Movie Analysis Essay on Amadeus

Introduction

Amadeus is one of the best stories ever crafted in the history of films. The 1984 Amadeus film was directed by Milos Forman, and it was adapted from a stage play previously presented by Peter Shaffer. The story encompasses the biography of a renowned musician, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The film is highly authentic in telling the musical journey of Mozart it incorporates the extensive use of soundtracks as well. Amadeus is highly used in some musical classes to elaborate the musical history, as attributed to its vast use of music, even when it is not a musical story.This paper seeks to clearly illustrate the distinctions in the soundtrack of the film " Amadeus" and the play "Amadeus" by Peter Shaffer, and the reasons why the changes were made in the movie.

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The story of Amadeus revolves around the protagonist Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart who is an impeccably talented young Vinesse composer, Mozart unknowingly faces fierce opposition from the determined and disciplined Salieri Antonio. The story encompasses Salieri resenting Mozart for both his undeniable talent and his hedonistic lifestyle. Both the film and the play use musical aspects in telling the story, but there are some notable distinctions in the mode of music and the manner in which music is used.

Peter Shaffer's and Milos Foreman "Amadeus" serves a unique case in musical films as the artists both present distinctive qualities which make both the play and the film intriguing. The artistic aspects in the movie are more enhanced than those in the play. Milo Forman took advantage of what camera can do and presented a twist in some of the events. This change had an impact on the meaning as well as the musical aspects which were made distinct from those of the play. The film encompasses the use of sophisticated graphics in a multifaceted way. In this film, Milo foreman tries to manipulate his audience as the film contains more profound use of soundtrack than in the play. The complexity can be attributed to the nature of films, where the director has the choice of exaggerating some parts derived from the original play. Milo enhances the part of the Mozart opera, with vivid stress on the musical performances of Mozart. The film incorporates a style in which one can listen to music and watch is it as well. Forman presents many of Mozart's biographical allusions for the audience to discover.

Mozart Foreman uses musical soundtracks right from the start of the film. The movie is increasingly theatrical, and it does not generally translate well to the play for various reasons. Forman adapted the play Amadeus in the way of creating appeal to the target audiences, by cutting characters, expanding on the actors, altering the language as well as the narration. The costume design and the set take full advantage of a stage play.

On the contrary, Shaffer's play tries to shift the primary focus on Mozart's successful music career and introduces some of the critical challenges facing Mozart's musical journey. This is not emphasised in the film which tries to showcase Mozart's advancements while leaving out the hurdles and some of his opposers who challenged his musical career. Therefore, the play uses less of Mozart's music and handles more of the other people's music as well. The stage play is not just based on musical operas as it shows the significance of the chief antagonist, Salieri. It is evident that the playwright is more centred on Mozart's rivalry with the Viennese musical composer, Salieri Antonio. The play presents a previously covered side of Salieri, showcasing the boorish characters and poorly oriented relationships with his counterparts.

Also, the film focuses more on Mozart's music than on Salieri's music. Shaffer's narrative ploy is in a manner that Salieri is also given notice. The stage play depicts that Salieri does not mention the name of Mozart in his entire presentation unlike in the film. It is seen that the movie starts with the calling of "Mozart, Mozart". On the contrary, the play commences with the declaration of "Salieri! Salieri!"

Shaffer's play uses music in a way which differentiates it from the films everyday use of music in a literal manner. The music in the play is different from that of the movie as it is expressed in different styles. For instance, the play starts when savage whispers are chanting "Salieri" while filling the theatre with the sounds. This is a musical form which is not illustrated in the film as it only starts with the declaration of the name, "Mozart". The song in the is quickly succeeded by the Venti celli, involving "two winds" which depict the confession of Salieri claiming that he would murder Mozart. This musical sequence is applied to showcase the overture of the play. This is opposed to the music in the film which is more dramatic and depicts despair and fright.

Furthermore, Milo Foreman and Neville Marina used the soundtrack in the movie to evolve more around Mozart's performances. However, in the play, Mozart's music and all of the other musical components are used to depict the memories and cue the emotions of the viewer. It is seen that the film incorporates most of Mozart's operas and orchestral performances. This is to show the great talent of Mozart, and also to ignite feelings from the viewer about Mozart's impeccable performances. Music in the film is used as more of a stylistic device used to ensure enjoyability to the viewer. Films may incorporate music as entertainment components to entice the viewer and make the movie generally enjoyable. Also, music mainly breaks the monotony in the film and allows the director to ignite the emotions that they would like the audience to experience. Therefore, Forman highly integrated music into the film to make it more intriguing. On the other hand, the play uses the music to showcase the memories of what happened in the past. It lacks the use of the many operas and the orchestras unlike in the film.

Sound editing has an essential role in films, as films should not just involve the use of characters only. From my standpoint, that is why Milo Forman, the director and Neville Mariner the musical arranger decided to change the soundtrack and musical components from Shaffer's play. It is not just that the movie showcases the story of the two composers; rather sound effects are extensively needed in films to have the desired impact by sparking intended emotions from the viewers. In my opinion, soundtracks in movies are more important than their essentiality in plays.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the film Amadeus as adapted from Peter Shaffer's play "Amadeus, demonstrates the extent to which music was changed by the film's director Forman and music manager, Neville. It is seen that the musical aspects from the play needed to be modified to fit the film context, as well as match the ploy of the film.