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Last week's Movie Quiz winners

The man who was the basis of Amadeus's titular character was once described by classical music expert and radio giant Jim Svejda thusly and well:

"Once, when filling out an application for a summer job, on the line next to 'other' [for] religion, I wrote 'Mozart.' The personnel officer was not amused, but I hadn't intended it as a joke. For there was a time when I was absolutely convinced that Mozart was at least as divinely inspired as Moses, Christ, the Buddha, Lao-tse, or Mohammed, and I suppose I still am. For in no other works of the human imagination can the divine spirit be heard more distinctly than in the literally miraculous music that this often vulgar, unpleasant and difficult man produced during his pathetically short thirty-five years."

For those of us who have been touched deeply in our lives by art, that statement should ring true. But ironically-- and beautifully-- the 1984 film, directed by Milos Forman and written by Peter Schaffer (based on his play) isn't the story of Mozart but his enemy Salieri, or in other words, it's not the story of genius but mediocrity, and the harm that it does to the truly gifted. And much of it is a grand horror movie, too-- on rewatching, I noticed more than ever how creepy and genuinely scary the film becomes as Salieri goes about his dirty work to sabotage his rival. But it's also even funnier than I recalled (Christine Ebersole is especially great), and, needless to say, no film ever had a better soundtrack.

If there's a mystery behind Amadeus, it isn't in the plot but what happened to the cast afterward. More than one quiz winner noted the apparent Amadeus career curse: "The cast must have had the lousiest agents in the business. People magazine could do a whole 'Whatever happened to' issue just on them."

Sad but true-- in fact, the only two who seemed to thrive afterwards were Jeffrey Jones and quiz favorite Vincent Schiavelli. Elizabeth Berridge, who was so lovely and natural as wife Constanze, wound up playing a dopey policewoman on "The John Larroquette Show" and today gets parts like "Wedding guest on videotape" on bad sitcoms. Tom Hulce, Amadeus himself, never starred in another hit and, ultimately, never starred in anything again. Saddest of all, though, has been the constant waste of the talent of F. Murray Abraham, whose ill treatment began as soon as he won his Oscar-- the almost complete lack of applause he received backstage by the press right after winning prompted him to tell them, "You can do better than that."

When you get right down to it, only one guy came out the unreserved winner from the entire film . . .

"Too easy!" was the battle cry of many quiz winners, but-- may I point out-- while this was a fine, big turnout, there still weren't nearly as many right answers as there were for a classic like The 'burbs, so just how easy was it? Anyway, congratulations and a late-night visit from a man in a mask to the following winners: Vince Tuss, Wayne Palmer, Song-Un Lee, Isaac Kaufman, Gus Mastrapa, Bob Redwing, Corey Anderson, Mark Gisleson, Thomas Miller, Bill Hearne, Shannon Blatherwick, Michael Mattson, Michael Kelly, E. Yarber, Mark Hammett, Nancy Louise Rutherford, Joe Rosenberg, Dennis Lynch, Gene Miller, The Curmudgeon, John Reinan, Donald Greene, Kevin Musolino, and Jenn Mattson.

Posted by Steve Monaco at October 7, 2007 4:51 PM

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