Mozart: Do you believe in it?…A fire which never dies, burning you forever?

Salieri: (a pause) Oh, yes.

Amadeus (1984)

running time: 2 hr., 40 m. / original studio: Orion / original rating: PG

directed by Milos Forman; screenplay by Peter Shaffer, from his play; director of photography, Miroslav Ondricek; edited by Michael Chandler; music supervisor: Sir Neville Marriner conducting the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields

with: F. Murray Abraham (Salieri), Tom Hulce (Mozart), Elizabeth Berridge (Constanze Mozart), Simon Callow (Emanuel Schikaneder)

The confessions of Antonio Salieri, a classical composer who claimed that he murdered Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Made near the middle of the 1980s, a decade generally known for the triumph of crass commercialism over any kind of aesthetic value in the movies, Amadeus is the exception to the rule, a sensuous fantasia in period costume that speculates upon one of life’s greatest mysteries, the origin and nature of musical genius, with unapologetic wit, exuberance and style. I know of no other film in English that uses cinematic grammar so deftly, with such mastery of its highs and lows, to convey emotions and ideas that should be inexplicable: the all-consuming experience of creativity at its peak; the exhilaration of recognizing a true, almost magical brilliance in another person; and the damnation of a well-earned, inextinguishable jealousy. (more…)

4.04.05

Man, there is a ton of really relevant stuff going on in the news. So let’s go with the other crap.

They Shot Marvin in the Face!!: Okay, so they didn’t. But a bunch of kids are alleging that Marvin Harrison, WR of the Indianapolis Colts, choked out an autograph seeking friend in Hawaii over Pro-Bowl weekend. This is EXACTLY what Indianapolis sports needed. After Edge holding out for more bucks and declining franchise status, after the constant imbroglio over the new stadium and gambling, and after the friggin’ Detroit brawl that they’re still showing on TV, we get this. What next? Reggie Miller drowning puppies? Peyton Manning attacking an old lady after she taunts him with the “Cut that meat!” chant? Guys, when people knock us as a second-class sports city, it doesn’t mean you have to act like the asshole players that have overpopulated Dallas and D.C. Shut your mouths, sign some ‘graphs, do your jobs, and win some friggin’ titles, okay?

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