Great Scene: “Amadeus”

Compare screenplay to screen: The wondrous scene in the 1984 movie in which Mozart dictates the Requiem Mass to Salieri.

This is one of my favorite all-time scenes, a brilliant inspiration for the viewer to hear what Mozart is ‘hearing’ in his own mind, but Salieri not to hear, both to give Salieri an actual taste of creative genius at work in the moment, and also to underscore to us how damn frustrating it was for him to live in the shadow of Mozart’s genius. It is, in effect, the story’s Final Struggle — for Mozart to attempt to complete this piece before he dies and for Salieri to be a part of a profoundly creative act.

I’m posting this scene in honor of my oldest son Will, who is a fifth year Ph.D. student in music composition at the University of Chicago.

Here is the scene in the movie:

What a magnificent scene. Note how the actors play around with their interchange, following the script, but also leaning into Mozart’s impatience and Salieri’s attempts to keep up, the implied pressure of Mozart’s impending death playing underneath the action.

For more articles in the Great Scene series, go here.