Amadeus

What sticks in the memory about AMADEUS after all these years is the whinnying laughter of Tom Hulce’s interpretation of the title character. This unseriousness may seem inappropriate for master composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, yet it brings a significant dimension to the film: we can discern that the superior and the groundbreaking are often hidden in the all-too-human, as every Apollo is confronted by a Dionysus. These are the tensions that inform Miloš Forman’s portrait of a composer. The director did not, however, create a sedate biopic, staging Mozart instead in a pink wig and eccentric gestures like a Sid Vicious of the 18th century, more rock than rococo, albeit without, sacrificing the inherent tragedy of the story to burlesque. “Amadeus is a magnificent film,” Roger Ebert wrote, “and sad and angry too, because in the character of Salieri it has given us a way to understand not only greatness, but our own lack of it.” AMADEUS is showing as a special gala screening at this year’s festival, where the family of Eric Pleskow, acclaimed producer and former Viennale president, will ofcially give the Oscar statuette he won for producing the film to the city of Vienna via the Viennale. (Thomas Mießgang)

Gala on the occasion of the 100th birthday of Eric Pleskow (1924–2019).
More info on the Gala HERE!

Miloš Forman: BLACK PETER (1964), AUDITION (1964), LOVES OF A BLONDE (1965), THE FIREMEN’S BALL (1967), TAKING OFF (1971), ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST (1975), HAIR (1979), RAGTIME (1981), VALMONT (1989), THE PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLYNT (1996), MAN ON THE MOON (1999), GOYA’S GHOSTS (2006)