‘Amadeus’ honors play and film while adding more shenanigans

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When I heard the acclaimed play and film, “Amadeus,” was being adapted into a miniseries debuting Friday on Starz, my initial reaction was cautious optimism. While it’s rarely an improvement to stretch out a successful movie, the fact that the same writer, Peter Shaffer, and director, Miloš Forman, were involved made the whole idea seem a bit pointless.

While the series wasn’t perfect, it had both positive and negative aspects. It didn’t quite live up to its full potential – the five episodes felt a bit repetitive and tiring, and ultimately didn’t have the emotional impact it aimed for. However, it was still an interesting experience with plenty of enjoyable moments.

Joe Barton, known for his moving Christmas thriller “Black Doves,” has created a new version of “Amadeus” that feels both like a fresh interpretation and a remake. Plays naturally evolve with each performance due to changes in direction, actors, and design, while generally sticking to the original script. As theater critic Charles McNulty noted in a recent review, every “Amadeus” production blends the historical setting of Mozart’s Vienna with the time period of the current staging. Unlike a typical film remake where the script can be altered, Barton’s version respects the core story and themes of Peter Shaffer’s work. However, to expand the runtime, he’s added new scenes and material – though not necessarily more music – with mixed results.

I was fascinated watching Shaffer’s play, which is built around the old story that Mozart was actually poisoned by his rival, Salieri. It’s all based on rumor, but the play isn’t about truth so much as what Salieri believes happened, as he tells the story from the future. Basically, young Salieri prayed for musical greatness, and he achieved some success, but then Mozart arrived. Mozart was unbelievably talented, almost as if God was speaking through him, but he was also a bit of a wild, arrogant guy – which really got under Salieri’s skin. Salieri felt lost because Mozart had the divine spark he craved. As Mozart’s superior at court, Salieri decided to do everything he could to sabotage him. A lot of the play focuses on these attempts, with some new twists added by Barton, and it eventually leads Salieri to the desperate conclusion that the only solution is to kill Mozart.

Salieri sees himself as the hero of the story, making him the central figure in this adaptation, while Mozart unknowingly causes Salieri to question his faith. The production expands on Mozart’s personal life, highlighting conflict and challenges. Lorenzo Da Ponte, Mozart’s librettist, is portrayed as a mischievous companion who often appears with a lively entourage. Constanze, Mozart’s wife, has a more significant role, appearing even after his death as the confidante for Salieri’s confessions. Later, she’s visited by Alexander Pushkin, a Russian writer interested in creating a play based on the famous Mozart-Salieri story – a story that actually inspired the creation of “Amadeus” itself, adding a fascinating layer to the production.

The actors deliver strong performances. Casting Sean Bean as a dashing, romantic Mozart – a stark contrast to Tom Hulce’s quirky and energetic portrayal in the film – immediately suggests this version aims for a more serious and dramatic interpretation. (The unsettling opening credits, featuring a sheep being used to make violin strings, reinforce this impression.) Bean also plays Mozart with a restrained, almost monastic quality, different from F. Murray Abraham’s Oscar-winning performance. While the series sometimes veers into overly dramatic territory, with director Julian Farino favoring flashy editing and unusual camera angles, it’s most compelling when it’s just these two characters interacting. Mozart, due to his naive nature, can’t detect Salieri’s hidden resentment, and Salieri finds himself genuinely fascinated by Mozart despite his jealousy.

Biographical movies are often unreliable, but “Amadeus,” which freely blends fact and fiction, is often given a bit of leeway. This film, shot near Vienna in Bucharest and Hungary, depicts some real events, like Mozart’s piano competition with Muzio Clementi and the funeral of his pet bird, and it captures the grandeur of the time. While Mozart composed a vast amount of music, the film focuses on his operas – “The Abduction From the Seraglio,” “The Marriage of Figaro,” and “The Magic Flute” – because their stories and characters allow the filmmakers to explore possible, though questionable, reasons behind his creative choices. Even his opera “Don Giovanni” is reinterpreted as being about his relationship with his father. The film largely ignores the breadth of his work – the 41 symphonies, 27 piano concertos, and more – focusing instead on these select few operas and the unfinished “Requiem” which plays a role in the story of his rival, Salieri.

While the movie generally follows the basic life story, “Amadeus” isn’t historically accurate and often stretches believability. It’s best viewed as entertainment, not a true account of events.

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2026-05-08 13:32