Amadeus Analysis

Amadeus Analysis

The scene begins with a mid shot of Mozart conducting his opera piece. From the set we can see that this building in which he is performing is very wealthy and for the upper class due to the huge expensive chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and the gold decoration – gold is commonly known as a sign of wealth. Furthermore, we know that the people in the room are upper class by the clothes they are wearing; most of their clothes have ruffles and look like they are made of expensive material, also the majority are wearing white wigs making them all look rich and wealthy. This mid-shot of Mozart is also a low angle shot, this has been done to show that Salieri sees Mozart as a threat even though Mozart is not superior in any way. Framing has been used to place Mozart in the center of the shot with a candle either side of him; Mozart being in the center shows that all the attention is on him and the candles represent him being in light as he is the good person. The candles may also represent Mozart’s religious side and show that his opera song is almost like him preaching.

A low angle shot of Salieri on a balcony is then shown, this low angle represents his power however Salieri is sat on this balcony alone in low key lighting, this suggests that he is hidden away and that he is not receiving any attention therefore the audience know that he is not feeling as superior as he actually is and feels threatened by Mozart as his non-diegetic narration talks about how fascinating he is. Moreover, in this shot Salieri is wearing dark clothing which contrasts with Mozart’s bright colourful clothing and represents Salieri as the dark, evil character. Also, when Salieri is describing Mozart’s amazing performance, the camera begins to close in on him showing that he feels less superior than usual however when the emperor yawns the camera starts to move away again and puts Salieri in more space to show that he does not feel jealous or threatened anymore.