Music In Film: Competition In Amadeus And Saturday Night Fever

The role of music in film can be critical to telling the story. The music is used by directors in various methods to help the viewer glimpse a full picture of trends and beliefs of a particular time, to understand the psychology behind a particular character, and to set a mood in a film. Competition in Amadeus (1984) and Saturday Night Fever (1977) are depicted in different ways using numerous musical techniques which are important to analyze in order to understand their role in the films. Although mutually united by having music as a core concept of these films, they are differentiated by the use to which music is put in each one. This paper will describe how music in film, as defined by Aaron Copland, is used in films such as Amadeus and Saturday Night Fever. I will discuss how Amadeus defines the rivalry between

One example of leitmotif in Amadeus is his musical skills which the film uses to address the level of competition between Mozart and Salieri. Mozart proves his musical genius many times over the course of the film to the point where Salieri tells the Minister visiting him in the old age home, “This was no composition by a performing monkey! This was a music I’d never heard. Filled with such longing…it had me trembling. It seemed to me that I was hearing the voice of God”. Salieri’s expressions during this scene shows his affection as he talks about the music Mozart composed. Salieri was an established and successful composer himself whose name today is besmirched by the rumors that he killed Mozart. (Brown 51) These rumors were held to be true for a number of reasons but one of the largest proofs was that his motive for killing Mozart was his jealousy. (Brown 52) In reality, Mozart’s cause of death is still uncertain but there is evidence pointing to natural illness.