Salieri's Role Change In The Movie 'Amadeus'

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Amadeus is a 1984 movie about a loose, fictionalized interpretation of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s life told through the eyes of his rival, Antonio Salieri. In the movie, Salieri served as court composer for Emperor Joseph II and becomes envious of the more musically gifted Mozart. One of the movie’s main themes centers around Salieri’s jealously and the steps that he takes to eliminate Mozart as a rival. As the rivalry between the two intensifies in the eyes of Salieri, he takes steps beyond hindering Mozart’s professional career and starts plotting to end Mozart’s life altogether. Salieri sees his role change in three very distinct ways in the movie. At first, he considers himself to be God’s chosen composer. Then, he becomes infatuated with …show more content…

He was always present at the royal and public operas that Mozart directed. Yet, he could not stand the man. He even went as far as hiring a maid to clean the Mozart home, so that he could gather incriminating information on the work he was composing. These conflicting ideals soon led Salieri into a plot that would not only eliminate Mozart, but would also allow Salieri to take credit for a final composition, The Requiem. Taking the guise an anonymous benefactor, Salieri commissioned Mozart to write the Requiem in short order. The pressure to finish the piece as well as the other pieces Mozart was working on eventually led to a break down in Mozart’s health. A break down that would culminate in Mozart falling out during a performance of “The Magic Flute”. Salieri was conveniently present and was the person that took Mozart home. Instead of seeking the medical help that Mozart desperately needed, Salieri convinces Mozart to complete the work that he secretly commissioned at times driving him to complete exhaustion. The two work the rest of the night on the piece before Mozart finally succumbs to his tiredness and eventually dies. It is a death that Salieri takes credit for in the opening scene of the movie during his attempted

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