Amadeus

Rating:
Summary: One of the best in movie history!
Review: This was an amazing movie, and I can not remember one point in the movie where I wanted it to be over.

First off, Tom Hulce plays the vulgar W. A. Mozart so perfectly you forget that he's even acting it out. He acts so much like he is actually the real musical genius, it's amazing. He portrays Mozart much like I actually pictured the man: very energetic. The way he conducts sometimes shows how energetic Mozart actually was in life.

The loving wife of Mozart, Contanze, or "Stanzi," is played by Elizabeth Berridge. She is a very loving, yet sometimes rude and angry, woman, who is introduced as his fiancee at the production of the opera "The Abduction of the Seraglio." This gets him into a lot of trouble with the woman who thought Mozart loved her. The emporer finally suggests that the two marry, and eventually, they do.

The academy-award winning performance of F. Murray Abraham as Saliere was astounding and spooky beyond all reason. His performance is filled with hate, the way the performance should be. He is amazingly realistic when he starts saying that God is his worst enemy. His portrayal of Salieri should give you the Flibbertywiggymigs, and if not, there is probably something wrong with you. Later in the movie, he comes to the dying Mozart in a costume that his dead father had worn to a party, and commissions a Requiem from the man, so that Salieri can proclaim that it is his own work and say that he wrote it for Mozart.

The comical emperor Joseph is acted out by Jeffrey Jones. Well, there it is. He is extraordinary as the tone-deaf piano-playing ruler of Italy. A nice touch it is when he recalls the incident with young Mozart, about 7, proposes to his sister Antoinette. He talks about Antoinette at intervals throughout the movie, and his performance is quite enjoyable.

An honorary mention would be the parody actor, who commissions a fantasy opera, "The Magic Flute," from Mozart.

Granted, I did not see the R-rated version. I saw the original PG-rated version. But it was still one of the greatest movies in movie history.

I would recommend this for ages 11 and up. It is rated PG for harsh language, mostly. The R-rated version is rated R for brief nudity, but again, I will say that I have not seen it.

This is a full recommendation! It is a five-star movie without a doubt. You must see this! If you don't like it (which I doubt) then don't listen to my other reviews because this is the kind of movie that I like.

Well, I've said a mouthful. Goodbye.

Rating:
Summary: This is the edition of Amadeus to get...
Review: I first saw "Amadeus" around 1984 when it was first released. Besides being a visual and musical masterpiece of film making, it kick-started my life-long love of and appreciation for classical music.

I won't repeat the story synopsis as it's already been thoroughly described both by Amazon's critical review and multiple customers here already.

I will say though that this edition, 'The Directors Cut', is a major improvement over the first DVD release. First, (and finally!!), the movie is now a single-side DVD...gone is the annoying 2 sided 'flipper' that the first release was. You can now watch "Amadeus" from start to finish without having to get up and turn it over. For my money, that's reason enough alone to own this new version.

Secondly, 'The Directors Cut' now adds about 20-30 minutes of previously deleted scenes, placed back into where they were originally intended. Personally I find some of the newer stuff enhances the story overall and fills in some details that were left vague in the original theatrical release. I won't give away any details, but there is a new scene between Mozart's wife, Constanza, and Salieri, Mozart's chief musical rival (and secret arch-enemy) early in the movie that puts an whole new perspective of Salieri's twisted and battered psyche.

As for the DVD itself, the picture and sound quality are both exemplary. Included is a second disk with bonus material including interviews and making-of extras.

If you loved the original, you owe it to yourself to pick up this version. If you're new to classical music and Mozart, this is the best place to start.

lr** Feb 10,2003

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Rating:
Summary: Mozart was a super star!!!
Review: Amadeus is a grand honor to the composer Mozart. The movie is beautifully crammed with the composer's most famous music. The story of his life is compelling, funny and wonderful.

Rating:
Summary: Not great, only interesting
Review: I watched this when I was about six years old, and all I remembered was the man with the blood on his hands at the beginning (my mother tuld me to turn around), the little boy dropping coins through his hands, and Mozart dictating music... and a few other minor things.

Now, years later, my mother rented it and we watched it to see if we still liked it. It didn't seem as long this time - by that I mean it seemed really long but not as long as I remembered it.

My impressions: I didn't appreciate the language and Mozart's crude sense of humour, nor did I appreciate Salieri's horrible, warped view of God. It was so pitiful and sad, and I could not feel for him at all. I didn't really go for many of the actors either. My favourites were the stuffy guy with the glasses and Mozart's dad - don't ask me why. Constanze was a loudmouthed, 1980's woman with modern values and attitude; Mozart looked like any teenager out on the street, just with a wig, and he sounded like them too. Aggravating.

I felt some aspects of the movie had much potential. I think Salieri could have been portrayed as more evil than he was by merely toning down the narration and letting the camera tell the story. I thought Salieri's idea of haunting Mozart with his dad was cinematically superb, but something was missing, some vital link to make the torment real to ME, the watcher, not just Mozart.

What else do I have to say... probably not much except that this movie did leave me feeling rather "unsettled" - I think I was hoping for more than it was, and a bit on edge the whole time because I never knew when Mozart was going to be rude again...

I'm not even sure of the educational value of this film, since I can't recommend it to student-age folks, and I don't know how historically accurate it is anyway. See it if you like, but I can't promise you'll be impressed.

Rating:
Summary: Libel and slander
Review: I'm usually not a big stickler for historical accuracy in movies, but Amadeus is outrageous for its slander of Salieri. In fact, not only was he a consistent supporter and advocate for Mozart, he later provided patronage and assistance for three young men named Beethoven, Schubert and Liszt. Just about the only thing Salieri is remembered for in the history books is his astounding generosity and enjoyment of competition. Depicting Salieri as homicidal with jealousy is rather like making a movie in which Abraham Lincoln buys Frederic Douglass and makes him his house slave.

Rating:
Summary: Quality
Review: I enjoyed this movie on the television screen some years ago, but the DVD version is superior. Amadeus is doubtless one of the finest movies ever made and the actors' performances are riveting. I'm not a particular fan of Mozart, listen to classic music rarely as I normally prefer rock and r&b, but I don't watch this movie for the music's sake. (The soundtrack is terrific, though.) I watch for entertainment, for historical accuracy and for sheer fascination with a portrayal of characters that intrigue me.

Highly recommend this!
RDP

Rating:
Summary: Bravo, F. Murray Abraham
Review: F. Murray Abraham's performance as Antonio Salieri in Amadeus is without a doubt the finest acting performance I have ever seen. In my opinion, it is THE standard by which all performances in the craft of acting should be measured (for all time).

I have seen many good performances for not-so-complex characters and many above-average performances for complex characters. But this is the only first-rate performance I have ever seen for such a complex character! In particular, the ease and brilliance with which Abraham was able to convey the cocktail of emotions in Old Salieri - and so lucidly make the audience see Mozart's genius through his own lens - was breathtaking. Every emotion known to Man was represented in the cocktail of Salieri's soul and Abraham's acting reproduced each one to perfection. And the audience could feel and touch Mozart's genius just by watching Abraham bleed his soul during his confession to the priest. This is when acting virtually becomes reality itself - it is almost impossible to believe that the real Salieri could have done a better job (acting as himself) than F. Murray Abraham.

Abraham's masterful performance was itself "an absolute beauty" (the very words Salieri used to describe one of Mozart's compositions).

In summary, Amadeus is a brilliant movie made immortal by an acting performance that has no pair.

Rating:
Summary: Let's Go Crazy
Review: The classic "battle of the bands" movie, in which our hero (The Kid) overcomes adversity and defeats the entrenched musical establishment by kicking butt in a triumphant orchestral finale.

Oh wait, that's Purple Rain.

Um, this movie is basically a Purple Rain [imitation].

Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite movies.
Review: "Amadeus" is one of the greatest movies ever made and it is one of my favorites. Antonio Salieri (F. Murray Abraham, Oscar-winner) tells about the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Tom Hulce, Oscar-nominated), who was the genius of the young musician who died mysteriously at the age of 35 in 1791. "Amadeus" is the winner of 8 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director (Milos Forman). I am so glad to own it on the DVD for my ultimate video collection. A wonderful movie.

Rating:
Summary: Memorable cinematic achievement gets a new look
Review: I was way too young to have seen AMADEUS in its original cinematic release (unfortunately), but it's not hard to see why it not only took home the Best Picture Oscar, but caused a rebirth of "Mozart mania". The story, although fictionalized, is an intriguing one. Salieri, the pious man who prayed to God to be given sublime musical talent, has to face the fact that God has given it to Mozart, who is exuberant, childish, and bawdy. Salieri's subsequent jealousy drives the entire movie. You can see his character becoming more and more consumed by his extremely negative feelings. The character of Mozart, on the other hand, is fun, even though the real Mozart wasn't really that over-the-top. I might add, however, that the distinguishing giggle is actually historically accurate. Listen to the commentary on the DVD and Peter Shaffer himself even mentions something to that effect. Although it was delightful to see the film in its entirety, I could see why some of the scenes were deleted. They simply weren't that strong or they distracted the viewer from the main focus. The only real complaint I had was that there weren't more extras. It does have the commentary, the original trailer, and the short featurette which consists of various people looking back at making the film, but I would have liked to have seen an actual "making of" documentary from around the time the film was being made. Overall, though, a worthy addition to any movie collection.