Blu-ray Review: Amadeus (Director's Cut)

A beautiful presentation and one fans of the film are sure to enjoy

By: Brad Brevet
Published: Wednesday, March 4th 2009 at 3:49 AM

I would have sworn I owned the DVD special edition copy of the Amadeus director's cut, but after quickly rummaging through my shelves and DVD binders I couldn't find it. Sure, it may be trapped inside one of the many bags of DVDs in my storage, but I wasn't interested enough to continue the search. I actually thought I had even reviewed it before, but a search around the site proved that wasn't the case either. So, I feel I am starting anew and have Warner's beautiful Blu-ray presentation to do so.

Thinking back I am not entirely sure I have ever seen the theatrical cut of Amadeus, at least not to the point I remember it or can watch the director's cut and tell you what 20 minutes are new. That is, outside of the comments made by director Milos Forman and screenwriter Peter Shaffer as they do discuss some of the scene extensions and an entirely new scene in the audio commentary, all of which were added when the director's cut was first revealed back in 2002. I remain curious as to why studios don't release both versions of these classic films when making available these special editions. Would it really have hurt Warner Bros. to include a third Blu-ray disc with the theatrical, Oscar-winning, cut of the film on a third disc as opposed to the useless digital copy that accompanies the majority of releases nowadays? After all, the only way to even get the theatrical cut at this point is on a double-sided DVD, and even though many believe this extended director's cut is inferior to the original I am sure they would still opt for the beautiful high-definition transfer as opposed to watching the early standard-definition DVD release with half the movie on one side of the disc and the second half on the other. There is always something to be said about ease of use and quality of presentation and this Blu-ray shines.

Featuring the Oscar-winning performance of F. Murray Abraham as Viennese court composer Antonio Salieri, Amadeus tells the story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Tom Hulce) through the words and accompanied flashbacks of the aged Salieri. Winning Oscars for Murray's performance, Forman's direction, art direction, costumes, makeup, sound, screenplay and picture this may be the best of the Oscar Best Picture winning films from the '80s. Abraham's performance is great, but I would say Tom Hulce as Mozart is even better. The Oscar wins for art direction, costumes and makeup are almost a given. However, all things considered, I believe the reason this film succeeded at the Oscars and at the box-office had to do with one thing, and one thing alone. Nope, I'm not talking about the Billboard topping score, but of Shaffer's screenplay of which he adapted from his play.

There are two scenes in Amadeus that sell this picture for me. In the opening moments Salieri is describing one of Mozart's pieces (watch it here) to Father Vogler and you leave the scene tempted to say you could almost hear the music based on the description. Of course, you could hear the music as it accompanied the description, but the description itself is so good you get lost in the words and the performance. It's a perfect scene to feature at the opening of the picture as it is bookended by an even greater example as Mozart lay sick in bed and dictating his unfinished Requiem with Salieri doing his best to keep up (watch it here). It is a spectacular scene for the reason anyone unfamiliar with the language of music would read it on the page and be lost, but on screen as performed by Abraham and Hulce it couldn't have been any better.

It's because of these two scenes I believe Amadeus stands above other period pieces of its kind. Well, that and the unique character that was Mozart and Hulce's wild fits of laughter, and the performance of all those involved for that matter. I love Elizabeth Berridge as Constanze and it is interesting to see Cynthia Nixon at the age of 18 playing Salieri's hired spy of a maid. Watching the film on Blu-ray 25 years after it originally debuted it is astonishing to see how well it has aged, and in so many ways this film may prove in 50 years or so to be timeless. This isn't to say I believe this is a perfect film. In fact, at three hours — in its director's cut form — I believe it is a bit bloated and redundant on occasion, but there is enough to enjoy with this picture I am more than able to overlook its flaws. But is it worth buying?

This Blu-ray comes with a spectacular high-definition presentation as this is a film that lends itself well to the Blu-ray format. Lavish set pieces and intricate costume designs take full advantage of the improved picture. I imagine cinephiles will take aim at the digital noise reduction used to limit grain, but anyone paying attention to the film itself and not making an attempt to count the amount of grain they see per scene will never even notice. The audio track is presented in Dolby TrueHD and is perfectly satisfactory although I hope Warner Bros. one day follows in the steps of Universal and Fox and lean toward DTS audio for their Blu-ray releases as this is one title that certainly would have enjoyed the improvement.

Features are limited to an hour long documentary on the making of the picture and the previously mentioned Shaffer and Forman commentary. Both the doc and the commentary are great additions, but both are carryovers from the previously released DVD. Each includes several stories from the set and the making of the picture, the best is in the Salieri and Mozart scene I described above and Forman says, "I think we knew how good this scene was when we couldn't agree on who came up with it." The only other feature is the theatrical trailer.

This set also includes a bonus CD with eight Mozart tracks as well as the third disc I previously mentioned with the worthless digital copy. Warner Bros. presents this Blu-ray release in their signature digi-packaging which includes a 36-page booklet in a similar fashion to how Criterion presents their releases. The booklet includes a brief introduction, cast profiles, a "Did you know?" section and a final essay on Salieri. These digi-packs are Warner's answer to Criterion and they are excellent presentations for the studio's more respected works.

However, is all of this worth your money? If you love this film it is certainly worth you dollar. I don't have the DVD to compare to, but I can't imagine the picture having ever looked better than it does here and the accompanying documentary and commentary are a perfect complement to the film. Of course this is only the director's cut, but I wouldn't hold your breath if you are ever expecting to see the theatrical cut released again. I wouldn't suggest this film as a blind buy, but those that love it would certainly enjoy this improved presentation.

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