It upsets me that the only widely available versions of Amadeus now is the "extended edition," which fundamentally alters the film’s core message.
In the original theatrical cut, Salieri is a deeply flawed but fascinating character—a man consumed by jealousy, yet also in awe of Mozart’s genius. His sabotage of Mozart is tragic, not just because of what it does to Mozart, but because Salieri himself recognizes the beauty he is trying to destroy. There’s a complexity there: Salieri hates Mozart, but he also admires him. He wishes, more than anything, that he could be his friend, but he cannot overcome his own bitterness.
The extended edition, however, adds a crucial change: Salieri doesn’t just work against Mozart—he actively humiliates Mozart’s wife, Constanze. This transforms Salieri from a tormented, conflicted figure into something much simpler: a villain. Instead of a man waging a war against God through Mozart, he’s just a petty, lecherous schemer.
The real Antonio Salieri was not some scheming villain—he was a respected composer, teacher, and conductor who mentored some of the greatest musicians of the next generation, including Beethoven, Schubert, and Liszt.