Amadeus (1984)

Aside from splendid costumes, lavish sets, gregarious acting, rousing music, and a historic narrative that comes alive through stylized visuals and timeless observations on humanity, Amadeus (1984) has a moral: genius is a cross that must be borne by the person blessed with it and by everyone who comes in contact with said person. Based on Peter Shaffer’s same-named play, this unique biopic truncates the brief and prodigious life of composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Tom Hulce) as seen through the envious eyes of his mediocre colleague Antonio Salieri (F. Murray Abraham). Despite Salieri’s schemes to minimize Mozart, he cannot silence the maestro’s brilliance. In fact, the popularity of this period piece puts Salieri in his place while simultaneously offering an empathetic hand to this lesser man. Since the movie is set in the 1700s, there’s plenty of cleavage to view due to the 16th century corsets. Although sexy soprano Caterina Cavalieri (Christine Ebersole) nearly spills out of her dress, Mozart’s young maid (Cynthia Nixon) remains covered up. Breast of all, the cups on Mozart’s wife Constanze Weber (Elizabeth Berridge) runneth over! In addition to flashing her semi-clad chest, the curvaceous babe bares her big boobs at the film’s 1:07-minute mark. No wonder the movie won eight Oscars (including Best Picture), four Golden Globes, four BAFTA Awards, and a Directors Guild of America prize for Milos Forman. If that’s not impressive enough, Amadeus was a box office smash. And thanks to Ms. Berridge, it generated a ton of spank bank interest. Encore, encore!