my 40th high school reunion as I have nothing worthwhile to talk about compared to most other people who will be there. I feel very inferior to them. I ran into a friend yesterday who told me he feels the same way and won't be attending either. I feel so sad inside and see no point in trying anymore.
I always get shivers when mozarts laugh plays in this scene. It validates Salieri's story... Wolfgangs music is immortal and got even more popular after his death while Salieri is left with a life with fellings of guilt and anguish while spending his last years in an asylum with his status diminished and his work forgotten. Mozart getting the last laugh is the perfect ending to this. If Mozart would have lived and Salieri would have helped him finish the requiem, then they may have become friends and Salieri could have redeemed himself, but even this was he denied. This movie is truly a masterpiece!
I think many of us could identify with Salieri in this scene. Don't most of us feel that we've never really accomplished as much as we would have liked in our lives?
Many feel that way. We all do from time to time. George Washington had doubts, Mozart had doubts, all men and women great and small wonder if they could've done more. The real question is, does what you do matter?
One of the best, to be sure. So good it is almost surreal. (The theatrical version, IMO.) I remember seeing it when I was 12 years old and thinking, "What the f-did I just watch?!?" I was moved for hours afterwards until I went to bed and the next day as well. Very few movies have had that effect on me.
I think I'm on all of them. And I own the movie (theatrical cut). I like occasionally going to my favourite parts, of course. Regardless, I consider the entire movie to be flawless. I just can't believe how good it is, the story, themes, dialogue, editing, production values, the way Mozart's music is seamlessly integrated into the narrative, everything. Not a single note out of place.
Lots of competition out there. but this is a Masterpiece . When somebody picks their favorite movie whether it be Willy Wonka, Citizen Kane , or my favorite, Once Upon a Time In The West, I won't argue because if it is a masterpiece like Amadeus , then all arguments for canceleach other out.
@@squamish4244 I watched it when I was 16 on TV. When the movie started, I was saying to my self, "well, I will probably stop to watch it soon and do something else". I watched to hole movie. At that time I was listening trash metal. The movie made a great impression on me, I was pretty impress I recall (a wtf moment as you describe). I started to listen classical music after that (but I still listen to heavy metal music till to this day, both are great :).
The fact people acussed him of being Mozart's murdered because they parroted those stupid rumours back then tormented and drove him to have depression episodes later on his life, which contributed to Salieri end up believing he did killed Mozart when he finally got dementia as geriatric. It is now known that most of these rumours were spread mostly by many members of the German school of music, since they had a deep resentment toward italian musicians in general, considering them having been always favored by the Austrian aristocracy over them and blaming them for all their difficulties.
+Kam -zdov You're right. I've always suspected the same thing. There's always been tension between these two groups. Even in the 19th century there was tension between fans of Verdi and Wagner.
Actually there was supposed to be one comment Salieri wrote about him killing Mozart. It wasn't factually ever proven just an older musician who had lots of i ssues going on. Amadeus is a dramatic license play and film but that doesn't preclude it from being a great work of ART. Shakespeare took considerable liberties with history . It is just our job to know the difference between fact and fiction.
I came to watch this scene. Abraham was a genius, but we shouldn't forget the actor who portrayed the priest. He had listened to old Salieri's story all night, and now it was dawn. He looked absolutely wrung out from the unbelievable story he just heard. Most importantly, his expression tells us he believed every word and was moved by it. If he didn't convey that, it would have thrown the whole tale into doubt as the ravings of a mad man. One of my favorite movies of all time.
He was way more than moved, poor guy was completely shattered. This is the kind of stuff that would make you question your own faith and make you rethink everything you believe in.
So true. So true. His eyes, his facial expression says it all. I wonder what the priest did afterwards. Should have taken a strong drink or two. @@Baguenaudeur
One of the saddest inflection points in life is that moment when you recognize your own insignificance despite your efforts to be otherwise. Charles de Gaulle spoke of such when he said _The graveyards are full of indispensable people._
Oh, I don't know. In our time and place perhaps we are occasionally indispensable. Just some more often than others. No sense being fatalistic about it, even though we all end up 6 feet under.
When I first saw this film (it was on TV) I missed the opening scenes and jumped in during the scene where Salieri first meets with the priest and asks him if he knows who Salieri is. After sitting through the entire thing, it was only during this scene that I actually found out that Salieri had been taken to an asylum. It put a really interesting twist on the ending for me which was actually completely unintended. The man who had been telling the moving story of Mozart's life turned out to be completely insane. I wish the film had actually been cut that way.
You can't help but wonder if he died in that scene as he opened his mouth, and on top of it; the last thing he'd see or hear is Mozart s obscene laugh, as a kid; this closing scene always had a way of frightening me, now, it is profoundly compelling and one of the perfect endings in Cinema. .. I absolve you!
no, he didn't die. Salieri would live on a few more years perhaps in that asylum (aka old people's home in the 18th century). the laugh was just the director's way of saying the spirit of Amadeus lives on in art as we all know well today.
@@pkolson6938 The name of the movie is "Amadeus" which was Mozart's middle name and also when translated means "Love of God". Consider the fact that Salieri's volatile relationship with God was a recurring theme in this film and that Salieri even antagonized God due to his belief that God favored Mozart through music (despite Mozart's questionable behavior/actions) and it's easy to see how this movie is about religion as much as it's about Mozart's music career.
A shame Salieri is now little known, as he was a very able composer himself. The acting in this scene is brilliant. F Murray Abraham well deserved the Oscar for this film!
Yeah everyone had forgotten who Salieri was until this film came out. He's now more popular and well known than he's ever been before, and it's precisely because of this film.
Very possibly one of the best finales in cinema history. Mozart’s beautiful music played under the priest’s anguish and Solieri’s cheerful benediction to mediocrity, all capped by that “obscene giggle” - perfect!
I love how the movie starts out with us on Salieri's side, but throughout the movie, it slowly but surely moves our sympathy over to Mozart. The priest's expression shows that he saw Salieri's story for what it was; that of a man who slowly went mad with envy, and who perhaps had no real love in his heart at all. But Saleri was too vain to see it that way.
the greatest film of all. Great music, great costumes, great script, great direction, great cinematography, and great acting. I love this movie. I watch it every so often, alone, in a dark room. the music is superb.
In my view, Salieri names himself "the Patron Saint of Mediocrities" to make himself feel like he's something now that he has so little, and had years before. His greed for glory led him to become blind to everything God gifted him with.
Yup. God DID give Salieri exactly what he wanted - recognition from men. Of course, the price for that was to see all of his works fade before his death. Perhaps if he had put the music first instead of his own selfish desires, God would have given him the gift of divine genius.
@@theproplady that still doesn't explain why god used mozart of all people as his voice. I'd say mozart wasn't your traditional christian (if a christian at all)
I remember seeing this in 1984. When this scene played...followed by the credits...my date & I just sat there and listened...just stunned and in awe of what we had just watched.
Easily one of the greatest of all time. They don't make movies like this anymore. One of the most iconic and meaningful endings of all time. Thank you to whoever wrote it. And to whoever chose Mozart's Piano Concerto to end. That hopeful wistfulness is impossible to otherwise capture. Grazie, Mozart.
What a masterfully composed scene, it conveys so much in such a short period of time, and that too in a subtle yet visceral manner when you actually grasp what was just said. F. Murray Abraham's acting here is just out of this world.
And yet this movie finally revived interest in Salieri.I had never heard of him until this film. So in a certain way. Salieri finally got the recognition he truly deserves.
I will always remember showing my exgf this movie for the first time. This scene shocked her, especially with the guy having a seizure in the box. She said "wow it would suck to live back then". Thats how well done this movie was, to put you in that time period. Well done. A master piece.
Abraham and Hulce put on a world class performance and my only regret was that they both couldn't be awarded. Abraham without a doubt earned his award. A masterpiece (I actually seen the DVD version first and preferred it)
Everyone speaking about Salieri and F.M. Abraham, but I think that the actor playing the priest steals the scene here. He conveys so much emotions with his face, it's quite rare
@@markusnashorn1145 I don't think it's either of those two theories. My explanation is simpler: think the priest is just horrified by Salieri's cruelty and absence of guilt, and by Mozart's fate.
I've played Mozart's pieces. They are wonderful!!! I saw the movie and loved it. It's a shame Mozart died so young. He was a genius. If only he could see how his pieces are still performed all over the world.
The ending is just perfect. The first notes of the sublime concerto, but immediately we are brought back to earth with - "Morning Professor" - and talk of the water closet and sugar rolls! Genius. 00:49
In a way, the fact that a lot of people don't know and appreciate it makes it the special movie that it is I think. Though I also wish more people would
One of the best movies ever made. Looks as if it has been filmed today! The cast is flawless. The dialogue fantastic. And overall impact is very deep. Such quality and It’s Almost 40 years old!
I used to watch this movie on TV in the 90's on KCET Ch.5 in Los Angeles. I've always resonated with this film since I was 5 years old. Such a great movie! 👏📽️🎬🎻
Anyone else notice the brightness of the sunlight from the window intensifies when Salieri is given the chance to tell the real truth and always fades again as he decides to obfuscate? God is listening to everything Salieri is saying and trying to show the path to redemption. This movie is on another level.
The entire movie was absolutely mesmerizing. 💯 So fascinating is the difference between someone who is talented, popular, dutiful, successful and someone who is a once-in-a-lifetime genius, stretching and forever changing the art 🎶🎵.
Salieri's final monologue is a masterful balancing act. At first, it's his closing argument that God plays favorites and is ultimately cruel. Then, a sad revelation that everyone has forgotten about him and his music, as the priest proved when he arrived. Then, a sarcastic rant about how he will look after the people that God tossed aside. In the end, we are left deeply unsettled but completely convinced by him and his worldview.
I love how the movie's score is just all Mozart's pieces placed perfectly at the right moments, fitting their exact emotional context. All the score of the movie about a composer made by the composer himself years before. Don't think there's any other movie with this specific characteristic out there. Not at least as completely as Amadeus
I've seen thousands of films, from the early silents to now, and few have ever deserved their Oscar as much as F. Murray Abraham as Salieri. With the genius of Milos Forman, and a great cast and crew, this movie was already destined to be most excellent. But Abraham's note-perfect performance raised it to a whole other level. Nothing mediocre about this film.
Many great movies have not so great endings. Not this one! The ending scene of Amadeus is one of the greatest and most ironic conclusions of cinema history!
Haydn wrote, "posterity will not see such a talent again in 100 years" and in 1785 told Mozart's father: "I tell you before God, and as an honest man, your son is the greatest composer known to me by person and repute, he has taste and what is more the greatest skill in composition."
It would be interesting to know if the real, i.e. dead, Salieri would consider the renewed interest in his music to be worth the film’s aspersions on his character.
The film sets up one thing and then throws you for a loop. The first scene makes it sound like Salieri genuinely regrets what he did to Mozart and as the flashback happens, you wait for him to have his moment of realizing what a monster he’s become. But he never does. It turns out his “forgive me, Mozart” and suicide attempt was one last effort to get some kind of spotlight. He never feels sorry for anything he did. And it’s horrifying for the priest to realize just how insane this guy is.
The movie's theme is more than just show the life of Mozart, actually is centered on the thoughts and emotions of Salieri and about religion. Salieri in the film is showed as a musician who wanted to serve God with his talent, and after seeing Mozart acknowledge that he has not that talent he thought he had. So that is why at the end he sees himself and the people as mediocre, even the priest. The movie also talks about religion and God. Because in the eyes of Salieri, he wanted to do good, but God didn't let him do good, and also put somebody with talents who doesn't care about God.
The look on the Priests' face after hearing everything that Salieri had done would make him question everything he was taught about in forgiving and saving to those who did things beyond the norm.
@J W The Priest was demoralized because he realized Salieri's views of medicority and genius were true. He also made Priest aware of his own mediocrity. AND it is true. Have seen it in my lifetime. From Fine Art to Rocknroll ( my favoite music) to NFL and college Football . There is a quote by the late Playwright/ Actor Sam Shepard from one of his characters. " It is like a game of pool . All the talent, technique, and practice in the world can't beat you because you have magic ! " The writer in me would have written it THE MAGIC !
If you pay attention you see that both men were were not without fault. Neither could find humbleness in themselves or could count their blessings. Salieri was a competant composer with a great job, salary, and home but saw himself as less than because he didnt have more talent. Mozart had the talent but couldnt submit to being under anyone elses authority. He was a perfectionist who felt all his music had to be spectacular and wouldnt take time for breathers and wouldnt take projects to provide for his family because he viewed them as beneath him.
"Mediocrities everywhere - I absolve you. I absolve you all." Brilliant writing to the last second - fuelled by the fire performance of F. Murray Abraham, perhaps the finest in all of film history.
The irony is that this movie actually helped rekindle interest in Salieri's work. There's even been a few annual Salieri music festivals as a result. Some of his music has even been featured in movies. Not so forgotten now, I'd say.
You are so right. I never even heard of Salieri until I saw this movie way back in 1984 and I'm glad I did. As an amatuer musician who's had experience with 4 instruments I'm glad. I did. I even have some of Salieri's recordings which i really enjoy.
Anyway, his music is not at the level of mozart, bach, chopin or beethoven.
It just is not memorable.
@@cygnushyoga7646 yeah what made mozart amazing was combining the simplicity with complexity
Amen 🙏, they both left great work to be admired.
This movie brought them back to life along with the beautiful music they left behind.
Saliery has always been famous in Italy and Germany.
The only reason he was forgotten in Austria was because of nationalism. Italian operas were forbidden in Vienna.
When a man who was considered the greatest composer of his time, considers himself to be a mediocrity next to Mozart, it really shows how big of a genius Mozart was.
❤❤❤❤❤❤
What a shame that so many people don't realize that is a mostly fictionalized story. The part about people remembering Mozart's music is true, but Salieri's was a great composer in his own right. Neither of them were like the characters they were portrayed as in the movie. The movie is a very good fictional comedy.
In any event, Mozart's music isn't for everyone hahaha. For me, I just find a lot of it to be overly saccharine. I'll take Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, etc.etc. over him any day.
@@talavb9301 Tchaikovsky isn't more saccarine than Mozart?
I don't find him to be so at all, actually.
" I will speak for you, Father. I speak for all the mediocrities. I am their champion. I am their patron saint."
I died when this was said!
Nut job
I absolve you
As Al Bundy is the champion of all the losers.
Arguably the greatest line in cinematic history!
As a mediocrity, I appreciate this scene very much.
You mean as if to say he absolves the onlooking audience in attendance at the theater of their mediocrity? That is actually very clever.
I know what you're going through. I'm very mediocre also and lately feel like I have failed in many things in my life. I'm not even going to my 40th high school reunion as I have nothing worthwhile to talk about compared to most other people who will be there. I feel very inferior to them. I ran into a friend yesterday who told me he feels the same way and won't be attending either. I feel so sad inside and see no point in trying anymore.
DrHokeyPokey , you should. he absolved you. lol
Me too. I feel absolved for my mediocraty
jdewitt,,I like you, just from your soulful words. And God loves you. There's two.
I always get shivers when mozarts laugh plays in this scene. It validates Salieri's story... Wolfgangs music is immortal and got even more popular after his death while Salieri is left with a life with fellings of guilt and anguish while spending his last years in an asylum with his status diminished and his work forgotten. Mozart getting the last laugh is the perfect ending to this.
If Mozart would have lived and Salieri would have helped him finish the requiem, then they may have become friends and Salieri could have redeemed himself, but even this was he denied. This movie is truly a masterpiece!
Whatever happened to Tom Hulce, who played Mozart? He was in Animal House and Amadeus, and that's it.
If Mozart HAD lived, not if Mozart ‘would have’ lived. There is no such thing as ‘if… would have’. It doesn’t make sense.
@@cangjie12 It makes sense to me, but you are right, it is technically ungrammatical.
@@richgoldman2299 He did the voice of Quasimodo in Hunchback of Notre Dame.
I think many of us could identify with Salieri in this scene. Don't most of us feel that we've never really accomplished as much as we would have liked in our lives?
Not true. I finally connected my dvd player to my tv
@@mvygantas what a wonderful comment.
Many feel that way. We all do from time to time. George Washington had doubts, Mozart had doubts, all men and women great and small wonder if they could've done more.
The real question is, does what you do matter?
You're using past tense. You're writing this comment; you're not dead yet.
@@jedisquidward So what?
Masterpiece. Probably best movie ever.
One of the best, to be sure. So good it is almost surreal. (The theatrical version, IMO.) I remember seeing it when I was 12 years old and thinking, "What the f-did I just watch?!?" I was moved for hours afterwards until I went to bed and the next day as well. Very few movies have had that effect on me.
I think I'm on all of them. And I own the movie (theatrical cut). I like occasionally going to my favourite parts, of course. Regardless, I consider the entire movie to be flawless. I just can't believe how good it is, the story, themes, dialogue, editing, production values, the way Mozart's music is seamlessly integrated into the narrative, everything. Not a single note out of place.
The theatrical release.
Lots of competition out there. but this is a Masterpiece . When somebody picks their favorite movie whether it be Willy Wonka, Citizen Kane , or my favorite, Once Upon a Time In The West, I won't argue because if it is a masterpiece like Amadeus , then all arguments for canceleach other out.
@@squamish4244 I watched it when I was 16 on TV. When the movie started, I was saying to my self, "well, I will probably stop to watch it soon and do something else". I watched to hole movie. At that time I was listening trash metal. The movie made a great impression on me, I was pretty impress I recall (a wtf moment as you describe). I started to listen classical music after that (but I still listen to heavy metal music till to this day, both are great :).
So beautiful... Perfect ending.
And the music it ends on...
@@squamish4244 I know right, 2nd movement of Mozart's piano concerto 20 was the perfect choice.
I agree with all three of you. This piece does indeed end the movie perfectly. :)
Mozart got the last laugh......
Exactly...
Torni 3945 I
Salieri is now in an asylum, his plans dashed and his music extinct.
"That wasn't Mozart laughing... it was God!"
@@Aramanth Exactly.
@@Aramanth So God was the antagonist in this film ?
Thats bloody blasphemous.
As a child I loved the seemingly historical story. As an adult, I deeply love this movie as an allegory.
The fact people acussed him of being Mozart's murdered because they parroted those stupid rumours back then tormented and drove him to have depression episodes later on his life, which contributed to Salieri end up believing he did killed Mozart when he finally got dementia as geriatric.
It is now known that most of these rumours were spread mostly by many members of the German school of music, since they had a deep resentment toward italian musicians in general, considering them having been always favored by the Austrian aristocracy over them and blaming them for all their difficulties.
+Kam -zdov You're right. I've always suspected the same thing. There's always been tension between these two groups. Even in the 19th century there was tension between fans of Verdi and Wagner.
Froggy Wizard Typical of germans and nordics, always ploting against us latins.
@@luisrincon7819 more like an "elite group of people" not all germans and nordics are like that hasty generalization u just made.
Jun Jun Gatbos That would have to be the Jews I’m afraid
Actually there was supposed to be one comment Salieri wrote about him killing Mozart. It wasn't factually ever proven just an older musician who had lots of i ssues going on. Amadeus is a dramatic license play and film but that doesn't preclude it from being a great work of ART. Shakespeare took considerable liberties with history . It is just our job to know the difference between fact and fiction.
Ironic how F. Murray Abraham was the one who won the Academy award, not Tom Hulce. Not so mediocre after all.....
You know I never thought of that so in a sense Salieri beat out Mozart after all.
Am I right in thinking that Tom Hulce also plays the part of the priest?
It was the acting guys.
@@sweetadelinedrummer No the priest was played by Richard Frank, who passed away in 1995
Abraham's performance here was surreal. He not only owned this film,you cannot see the film without his character. Thus he won the award.
I came to watch this scene. Abraham was a genius, but we shouldn't forget the actor who portrayed the priest. He had listened to old Salieri's story all night, and now it was dawn. He looked absolutely wrung out from the unbelievable story he just heard. Most importantly, his expression tells us he believed every word and was moved by it. If he didn't convey that, it would have thrown the whole tale into doubt as the ravings of a mad man. One of my favorite movies of all time.
He was way more than moved, poor guy was completely shattered. This is the kind of stuff that would make you question your own faith and make you rethink everything you believe in.
So true. So true. His eyes, his facial expression says it all. I wonder what the priest did afterwards. Should have taken a strong drink or two. @@Baguenaudeur
One of the saddest inflection points in life is that moment when you recognize your own insignificance despite your efforts to be otherwise. Charles de Gaulle spoke of such when he said _The graveyards are full of indispensable people._
Oh, I don't know. In our time and place perhaps we are occasionally indispensable. Just some more often than others. No sense being fatalistic about it, even though we all end up 6 feet under.
Very true.
When I first saw this film (it was on TV) I missed the opening scenes and jumped in during the scene where Salieri first meets with the priest and asks him if he knows who Salieri is. After sitting through the entire thing, it was only during this scene that I actually found out that Salieri had been taken to an asylum. It put a really interesting twist on the ending for me which was actually completely unintended. The man who had been telling the moving story of Mozart's life turned out to be completely insane. I wish the film had actually been cut that way.
Interesting perspective!
This was such an amazing ending to a brilliant film. A cinematic masterpiece that so many people have never seen. That in itself is a tragedy.
And a timeless one at that! Because it is a period piece, it is impossible to know just by watching that it was made so long ago!
Charisma Salieri.
I love how the laugh was in beat with the piano keys at the end.
That last laugh...
yes, its not who laughs first, but who laughs last..
You can't help but wonder if he died in that scene as he opened his mouth, and on top of it; the last thing he'd see or hear is Mozart s obscene laugh, as a kid; this closing scene always had a way of frightening me, now, it is profoundly compelling and one of the perfect endings in Cinema. .. I absolve you!
Salieri the court composer confined to an asylum. His attempt to usurp Mozart's greatness failed. That wasn't Mozart laughing... that was God.
no, he didn't die. Salieri would live on a few more years perhaps in that asylum (aka old people's home in the 18th century). the laugh was just the director's way of saying the spirit of Amadeus lives on in art as we all know well today.
c-record *19th century not 18th
@@pkolson6938 The name of the movie is "Amadeus" which was Mozart's middle name and also when translated means "Love of God". Consider the fact that Salieri's volatile relationship with God was a recurring theme in this film and that Salieri even antagonized God due to his belief that God favored Mozart through music (despite Mozart's questionable behavior/actions) and it's easy to see how this movie is about religion as much as it's about Mozart's music career.
More so, in fact. Mozart was just a tool used by a spiteful god to punish Salieri
A shame Salieri is now little known, as he was a very able composer himself.
The acting in this scene is brilliant. F Murray Abraham well deserved the Oscar for this film!
I reckon this movie has helped increase his profile somewhat.
@@ZuluRomeo in fact it did, in the Iron movie with Jeff Bridges, who is a mediocrity compared to Tony Stark, he plays a Salieri tune on his keyboards.
Yeah everyone had forgotten who Salieri was until this film came out. He's now more popular and well known than he's ever been before, and it's precisely because of this film.
Tom Hulce was nominated for best actor for playing Mozart, but didn't win. That was a shame. He was at least as good as Abraham was.
@@richgoldman2299Salieri, however, was the more challenging role.
Very possibly one of the best finales in cinema history. Mozart’s beautiful music played under the priest’s anguish and Solieri’s cheerful benediction to mediocrity, all capped by that “obscene giggle” - perfect!
I ABSOLVE YOU...
Mediocrities everywhere
I absolve you all!
God's/Mozart's dolphin laughter
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA ha ha ha ha ha aaaaahahaha
Grazie, Signore
I love how the movie starts out with us on Salieri's side, but throughout the movie, it slowly but surely moves our sympathy over to Mozart. The priest's expression shows that he saw Salieri's story for what it was; that of a man who slowly went mad with envy, and who perhaps had no real love in his heart at all. But Saleri was too vain to see it that way.
the greatest film of all. Great music, great costumes, great script, great direction, great cinematography, and great acting. I love this movie. I watch it every so often, alone, in a dark room. the music is superb.
I can't wait till it's on 4k
This has got to be one of the top 10 greatest dramatic movie scenes of all time!
I have nothing but respect for Salieri
In my view, Salieri names himself "the Patron Saint of Mediocrities" to make himself feel like he's something now that he has so little, and had years before. His greed for glory led him to become blind to everything God gifted him with.
Couldn't have put it better myself.
Yup. God DID give Salieri exactly what he wanted - recognition from men. Of course, the price for that was to see all of his works fade before his death. Perhaps if he had put the music first instead of his own selfish desires, God would have given him the gift of divine genius.
@@theproplady that still doesn't explain why god used mozart of all people as his voice. I'd say mozart wasn't your traditional christian (if a christian at all)
What gifts did spiteful god bestow, besides just enough intellect to recognise a genius, but not so much as to become one?
A love for music coupled with an inability to master it?
I remember seeing this in 1984. When this scene played...followed by the credits...my date & I just sat there and listened...just stunned and in awe of what we had just watched.
I was 6. Told my parents it sucked when they took me. My first movie. Boy was I wrong
That last laugh is truly beautiful
Why didnt I know about this masterpiece sooner
Such a beautiful piece of music. Now when I listen to it I hear Mozart's laugh though lol
Easily one of the greatest of all time. They don't make movies like this anymore.
One of the most iconic and meaningful endings of all time. Thank you to whoever wrote it. And to whoever chose Mozart's Piano Concerto to end. That hopeful wistfulness is impossible to otherwise capture. Grazie, Mozart.
What a masterfully composed scene, it conveys so much in such a short period of time, and that too in a subtle yet visceral manner when you actually grasp what was just said. F. Murray Abraham's acting here is just out of this world.
This has got to be one of the greatest performances in cinematic history.
Yes yes thank you Salieri for absolving me.
And yet this movie finally revived interest in Salieri.I had never heard of him until this film. So in a certain way. Salieri finally got the recognition he truly deserves.
I will always remember showing my exgf this movie for the first time. This scene shocked her, especially with the guy having a seizure in the box. She said "wow it would suck to live back then". Thats how well done this movie was, to put you in that time period. Well done. A master piece.
Abraham's acting is just mere perfection
Brillant acting on Abraham's part he deserved the oscar.
Abraham and Hulce put on a world class performance and my only regret was that they both couldn't be awarded.
Abraham without a doubt earned his award.
A masterpiece (I actually seen the DVD version first and preferred it)
To tell you the truth, Salieri's story is also quite sad, a man who played at the Emperor's door lives in a psychiatric ward
This movie was such a masterpiece, so exquisitely done, so eloquent in its nature. Truly one of the best of all time.
Such a beautiful piece of music for the closing of this film.
I've never felt more hollow by the end of any film. Masterful.
The way he said "my music" feels very genuine as if he's talking about one of his kids 😢
He is,really.A composer's work is a child of the brain,the heart,often the soul.
Everyone speaking about Salieri and F.M. Abraham, but I think that the actor playing the priest steals the scene here. He conveys so much emotions with his face, it's quite rare
@@markusnashorn1145 I don't think it's either of those two theories. My explanation is simpler: think the priest is just horrified by Salieri's cruelty and absence of guilt, and by Mozart's fate.
and Tom Hulce who was AMAZING
One of the greatest performances by any actor since the Greeks invented the performing arts. Genius.
I've played Mozart's pieces. They are wonderful!!! I saw the movie and loved it. It's a shame Mozart died so young. He was a genius. If only he could see how his pieces are still performed all over the world.
The ending is just perfect. The first notes of the sublime concerto, but immediately we are brought back to earth with - "Morning Professor" - and talk of the water closet and sugar rolls! Genius. 00:49
I do not understand how I know so many people who've never heard of this movie. This should be one of the most celebrated movies of all time!
In a way, the fact that a lot of people don't know and appreciate it makes it the special movie that it is I think. Though I also wish more people would
One of the best movies ever made. Looks as if it has been filmed today!
The cast is flawless. The dialogue fantastic. And overall impact is very deep.
Such quality and It’s Almost 40 years old!
Every time I watch this ending, I get something new and deeper. It is indeed a very very thoughtful movie.
the ending radiates 2 greatest lessons for every artists is humility and humble.
my fav film of all films
Historically inaccurate but this movie is damn amazing. Especially F. Murray Abraham's acting! Just wow!
An absolute masterpiece of a film....F Murray Abraham's work should be a course study in acting class....one of the FEW TRUE Hollywood talents.
Saliari taught me to appreciate forgotten, independent films and all entertainment left buried by the more popular works.
1:55 The last laugh is mine
This movie itself is amazing. It almost captured all the awards of the Oscar in that year. Like Wolfgang Amadeus himself It's the "best of the best "
I used to watch this movie on TV in the 90's on KCET Ch.5 in Los Angeles. I've always resonated with this film since I was 5 years old. Such a great movie! 👏📽️🎬🎻
Thank you for the clip. This is one of the best films of all time.
Anyone else notice the brightness of the sunlight from the window intensifies when Salieri is given the chance to tell the real truth and always fades again as he decides to obfuscate? God is listening to everything Salieri is saying and trying to show the path to redemption.
This movie is on another level.
Even though this movie is not historicall accurate I still find it a complete masterpiece especially with F. Murrays performance
One of the most beautiful movies I have ever seen in my life
It’s because of this scene that I learned what “Absovle” means.
Richard Frank (priest) and Tom Hulce (Mozart) should have also won an award. Both were also awesome!!!
The entire movie was absolutely mesmerizing. 💯
So fascinating is the difference between someone who is talented, popular, dutiful, successful and someone who is a once-in-a-lifetime genius, stretching and forever changing the art 🎶🎵.
Salieri's final monologue is a masterful balancing act. At first, it's his closing argument that God plays favorites and is ultimately cruel. Then, a sad revelation that everyone has forgotten about him and his music, as the priest proved when he arrived. Then, a sarcastic rant about how he will look after the people that God tossed aside. In the end, we are left deeply unsettled but completely convinced by him and his worldview.
0:26 32 years of torture, 32 years of slowly watching myself become extinct!! 🤕🤢
Malignant narcissist
32 years of torture. 32 years of slowly watching myself become extinct!
Milos forman knows how to end a movie beautifully 👌
I love how the movie's score is just all Mozart's pieces placed perfectly at the right moments, fitting their exact emotional context. All the score of the movie about a composer made by the composer himself years before. Don't think there's any other movie with this specific characteristic out there. Not at least as completely as Amadeus
This is probably one of the most satisfying
endings of all time
The look on the Priest's face, shaken and mortified by what he heard. Making him question if some men are beyond saving.
The priest was angry when Salieri accused God 😂
Until he heard his confession, he was so Melancholy and dumbfounded all in one, it was written all over his face.
@@gumballsrelative9197 ikr, great acting.
The Priest was torn apart because Salieri wielded a truth sword .
When I want to see one of the best acting performances EVER, by anyone, I treat myself to F. Murray Abraham in this role. Outstanding!
I've seen thousands of films, from the early silents to now, and few have ever deserved their Oscar as much as F. Murray Abraham as Salieri. With the genius of Milos Forman, and a great cast and crew, this movie was already destined to be most excellent. But Abraham's note-perfect performance raised it to a whole other level. Nothing mediocre about this film.
Still hearing Wolfgang's laugh after all these years.
Salieri's true masterpiece is destroying the faith in God this young priest has, in one night.
Many great movies have not so great endings. Not this one! The ending scene of Amadeus is one of the greatest and most ironic conclusions of cinema history!
What a great , extraordinary movie , omg, this was just perfect, i have seen it more than 100 times.
Whenever I hear the Romanza mvt from PC 20 I instantly think of this scene.
This is what True Defeat looks like...
This part also traumatized me for a long time
theory : sallieri dies in the last scene, and the mozarts laugh represents the quote sallieri said “that was god laughing”
Salieri would go on to live for 2 more years, if I'm not mistaken. The movie takes place in 1823 and Salieri died in 1825.
BOTH actors in the scenes between Salieri and the priest did a great job.
The best ending in the history of cinema
Haydn wrote, "posterity will not see such a talent again in 100 years" and in 1785 told Mozart's father: "I tell you before God, and as an honest man, your son is the greatest composer known to me by person and repute, he has taste and what is more the greatest skill in composition."
I think this is one of the greatest films of all time and Murray Abraham's performance here is a miracle.
It would be interesting to know if the real, i.e. dead, Salieri would consider the renewed interest in his music to be worth the film’s aspersions on his character.
Shivers, oh damned shivers. (':
One of the greatest endings of all time for me, personally.
“I will speak for you, father. I speak for all mediocrities in the world. I am their champion. I am their patron saint.”
Relatable AF
The film sets up one thing and then throws you for a loop. The first scene makes it sound like Salieri genuinely regrets what he did to Mozart and as the flashback happens, you wait for him to have his moment of realizing what a monster he’s become. But he never does. It turns out his “forgive me, Mozart” and suicide attempt was one last effort to get some kind of spotlight. He never feels sorry for anything he did. And it’s horrifying for the priest to realize just how insane this guy is.
I was left speechless like that priest when I first saw this movie.
The movie's theme is more than just show the life of Mozart, actually is centered on the thoughts and emotions of Salieri and about religion.
Salieri in the film is showed as a musician who wanted to serve God with his talent, and after seeing Mozart acknowledge that he has not that talent he thought he had. So that is why at the end he sees himself and the people as mediocre, even the priest.
The movie also talks about religion and God. Because in the eyes of Salieri, he wanted to do good, but God didn't let him do good, and also put somebody with talents who doesn't care about God.
Even to this day this scene scares the living crap outta me (shuddering)😨😬
The look on the Priests' face after hearing everything that Salieri had done would make him question everything he was taught about in forgiving and saving to those who did things beyond the norm.
@J W The Priest was demoralized because he realized Salieri's views of medicority and genius were true. He also made Priest aware of his own mediocrity. AND it is true. Have seen it in my lifetime. From Fine Art to Rocknroll ( my favoite music) to NFL and college Football . There is a quote by the late Playwright/ Actor Sam Shepard from one of his characters. " It is like a game of pool . All the talent, technique, and practice in the world can't beat you because you have magic ! " The writer in me would have written it THE MAGIC !
If you pay attention you see that both men were were not without fault. Neither could find humbleness in themselves or could count their blessings. Salieri was a competant composer with a great job, salary, and home but saw himself as less than because he didnt have more talent. Mozart had the talent but couldnt submit to being under anyone elses authority. He was a perfectionist who felt all his music had to be spectacular and wouldnt take time for breathers and wouldnt take projects to provide for his family because he viewed them as beneath him.
All speak of F Murray Abraham in these scenes but the guy who played the priest did a great job too.
The most passive-depressive ending i can think of
i guess he heard the voice of god when he dies
"Mediocrities everywhere - I absolve you. I absolve you all." Brilliant writing to the last second - fuelled by the fire performance of F. Murray Abraham, perhaps the finest in all of film history.