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Reviews
Amadeus (1984)
If you aren't deaf, this movie is definitely a 10!
I can recall no other movie employing music, especially classical music, so cleverly.
Until 1984 I cared for only `classical' classical music, such as the 1812 Overture and Swan Lake. But seeing Amadeus immediately piqued my interest in all classical music through its unique use of Mozart's music as not only a part of the plot, but also as theme music for each scene.
Amadeus so moved me that I have read several books on Mozart's life. I learned that Salieri once claimed he had killed Mozart. However, he quickly recanted this. Therefore, Amadeus is strictly fiction. Once one recognizes that, he may enjoy the movie more as an entertainment than a biography, which it definitely is not.
In fact, there are many theories as to how Mozart died. One book even suggests that his wife, Constanze, poisoned him! It is more likely, however, that he died of `natural causes,' which in 1999 could have been easily cured.
Whatever the cause of Mozart's death, and whatever his personality might have been, Mozart's music is THE standard for all other classical composers. There will never be another like him. And Amadeus gets this point across to people who aren't initially classical music fans.
If this movie isn't a 10, there aren't any 10s out there!
Cyrano de Bergerac (1950)
The greatest movie I have ever seen, bar none.
I first saw this movie in 1950 when it was first released. I was 15 and knew immediately that this was THE film for me. I saw it three times in 1950, and watch at least twice a year since I bought the video.
Jose Ferrer covers all the possible emotions an actor can in his role. He is comedic, brave, adventurous, romantic, self-sacrificing, elegant, pitiful, nimble-witted, gallant, prideful, humble, he fully recognizes his short-comings, and, most of all, he is true to his code of honor. This is the best job of acting that I have ever witnessed in the thousands of movies I have seen.
I must confess that although I give the supporting cast a B+ , I would have chosen different actors for most of the roles, including Roxanne. However, William Prince as Christian, rates an A-. (Perhaps, at the time, the producers didn't know what a classic they were creating and, therefore, didn't give as much thought to the casting as they might have otherwise.)
It is a shame that Ferrer never again approached the level of excellence he displayed in Cyrano. But this does not detract from the honor I pay this actor who gave a 15 year-old boy an example to follow: a REAL man.
The best scene in the film is when Cyrano is dying in the court-yard at the nunnery, and the best line in the film is when Cyrano challenges Death with his final words which sum up his life, `
and that is,
my
white
plume.'