Amadeus - 1984

Amadeus

(1984)

A Milos Forman Film

(Theatrical Version) Rated PG

(Director's Cut) Rated R

My Rating: 3 stars

F. Murray Abraham

Tom Hulce

Elizabeth Berridge

Simon Callow

Roy Dotrice

Christine Ebersole

Jeffrey Jones

Charles Kay

Kenneth McMillan

Amadeus Wolgang Mozart, genius musician such as the world has never seen before or after. But genius that he is, Mozart has many faults. Those two factors combined lead to his death and the everlasting guilt of Antonio Salieri.

People question if this film is accurate but from what I have read, I must say that I believe this portrait of Mozart is fairly correct. He was a foolhardy, spendthrift, arrogant man who was given a gift that the rest of us can only dream about. I loved how this movie showed Mozart composing and explained to a certain extent how his mind worked in music. Mozart understood the science of music when he was 4 years old. He was absolutely amazing.

The Director's Cut of Amadeus had twenty minutes of extra footage in it that jacked the rating way up to R. Some of it I think could have been left out completely. However, I was glad I was able to watch some of it because it actually gave me a bigger picture of what Mozart was like and the extent of Silieri's hate.

What I Liked:

1: The music

2: That crazy laugh that makes me smile whenever I hear it (though I can't vouch for that being accurate... this is the first I've heard of it)

3: Salieri's hate and methods of destroying Mozart were very realistic.

4: How well cast Mozart, Silieri and the King were. They totally merged into their characters and became one. It was amazing to watch the extra footage later and seeing them out of character! It was as if they were completely different people. ::applauds::

5: 99% of the movie was believably 18th century.

6: This film left me with a feeling like I would never watch a movie quite like it again. It is unique.

What I didn't Like:

1: Mozart is portrayed as a very vulgar man. I am fairly sure he was but they seemed to go overboard a couple times. Thus...

2: Crude language (this is in the Director's Cut) occurs several times.

3: Mozart's Wife, Constanze, is shot with frontal nudity. This definitely could have been completely cut... and it is in the Theatrical Version of the movie.

4: One shot of Mozart and Constanze without their wigs is very, very 80's. That drove me crazy. Lol! But the rest of the movie was so good that I was able to forgive them. :-)

5: Elizabeth Berridge played Constanze Mozart. She was a good actor and I was impressed with her talent. But I must admit that I found in 50% of her scenes, she wasn't Constanze, she was only playing Constanze. Big difference. I couldn't forget that she was Elizabeth Berridge.

This movie is one of those very powerful, moving stories that I will never forget. For music lovers everywhere, this is excellence.

Enemy Of The State

Enemy of the State

A Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckhemimer Production

Will Smith

Gene Hackman

Regina King

Jon Voight

Gabriel Byrn

Loren Den

Jake Busey

Barry Pepper

Rated R for violence, language and brief sexuality/innuendo

My rating: 4 stars for excellence

Robert Clayton Dean is a successful D.C. Attorney and happily married family man who lives in relative peace. Little does he know that his life will soon be ripped to pieces... and unless he takes drastic action, he won't get it back. Unknown to him, he has in his possession a video of a murder... a political murder. And the murderer is willing to go to all lengths to get rid of it and anyone who may know about it. The result is lots of action, some humor, some tears and a good feeling when you're done watching the film.

What I liked:

1: The wonderful relationship between Dean and his wife. In spite of their mistakes (and there were some big ones), their relationship grew stronger through each storm they weathered.

2: How Dean always had his wife and kid on his brain, regardless of what he was going through.

3: Dean's determination to live, even if it meant doing some of the stupidest, most uncomfortable things he'd ever heard of.

4: Gene Hackman's character and the relationship between him and Dean. It was an interesting physiological mix of hate and respect, that eventually turned to appreciation and, shall I say?, affection.

5: The way I totally got the story and what was happening, even though it moved very quickly.

6: Not being much with electronics, etc, I doubly appreciated how easily I could understand what each piece of technological equipment was for and how it worked.

7: This movie was extremely well acted, well directed, and all the strings were neatly tied when the movie was finished.

8: Even with the elements that I didn't care for, I must admit that nothing seemed excessive or out of place. Each scene and sequence fit very well and helped flavor the film.

9: It seemed totally 100% realistic. Being raised in a home that questions everything about the culture we live in and our leaders, I was very interested in the message of this film. And it was this: we have little privacy. As Will Smith said in an interview, “The only privacy we have is in our heads.” It's a movie that made me think and I think it's a movie that will be around for awhile because (I hope!) there are other people who appreciate being woke up.

The things I didn't like:

1: The language.

2: The sexual content... which, thankfully, was “tastefully done”. There is a scene in a Victorian Secret store, in which Dean is trying to buy some lingerie for his wife. One could cover the screen and listen to the dialog because it is important to the rest of the story. Scene two that is a little colorful is when Dean finds that nearly all his clothing is bugged or has censers. He strips down in an apartment quickly, while the older oriental lady looks on and claps enthusiastically... but Dean only gets down to his undershirt and skivvies (which, thankfully, the bad guys forgot to bug... Lol!) before he starts to run again. That actually was the most disturbing scene for me because I tend to want to respect older ladies and this one had me totally disgusted. :-P Another scene is when Dean and Gene Hackman's character film a congressman having an affair with someone who isn't his wife. The camera pans away before one sees too much and even then, you can simply cover the screen and listen to the dialog, which is also important. The final scene (that I can remember) is when Dean and his wife see each other for the first time in a few days and engage in an affectionate embrace (mostly kissing) that includes Carla wearing the lingerie he got for her. Again, it's tastefully done but personally, I would cover the screen.

What surprised me in this film:

1: The appearance Gabriel Byrne. I love his role from Little Women (2002) as Professor Baer so was pleasantly surprised with his brief but memorable appearance here.

Do I recommend this film? To a mature audience, definitely. If you enjoy a good film, with intrigue, a beautiful romance (I love it when the romance is between a married couple :-)), lots of action, a good message and all the strings tied, watch Enemy of the State.