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Historical Accuracy
The Guardian wrote a review for the film in which it outlines the main focuses of the film and discusses their accuracy: illness, people, rivalry, and death. The overall verdict is Amadeus has little to no roots in reality. The BBC also published an article discussing the truth and deviations from it that the film explores. These articles and other sources analyzing the film begin by stating there was never a rivalry between Mozart and Salieri; while there were some rumors about the two men, the extent of the disdain was originally conceived by Alexander Pushkin in his 1823 play Mozart and Salieri. The play ends with Salieri poisoning Mozart, as poisoning was one of the rumors surrounding Mozart’s death.

The film attributes Mozart’s death to Salieri, but in real life, there are still mysteries surrounding Mozart’s death in 1791. In the film, Mozart collapses during a performance of his work, The Magic Flute, and Salieri takes him home and helps him complete the Requiem. The film does not mention the cause of death, but shows Mozart’s body being buried in a mass grave. In real life, Mozart completed and successfully conducted performances of The Magic Flute before taking ill. Mozart’s assistant, Franz Süssmayr, assisted him in completing the Requiem before he died. Mozart was buried in a mass grave, as was custom in the period. There are several theories to Mozart’s true cause of death, including syphilis, rheumatic fever, and edema to name a few, but poisoning was only a rumor.

When discussing the details of Mozart and Salieri’s lives, the film includes may details, some of which are based in truth and some inaccuracies. To start, the film depicts Mozart as crude and childish in his behavior. While this behavior may seem peculiar to some viewers, Mozart was known for some vulgar language and eccentricity. Based on accounts and anecdotes from those close to Mozart in his life, there is evidence that supports Mozart had Tourette's syndrome. Additionally, the film claims that Mozart had the ability to compose music in his head and record it on paper without errors, and while he was a skilled composer, his first drafts were not perfect.

In terms of the portrayal of Antonio Salieri, the film shows him as unwed and underappreciated composer in the royal court, but that is not true. Salieri had a successful career, becoming court composer at only 24 years of age and later earned the position of Kapellmeister. He worked successfully with the Viennese opera and composed works in his time. Salieri also had a successful home life; he was married and had eight children.