Amadeus VIDEO

PART I

After watching the film Amadeus (1984 , there are three things that I learned about music in general . One , you don 't have to be a genius to appreciate classical music , but you need to be one in to create a lasting masterpiece . In the movie , Salieri while in the asylum plays several tunes on the piano which are among his works and asks the visiting priest if he is familiar with it , but the other only shakes his head . Then he plays a lively tune which his guest instantly recognizes

but it turns out to be the work of Mozart , whom Salieri is rumoured to have murdered by poison . Two , classical music is not only for monarchs but for the masses as well . I used to think symphony music performances were only for the high brow or the elite . Although I like contemporary music , the musical excerpts aired in Amadeus ' suggest there is much to be discovered and admired in the works of the great masters . Three music , like literature , transcends time and culture and has a universal appeal . The great works of Mozart are still heard and appreciated today long after he is gone

PART II

Three things I have learned about Mozart

He was a prodigy , this Mozart , and a true virtuoso with musical instruments . There is a scene in the movie where he plays the piano backwards . When Salieri introduces his supposed masterpiece to the monarch , Mozart memorizes it instantly and makes superior variations /improvisations on the spot

He was a naughty boy at heart who had no qualms flirting with women (he is shown cavorting with a scantily clad girl before a performance

Mozart had a very fecund imagination . The ranting of a woman , rather than distract him , gives him ideas for an opera . He composes even on his deathbed

Despite his fame , Mozart who was a spendthrift died poor and was buried in a pauper 's grave

Two things I have learned about the medium of film

Listening to music as images unfold on screen has a more vivid powerful , and lasting impact than reading an article or book or listening to mere audio . For example , if the music is something that is haunting or has a melancholy , sad quality to it , the same may be enhanced by appropriate scenery flashing on the screen

The characters one reads from book or article come alive on film . For instance Salieri is pictured as one who had been jealous of Mozart Having someone portray him on screen lends face and believability to the story

PART III

Three scenes taken from the film

The scene following that where Salieri attempts to kill himself appears to be in a mental asylum . The patients are all over the place in various states of lunacy (one is in chains , another is naked , their clothes dishevelled , the place dirty and in disarray

The first symphonic performance in the movie under the baton of Mozart shows the royalty and courtiers...