Amadeus premiered majestically today 40 years ago

“Astounding! It was….beyond belief. These were first and only drafts of music, but they showed no corrections of any kind! Not one! He’d simply…..written down music, already finished, in his head! Page after page of it, as if he was just taking dictation! And music……finished as no music is ever finished. Misplace one note, and there would be diminishment. Misplace one phrase, and structure would fall. That sound I’d heard in the Archbishop’s palace had been no accident. Here again was the very voice of God. I was staring through the cage of those meticulous ink-strokes at an absolute Beauty.”
– F. Murray Abraham as Salieri
“Is it ….not good?”
“IT IS MIRACULOUS.”

“On the a page, it looked — nothing. The beginning was simple, almost comic! Just a pulse — bassoons, bassett horns. Like a rusty squeezebox. And then! Suddenly, high above it, an oboe……a single note, hanging there, unwavering! until — a clarinet took it over, sweetened it into such a phrase of such delight! This was no composition by a performing monkey. This was music I’d never heard. Filled with such longing, such unfulfillable longing! It seemed to me I was hearing the very voice of God!”
– Again, F. Murray Abraham as Salieri.

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8 Responses to Amadeus premiered majestically today 40 years ago

Cyberkitten says:

September 7, 2024 at 12:41 am

Oh, I LOVED that movie. Changed my whole view of ‘stuffy’ Classical music…. Well, that and Bugs Bunny!

- smellincoffee says:
  
  September 7, 2024 at 6:01 am
  
  Bugs was responsible for introducing me to classical music, as well! My first cassette tape was “The Best of Beethoven”, followed later by “The Planets” suite.
  
  - Cyberkitten says:
    
    September 7, 2024 at 7:20 am
    
    We’re not alone with the Bugs connection. I’ve seen numerous memes about it! Most of my early exposure to classical music was through cartoons, movies & adverts. My decades long love of Albinoni and Rachmaninov started when I heard them first in films and then tracked them down… I listen to Classic FM throughout the day & always smile when I hear something from a Bugs Bunny or Tom & Jerry cartoon… [grin]
    
    - smellincoffee says:
      
      September 7, 2024 at 8:55 pm
      
      Believe me if all these enduring young charms (BOOM!)..
      
Veros @ Dark Shelf of Wonders says:

September 7, 2024 at 10:56 am

I remember watching this as a teenager and I was so engrossed in it but there’s a particular scene that messed me up to the point it’s the only thing I really remember clearly about the movie.

- smellincoffee says:
  
  September 7, 2024 at 8:50 pm
  
  I’m trying to remember weird/sketchy scenes but honestly, the ones I re-watch all the time on Youtube crowd everything else. Same for “Inglurious Bastards”, which I’ve watched once, but obsess over its Christopher Waltz scenes.
  
  - Veros @ Dark Shelf of Wonders says:
    
    September 8, 2024 at 4:33 pm
    
    It wasn’t like sketchy or anything, just the idea of having to write a requiem that was gonna be used at your own funeral impacted me for some reason, lol. Haha it’s nice you like to re-watch your favourite scenes 🙂
    
Nic says:

September 7, 2024 at 11:32 pm

I remember watching, and enjoying, this when I was about 11 or 12. I can’t remember anything about it though.