Search - Amadeus: Director's Cut on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Adult Situations, Questionable for Children, Adult Language Movie Release: 1984 DVD Release: 09/24/2002 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV - Closed Captioned Edition: Director's Cut,Special Collection Audio Tracks: English, French Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 2 Number of Discs: 2 Run Time: 3 hrs 0 mins Studio: Warner Home Video Members Wishing: 18 Genres: Comedy Drama, Period Film, Musical Drama, Biopic [feature] See Also: Amadeus, Amadeus: Director's Cut, Amadeus, Amadeus: Director's Cut [With CD] [Includes Digital Copy] [Blu-ray], Amadeus [Blu-ray], Amadeus, Amadeus [Director's Cut] [Blu-ray]

For this film adaptation of Peter Shaffer's Broadway hit, director Milos Forman returned to the city of Prague that he'd left behind during the Czech political crises of 1968, bringing along his usual cinematographer and fellow Czech expatriate, Miroslav Ondricek. Amadeus is an expansion of a Viennese "urban legend" concerning the death of 18th-century musical genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. From the vantage point of an insane asylum, aging royal composer Salieri (F. Murray Abraham) recalls the events of three decades earlier, when the young Mozart (Tom Hulce) first gained favor in the court of Austrian emperor Joseph II (Jeffrey Jones). Salieri was incensed that God would bless so vulgar and obnoxious a young snipe as Mozart with divine genius. Why was Salieri--so disciplined, so devoted to his art, and so willing to toady to his superiors--not touched by God? Unable to match Mozart's talent, Salieri uses his influence in court to sabotage the young upstart's career. Disguising himself as a mysterious benefactor, Salieri commissions the backbreaking "Requiem," which eventually costs Mozart his health, wealth, and life. Among the film's many pearls of dialogue, the best line goes to the Emperor, who rejects a Mozart composition on the grounds that it has "too many notes." Amadeus won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Actor for F. Murray Abraham. In 2002, the film received a theatrical re-release as "Amadeus: The Director's Cut," a version that includes 20 minutes of additional footage. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

F. Murray Abraham - Antonio Salieri
Tom Hulce - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Elizabeth Berridge - Constance Mozart
Simon Callow - Emanuel Schikaneder
Roy Dotrice - Leopold Mozart

Milos Forman's award winning biopic Amadeus gets the deluxe two-disc treatment from Warner Brothers on this release. The film is presented in a widescreen anamorphic transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1. English and French soundtracks are rendered in Dolby Digital 5.1, and a second English soundtrack has been recorded in Dolby Digital Surround. There are no subtitles, but both English soundtracks are closed-captioned. Supplemental materials include a commentary track recorded by Forman and the writer Peter Shaffer, a making of documentary, and a theatrical trailer. This is the director's cut of the film that restores a sequence cut from the original theatrical release. This is an excellent DVD. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide