Critical reception
Amadeus holds a score of 89% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes based on 151 reviews, with an average rating of 8.9/10. The site's consensus states: "Amadeus' liberties with history may rankle some, but the creative marriage of Miloš Forman and Peter Shaffer yields a divinely diabolical myth of genius and mediocrity, buoyed by inspired casting and Mozart's rapturous music."[16]
Giving the film four out of four stars, Roger Ebert acknowledged that it was one of the "riskiest gambles a filmmaker has taken in a long time," but added that "there is nothing cheap or unworthy about the approach," and ultimately concluded that it was a "magnificent film, full and tender and funny and charming".[17] Ebert later added the film to his Great Movies list.[17] Peter Travers of People magazine said that "Hulce and Abraham share a dual triumph in a film that stands as a provocative and prodigious achievement."[18] Stanley Kauffmann of The New Republic put it on his list of films worth seeing.[19]
In one negative review, Todd McCarthy of Variety said that despite "great material and themes to work with, and such top talent involved," the "stature and power the work possessed onstage have been noticeably diminished" in the film adaptation.[20] The film's many historical inaccuracies have attracted criticism from music historians.[21][22]
Box office
The film grossed $52 million in the United States and Canada[2] and by November 1985, while still in theatres overseas, had grossed over $90 million worldwide to date.[3]
Accolades
The film was nominated for eleven Academy Awards, winning eight (including Best Picture). At the end of the Oscar ceremony, Laurence Olivier came on stage to present the Oscar for Best Picture. As Olivier thanked the academy for inviting him, he was already opening the envelope. Instead of announcing the nominees, he simply read, "The winner for this is Amadeus." An AMPAS official quickly went onstage to confirm the winner and signalled that all was well before Olivier then presented the award to producer Saul Zaentz. Olivier (in his 78th year) had been ill for many years, and it was because of mild dementia that he forgot to read the nominees.[23] Zaentz then thanked Olivier, saying it was an honour to receive the award from him,[24] before mentioning the other nominees in his acceptance speech: The Killing Fields, A Passage to India, Places in the Heart and A Soldier's Story. Maurice Jarre won Best Original Music Score for his scoring of A Passage to India. In his acceptance speech for the award, Jarre remarked "I was lucky Mozart was not eligible this year".[25]
The film along with The English Patient, The Hurt Locker, The Artist, and Birdman are the only Best Picture winners never to enter the weekend box office top 5 after rankings began being recorded in 1982.[26][27][28][29] The film peaked at No. 6 during its 8th weekend in theaters. Saul Zaentz produced both Amadeus and The English Patient.
Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
---|---|---|---|
Academy Awards[30][31] | Best Picture | Saul Zaentz | Won |
Best Director | Miloš Forman | Won | |
Best Actor | F. Murray Abraham | Won | |
Tom Hulce | Nominated | ||
Best Screenplay – Based on Material from Another Medium | Peter Shaffer | Won | |
Best Art Direction | Patrizia von Brandenstein and Karel Černý | Won | |
Best Cinematography | Miroslav Ondříček | Nominated | |
Best Costume Design | Theodor Pištěk | Won | |
Best Film Editing | Nena Danevic and Michael Chandler | Nominated | |
Best Makeup | Dick Smith and Paul LeBlanc | Won | |
Best Sound | Mark Berger, Tom Scott, Todd Boekelheide and Christopher Newman | Won | |
Amanda Awards | Best Foreign Feature Film | Miloš Forman | Won |
American Cinema Editors Awards[32] | Best Edited Feature Film | Nena Danevic and Michael Chandley | Won |
American Film Institute | AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies | 53rd Place | |
Artios Awards[33] | Outstanding Achievement in Feature Film Casting | Mary Goldberg | Won |
British Academy Film Awards[34] | Best Film | Saul Zaentz and Miloš Forman | Nominated |
Best Actor in a Leading Role | F Murray Abraham | Nominated | |
Best Screenplay – Adapted | Peter Shaffer | Nominated | |
Best Cinematography | Miroslav Ondříček | Won | |
Best Costume Design | Theodor Pištěk | Nominated | |
Best Editing | Nena Danevic and Michael Chandler | Won | |
Best Make Up Artist | Paul LeBlanc and Dick Smith | Won | |
Best Production Design | Patrizia von Brandstein | Nominated | |
Best Sound | John Nutt, Christopher Newman and Mark Berger | Won | |
British Society of Cinematographers[35] | Best Cinematography in a Theatrical Feature Film | Miroslav Ondrícek | Nominated |
César Awards[36] | Best Foreign Film | Won | |
David di Donatello Awards | Best Foreign Film | Miloš Forman | Won |
Best Foreign Director | Won | ||
Best Foreign Actor | Tom Hulce | Won | |
Directors Guild of America Awards[37] | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures | Miloš Forman | Won |
DVD Exclusive Awards | Original Retrospective Documentary, Library Release | Paul Hemstreet, Bill Jersey and Charles Kiselyak | Nominated |
Best Audio Commentary, Library Release | Miloš Forman and Peter Shaffer | Nominated | |
Golden Globe Awards[38] | Best Motion Picture – Drama | Won | |
Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama | F. Murray Abraham | Won | |
Tom Hulce | Nominated | ||
Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture | Jeffrey Jones | Nominated | |
Best Director – Motion Picture | Miloš Forman | Won | |
Best Screenplay – Motion Picture | Peter Shaffer | Won | |
Golden Screen Awards | Won | ||
Guild of German Art House Cinemas Awards | Best Foreign Film | Miloš Forman | Won |
Japan Academy Film Prize | Best Foreign Language Film | Won | |
Joseph Plateau Awards | Best Film | Won | |
Best Director | Miloš Forman | Won | |
Best Artistic Contribution | Won | ||
Jussi Awards | Best Foreign Filmmaker | Miloš Forman | Won |
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards[39] | Best Actor | F. Murray Abraham | Won |
Kinema Junpo Awards | Best Foreign Language Film | Miloš Forman | Won |
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards[40] | Best Picture | Won | |
Best Director | Miloš Forman | Won | |
Best Actor | F. Murray Abraham | Won[a] | |
Best Screenplay | Peter Shaffer | Won | |
Best Music Score | Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (posthumously nominated) | Runner-up | |
Nastro d'Argento | Best Foreign Director | Miloš Forman | Won |
Best Foreign Actor | Tom Hulce | Won | |
National Film Preservation Board | National Film Registry | Inducted | |
Online Film & Television Association Awards[41] | Hall of Fame – Motion Picture | Won | |
Robert Awards | Best Foreign Film | Miloš Forman | Won |
Turkish Film Critics Association Awards | Best Foreign Film | Won |