Amadeus Analysis

Amadeus Analysis

The scene begins with loud music starting with a mid-shot of Amadeus standing centrally, conducting a production. The music is very loud and sets the pace of the scene. Straight away, we notice two very symmetrical frames; one when Mozart is conducting and also when we see the play. There are many religious connotations in this scene, one of the most prominent being the way Mozart is positioned at the conducting stand.  He is standing directly in the center with two candles either side of him, a full audience blurred out  behind him, and seven chandeliers above him. The camera is set in a low angle shot, meaning that we are looking up at him. This gives the impression of superiority, and adds to Salieris idea that he is a vessel of God.

The camera then cuts to the emperor sitting in the audience watching the production. I find it interesting that, even though he is the emperor and is considered to be one of the most powerful men, the camera is set at a mid shot positioned at his right. This could be to show that despite him usually being regarded as  in charge and very powerful everywhere else, when he witnessing ‘God’ composing music, he is no better or worse that anyone else in the audience and Mozart has all the power.

It cuts away again and we see the actual production happening. Firstly, we just see the feet of the dancers, before the camera cuts to a wide angle if the entire stage. The close up of the dancers feet builds up some anticipation as we want to see how the music goes with the production. The shot of the dancers very symmetrical and is set in high key lighting, adding to the mood of the music. 
The next shot is one of Salieri sitting on the balcony watching the production. You can immediately sense his bitterness toward the production due to his expressions and posture, but also due to the setting around him. He, unlike Mozart is covered in shadows and despite everywhere else being shot in high key lighting, his booth is set in low key lighting, giving the impression of evil; a radical change from the previous scenes.
After two more shots of Salieri sharing worried glances with two other men; both whom appear to be on his side, the shot then switches once again to the production and then to Amadeus, who is still well lit and confidently controlling the music.
This is the point where the scene changes all together. A time jump now shows us Salieri years later, confiding in a priest. Once again the lighting around him is very low key and dark, the only light source being candles. Whilst the scene is still of Salieri talking, Mozarts music starts up again; this is a non diegetic sound which then overlaps into a diegetic sound as the scene cuts back to the past where the production is still being conducted. Now it is Salieris voice which is none diegetic as he is now the narrator over this specific time.
The past scene now shows a POV shot of the stage through Salieris eyes.  Present day Salieri is still narrating  during this and describes what this specific scene was; he states that he 'heard the sound of forgiveness filling the theatre'. This shows just how much the music effects Salieri in ways that he obviously doesn't want. As far as we can see, noone else in the theatre is as taken aback by the production as he is, however his face still remains stoic.
Another shot of the production is shown and you can see that, along with the change in music, there also a change in the lighting from the previous high key, bright lighting, to a dimmer one which adds to the tone of not only this specific scene in the play, but also the scene through Salieris eyes.
As Salieri is talking about how his defeat was going to be bitter, you notice the camera getting steadily closer to his face, almost as if it is his impending doom creeping up on him.
The camera shows a couple of shots of the actors in the production performing beautifully and then a shot of Mozart gracefully conducting them still.
We once again skip to the present time where Salieri describes a 'miracle happening'. The tone of his voice is very unsettling. The shot quickly switches to the emperor watching the play then yawning. Despite it previously being only the production and Salieris voice being audible, we notice that the yawn is also audible. This could be due to the fact that Amadeuses entire career basically lies on this mans opinion of his play. It is a vital turning point in the story do it only seems right to make it audible. As Salieri notices this yawn, the camera is now once again further away from him, indicating that his defeat has been stopped for now.
The scene ends with Mozart finishing the song gracefully and blissfully unaware of the emperors yawn, adding an element of heartbreak into the scene, all while Salieri is gleefully describing what the reaction could mean for Mozart.