Amadeus

 

This is one of my favorite movies. I watch it whenever I go through one of those phases when I want to become an opera star. It is about the life of the composer Salieri and his tense relationship with Mozart. (Spoilers ahead!) Salieri was a great composer, but he was jealous of Mozart because Mozart was famous and he wasn't. He developed a plan: he would disguise himself as Mozarts dead father (Mozart did NOT get along with his father and felt guilty for not giving him a proper funeral), commission a requiem from Mozart, and slowly but constantly put enough pressure on him that he would die of stress and alcoholism. Then, at his funeral, he would perform the requiem and say that he composed it, giving Salieri glory and popularity. Salieri does just that. Eventually Mozart gets so stressed that during one of his premieres (my favorite opera, The Magic Flute!) he faints. Salieri is conveniently there to escort him to his house. While Mozart lays on his bed dying, he tells Salieri that he has a requiem to finish (which happens to be the same work that Salieri commissioned in disguise), so he dictates the notes to Salieri, who is elated that his plan is working. Just as he finishes the requiem, he dies. Because Mozart spent a lot of money on alcohol, he died poor and could not even afford his own grave. (It's really sad.) The movie is a series of flashbacks as Salieri (now very old and living in an asylum) tells his story to a priest. It is full of humor and beautiful music. (And who couldn't love Mozart's awkward laugh?)