It upsets me that the only widely available versions of Amadeus now is the "extended edition," which fundamentally alters the film’s core message.
In the original theatrical cut, Salieri is a deeply flawed but fascinating character—a man consumed by jealousy, yet also in awe of Mozart’s genius. His sabotage of Mozart is tragic, not just because of what it does to Mozart, but because Salieri himself recognizes the beauty he is trying to destroy. There’s a complexity there: Salieri hates Mozart, but he also admires him. He wishes, more than anything, that he could be his friend, but he cannot overcome his own bitterness.
The extended edition, however, adds a crucial change: Salieri doesn’t just work against Mozart—he actively humiliates Mozart’s wife, Constanze. This transforms Salieri from a tormented, conflicted figure into something much simpler: a villain. Instead of a man waging a war against God through Mozart, he’s just a petty, lecherous schemer.
The real Antonio Salieri was not some scheming villain—he was a respected composer, teacher, and conductor who mentored some of the greatest musicians of the next generation, including Beethoven, Schubert, and Liszt.
I'm not sure if this is the case for the screenplay, but for the actual play the playwright (who also wrote the screenplay) rewrote the ending at least 6 times over 20 years and multiple productions. The version of the play I read is similar to what you describe as the original theatrical cut.
The mythical rivalry should be with Beethoven, not Mozart!
True tidbits:
* Beethoven actually referred to Salieri as his "most active opponent" (Solomon's translation)
* Salieri criticized Beethoven's opera Fidelio (as did a lot of other composers of the time)
* Salieri didn't like Beethoven's late works. And apparently he critiqued them so hard that he even caused Schubert, another of his students, to not like Beethoven's music for a short time.
Armed just with that I could probably work slowly but surely over time to turn all of HN full Q-anon on a Salieri vs. Beethoven conspiracy. But I'll be good and vaccinate everyone here-- Beethoven also had a difficult relationship with his other famous teacher Joseph Haydn. He was quite a moody guy! And Salieri was a good sport-- he even sat in to play drums on Wellington's Victory. So in reality it's just good clean musical friends having some fun.
Edit: I don't find evidence in the wiki of hostile reception, excepting this:
"The concert provoked the ire of fellow composer Antonio Salieri, who had been Beethoven's teacher. Also on 22 December, Salieri organized his annual concert to benefit widows and orphans, and he threatened to ban any Tonkünstler-Societät musicians who had played in Beethoven's concert instead of his own. However, soon after the relationship between the two composers improved."
It upsets me that the only widely available versions of Amadeus now is the "extended edition," which fundamentally alters the film’s core message.
In the original theatrical cut, Salieri is a deeply flawed but fascinating character—a man consumed by jealousy, yet also in awe of Mozart’s genius. His sabotage of Mozart is tragic, not just because of what it does to Mozart, but because Salieri himself recognizes the beauty he is trying to destroy. There’s a complexity there: Salieri hates Mozart, but he also admires him. He wishes, more than anything, that he could be his friend, but he cannot overcome his own bitterness.
The extended edition, however, adds a crucial change: Salieri doesn’t just work against Mozart—he actively humiliates Mozart’s wife, Constanze. This transforms Salieri from a tormented, conflicted figure into something much simpler: a villain. Instead of a man waging a war against God through Mozart, he’s just a petty, lecherous schemer.
The real Antonio Salieri was not some scheming villain—he was a respected composer, teacher, and conductor who mentored some of the greatest musicians of the next generation, including Beethoven, Schubert, and Liszt.
And while there was some discord between Salieri and Mozart in real life, it was more like friendly rivals rather than enemies -- they even collaborated on at least one piece https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/A-German-Composer-...
The newly released 4K restoration is the original theatrical version:
https://www.amazon.com/Amadeus-4K-Ultra-Digital-UHD/dp/B0DQQ...
If you sail to the Bay of Pirates you can find many wares from far distant shores. Mayhap you will find what you want there.
I'm not sure if this is the case for the screenplay, but for the actual play the playwright (who also wrote the screenplay) rewrote the ending at least 6 times over 20 years and multiple productions. The version of the play I read is similar to what you describe as the original theatrical cut.
> Beethoven
The mythical rivalry should be with Beethoven, not Mozart!
True tidbits:
* Beethoven actually referred to Salieri as his "most active opponent" (Solomon's translation)
* Salieri criticized Beethoven's opera Fidelio (as did a lot of other composers of the time)
* Salieri didn't like Beethoven's late works. And apparently he critiqued them so hard that he even caused Schubert, another of his students, to not like Beethoven's music for a short time.
Armed just with that I could probably work slowly but surely over time to turn all of HN full Q-anon on a Salieri vs. Beethoven conspiracy. But I'll be good and vaccinate everyone here-- Beethoven also had a difficult relationship with his other famous teacher Joseph Haydn. He was quite a moody guy! And Salieri was a good sport-- he even sat in to play drums on Wellington's Victory. So in reality it's just good clean musical friends having some fun.
"Salieri didn't like Beethoven's late works."
I remember that the concert introducing the fifth and sixth symphonies was widely criticized. This was mid-life, not late.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beethoven_concert_of_22_Dece...
Edit: I don't find evidence in the wiki of hostile reception, excepting this:
"The concert provoked the ire of fellow composer Antonio Salieri, who had been Beethoven's teacher. Also on 22 December, Salieri organized his annual concert to benefit widows and orphans, and he threatened to ban any Tonkünstler-Societät musicians who had played in Beethoven's concert instead of his own. However, soon after the relationship between the two composers improved."
I would also pitch that against the mythical friendship that was Mozart and Haydn‘s
It feels like the start of this article establishes three interesting questions and the rest of it fails to answer them.
Why should it answer those questions?