Amadeus

Rating:
Summary: Amedeus
Review: I would recommend purchasing this movie for the music along, but the plot and acting is superb also.

Rating:
Summary: As near perfect as it gets
Review: Run, don't walk. Get this DVD and watch it. You and your whole family will love it.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely amazing DVD
Review: ...
* 30 minutes extra scene in this Director's Cut. This extra scene is a real scene that parts of the movie. It's not ... scene that should left out in the movie or 3 minutes extra scene like most other DVDs.
* Peter Shaffer & Milos Forman commentary. I usually dont listen to the commentary on DVD. Out of hundreds of DVD I watched I think I only listen to 2 or 3 commentary before. This one is really good, mainly because they will discuss the historical accuracy of the plot.
* Remastered 5.1 Audio
* The Making of Amadeus. Good and informational although nothing exceptional but still above average

Rating:
Summary: One giant "Special Feature"
Review: This is a wonderful piece of eye candy for anyone who enjoyed Amadeus. My only complaint, is that one brief but classic bit of footage was removed from the director's cut: It was when Salieri was talking to God of "ruin(ing) your incarnation..." and his face twisted into pure bitterness as he looked upward, then he glanced at the priest, and broke into an inexplicably sweet face. It was such a charater-enriching moment, that made me decide to keep my original, and treat this new set as a giant "Extra".

Rating:
Summary: A MASTERPIECE OF MUSIC AND MADNESS!
Review: This is an awesome movie! Full of masterful music, and awesome performances. Deserved all its Academy Awards! Get this one! You wan't regret it! Grade: A+

Rating:
Summary: Rock Me Amadeus
Review: Milos Forman's Amadeus is a hugely entertaining adaptation of Peter Shaffer's play. The movie is told in flashback style from the memory of Antonio Salieri. Salieri was a successful and popular composer who was a rival of Mozart's. History has speculated on the death of Mozart and some people are of the opinion that Salieri had a hand in his death (possibly even murdered him). The film explores this angle of the legend. Salieri is consumed by his jealousy and hatred of the infantile Mozart. Mozart is a musical genius, but a wild spending and is always looking for the next good time. His operas are utterly brilliant, but are unsuccessful. He is in constant debt. Salieri concocts a plan for Mozart to compose a requiem. This work is actually planned as Mozart's own requiem. Mozart is shown as slowly going mad and at the end of the film, Salieri helps him by writing the musical score down for a very weak Mozart. The morning after Mozart and Salieri work together, Mozart is found dead and we are left speculating whether he died through natural causes or if Salieri did something to him. F. Murray Abrham is absolutely amazing as Salieri. He brings across the jealousy and hatred, but doesn't make Salieri a fiend. He has major respect for Mozart's musical talents, but doesn't understand why God would give them to such an obvious heathen. Tom Hulce is equally as good as Mozart. He plays him with a reckless abandon and in an over the top fashion that is perfectly suited for the role. The film took home the 1984 Best Picture Oscar, Mr. Forman won Best Director and Mr. Abrham beat out Mr. Hulce for Best Actor. This was a case where a tie would have been more than appropriate. The new director's cut adds 20 minutes of footage, but the real standout is the remastered sound. The Dolby 5.1 version brings alive the sounds of Mozart in brilliant detail.

Rating:
Summary: Quite Possibly The Best DVD Ever!
Review: When I first saw Amadeus in the fall of 1984, I was mesmerized by it. It was one of those rare instances where the director had seemed to capture magic on film. So I went back and saw it again. And again, and again. Fourteen times in all, before it was pulled off the big screen and relegated to the awful, colorless, washed-out, pan-n-scan VHS tape we had to make due with for the next decade. Still I didn't mind. I watched that tape so many times, I finally wore it out. Something definitely went right with "Amadeus": the perfect blend of the best people in every department, from the best music ever composed, to the superb acting from all players, the great script, costuming, right down to craft service, I would imagine. Of course, when I heard the "Director's Cut" was out in theaters, I went immediately. I don't know what happened, but the print I saw was dirty and scratched, with several bad splices, and the sound was so loud, I had a splitting headache by the one-hour mark. Also, having seen the original cut so many times, I found the restored footage to be very jarring, and thought it interrupted the pacing. Needless to say, I only saw that cut once on the big screen. However, I just finished watching the new DVD, and I must say all my misgivings are gone. The clarity of the picture and the incredible soundtrack just blew me away. For some reason, the new inserts appear more seemless here (or maybe I knew when to expect them), and some of them actually improve the film. Constanze's character is allowed to develop in these added scenes, making her more sympathetic and more real. By contrast, Salieri is even more despicable than before. Several bits of dialogue tacked on to existing scenes could have been left out since they add little to the film aside from length, but adding the new footage does absolutely nothing to diminish the magic of this truly great film. It's got a couple really nice extras, too: a "making of" featurette, and a commentary track (which, if I'm not mistaken, is actually portions of the laser disc commentary with some new bits added--someone may prove me wrong on that, but I think I'm right.) And unlike the laser disc or the previous DVD, you don't have to flip it over in the middle! Believe me, don't bother renting this DVD; you'll want to own it. Anyone who hasn't seen Amadeus, and thinks that a three-hour drama about two composers from the eighteenth century might be boring, is in for a pleasant surprise when they see this DVD. At times hilarious, at others poignant, and always filled with the music of Mozart, this movie is fun and entertaining from start to finish, and looks, sounds, and feels brand new--surely not 18 years old. I give it my highest recommendation!

Rating:
Summary: What happened here???
Review: I just recently bought this DVD because a.) Amedeus is one of my all time favorite films; and b.) Because the first DVD that was released seemed to me to be a bit lackluster. I already own the first DVD release and I was appaled at the lack of quality of this 'Directors Cut' version.

First off, the OLD version looks better! The new DVD I bought is so contrast-y that whenever there is a lot of white or lighter areas on the screen, all of the detail gets washed out. No amount of picture adjustments fixed the problem.

At first I thought this could be the result of my cheap DVD player and old TV, but of all of my DVD's (I have about 70, many of them special editions, remastered director's cuts, etc...) the Amedeus director's cut is the ONLY one to have a problem.

Just to be sure, I popped in the old Amedeus DVD and it looked much better!

The second problem I have with this release is that the 'Director's Cut' version is not at all an improvement. I know that there are always people who prefer the theatrical releases to the director's, but I usually enjoy the extra footage/plot development. In this case, most of the added scenes at best weaken the overal effect of the movie; worst case- they're just terrible scenes with terrible dialogue.

The best thing I can say for this DVD is that it's given me a greater appreciation for the cheaper theatrical release of Amedeus.

Don't buy this DVD.
Save a few bucks.
Buy a better version.

Rating:
Summary: Fact or Fiction? Brilliant Nonetheless
Review: This Director's Cut is such a welcome surprise.

In 1984 I was hesitant to see this film. Being a historical drama, set in 18th Century cities and costumes, you would think it would be a chatty, dry, and uninspired (not to mention that you might expect everyone to speak in British accents). Amadeus is none of those things. It is an inspired film of intelligence, probing psychological depth, and gripping darkness.

I finally saw this film on VHS in 1994, a whole decade after the theatrical release, after all the hype had dissolved.

I have been a music student since I was six years old. I've always been such an eclectic person, listening to everything from rock to classical, and absorbing myself in the lives of the great composers (Bach, Mozart, etc.) No other life in musical history is as mysterious as Mozart's, and this film brings his life... well.... back to life.

Even with this Director's Cut, you must understand this is a work that is hard to classify as fact or fiction. While we all know Mozart died from a rheumatic fever, after his death rumors **DID** spread of a poisoning by Salieri. The rumor was even believed by Mozart's wife Constanze (accounts of this societal gossip is found in many books of Mozart's biography). Also, when the real-life Antonio Salieri was an old man, he was confined to an asylum, convinced that he did commit the murder (also a prooved biographical fact). This is a fact that seems to remain overlooked. Needless to say, the tale, Amadeus, is only rooted in the rantings of a paranoid, schizophrenic old man, rather than a true-to-life retelling of Mozart's road to his early death. But it does paint the picture of 18th Century Vienna "tabloid gossip" of Mozart's mysterious downfall.

If you do your research, you'll find out about the truth about Mozart's death, who was there at his side, who completed that Requiem Mass, etc. But the movie, is still a treasure. The plot is brilliant, blending fact and fiction (the word "fiction" is a little iffy) and exemplifies the ongoing debate of the popularly mediocre to the "different" genius, underestimated and underappreciated during his own time.

There is enough fact in this film to call it a historical account (e.g. Mozart's struggle with the Archbishop, domestic tension between Conztanze and her father-in-law, the banning of ballet dancing, Marie Antoinette's growing fear of her people, etc.)

Visually, this movie scores a 100% in overall artistic appeal. Filmed in the Czech Republic, you see palaces and streets that have remained unchanged since the time Mozart was alive. Too bad Mozart's native Salzburg and Vienna have visually changed so much over the past couple of centuries. The beautifully preserved Nostitz Theater in the film is even the same theater where Mozart premiered his opera Il Don Giovanni in 1789, arguably the best opera yet written. This opera (and many others) are represented in the film, carefully and masterfully choreographed by Twyla Tharp who tried, very succesfully, to recapture the dances of the 18th Century. Even the opera sets are believably "classical." Amadeus is cerainly a treat for the eyes, as well as the ears and mind.

The opera house in film where Mozart premiers "Die Zauberflote" (the famous "fainting scene") is actually just a masterful reconstruction of an 18th Century theatre built on the LARGEST SOUNDSTAGE IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC. It certainly had a magical outcome.

This is not one of those costume films where the actors sound British. The actors speak in North American dilect (with the exception of the actors that play the "Court people" of course) maximizing the American-viewer appeal. The reason for the different dialects, the producers say, is because in 18th Century Europe, many dialects of one language were prevalent: "A West German would never be able to understand an East German."

Everything in the film looks just perfect: from the number of candles in the chandeliers, to the wigs, to the music, to the way the people talk. Also, Don't miss the "Amadeus: Director's Cut" with an additional 20 minutes of original scenes that were cut in 1984. It was in theaters and the DVD should be out soon. It helps make the cause of the feud between Constanze Mozart and Antonio Salieri more lucid. Plus other scenes where the financially ruined Mozart stops a piano lesson-gone-wrong, and then beggs the student's father, a nobleman, for money. Also, the opera sequences are lengthened.

**PLEASE, I beg you- don NOT be put off from buying this release by reviewers who are too lazy to get up and flip the DVD over to Side 2. The film is a classic.

Rating:
Summary: Should be called "Amades-The Original Cut"
Review: First off, to really appreciate this version of "Amadeus", it must be kept in mind that this was actually the original cut of "Amadeus". If you don't believe me, ask Roger Ebert.

With that in mind, it is easy to set this film apart from other directors cuts, because you are seeing an original vision, not one created for profit. And not to fix any problems. It's simply another way to look at the material. It stands next to it's original version as an equal, not to replace it.

This version is terrific. It's a little darker, a little longer, and somewhat more complex. Though not for the family, adults and older teens will no doubt enjoy the added complexity of the film.

If this version had been released in 1984, it's a wonder if the film would reach the same audience it did back then. It's more the same than it is different, but I don't think it would have been as universal. Still, it's great to see a different light on a firmiliar face, and it's a grand old film. Not flawed in any way.