speed of dark

Last week, I found myself reading an article at the AV Club. I went on to read through the comments section which act as a kind of discussion board and contain a mish-mash of disses, jokes, pop culture references, and many extremely intelligent conversations on the actual article or diversions therefrom. While I probably enjoyed the original article very much, I can't remember which one it was. But I do remember a discussion in the comments regarding the movie Amadeus, which brings me to my point.

Amadeus was released in 1984, and was loosely based upon the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, arguably the most talented composer of all time. The movie furthered an unsubstantiated bit of gossip that fellow composer Antonio Salieri was jealous and brought about Mozart's death. The comments on the AV Club were about the fact that Milos Forman's movie was responsible for furthering this conception that Salieri killed Mozart, and what responsibility, if any, did movies have to tell the truth about real people and real situations. At least one commenter doubted that the movie would hold up after more than twenty years, but did not dispute that many people in society today believe the story as told in the movie (and of course, it was mentioned that this subject was brought up in a Simpsons episode).

I remembered this movie vividly but hadn't seen it since its original release. I have a fond memory of our neighbors, who were a very musical family, taping a note to their front door when they had rented this movie: "Do Not Disturb - Watching Amadeus". I rented a copy on DVD and watched it with my son, He Might Be Giant, with only a minor explanation of what the movie was about, because I wanted to see if he would get it.

It turned out to be a very enjoyable movie, both for me and HMBG, which surprised both of us. I forgot how good F. Murray Abraham was as Salieri, and the "annoying if you hate him, infectious if you love him" high-pitched giggle of Mozart by Tom Hulce made me laugh. But the music was fantastic - Mozart truly was a genius. I won't pretend to be able to pick apart his compositions - all I know is that they are lovely masterpieces that can bring me to tears. Enjoy a couple of my favorites from the movie and rent Amadeus if you haven't already seen it. And if you last saw it in the 80's like I did, rent it again some night when there's nothing good on TV.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Requiem in D Minor (Dies Irae) [buy]
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Serenade No. 10 Adagio (Gran Partita) [buy]