He was the first. All right, he wasn’t the first. But he was the first to make such a fuss about it. Mozart was the first of all writers to be completely arrogant… and completely controlling, about his work. In this he was not exactly the first. He was, however, the first writer to be right in his self-assessment. Mozart had God’s gift, and he treated it so arrogantly that it became his downfall.

Amadeus is the story of Mozart (Hulce), the composer with God’s gift and the Devil’s audacity, and Salieri (Abraham), the composer with God’s pity and the Devil’s vengeance. In Vienna, Salieri embarks on a jealous quest to bring Mozart to his knees, and, ultimately, his death.

It is a battle that only one of them fights. Mozart never really grasped that Salieri was his enemy until it was too late. Salieri, a man who traded chastity for talent, became obsessed with defeating Mozart as a way to defeat God, and thus he employed all of the impish tricks he could devise. The result is one of the finest crafted forms of revenge ever conceived.

Amadeus is a movie so good that it defies description. Although such praise is often a cop out, Amadeus holds true to this level of acclaim. Watching Amadeus is like listening to Mozart: it is a horrible beauty beyond words.

Check out our review of Amadeus: The Director's Cut here.