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Amazon.co.uk Review
The satirical sensibilities of writer Peter Shaffer and director Milos Forman (One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest) were ideally matched in this Oscar-winning movie adaptation of Shaffer's hit play about the rivalry between two composers in the court of Austrian Emperor Joseph II--official royal composer Antonio Salieri (F. Murray Abraham), and the younger but superior prodigy Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Tom Hulce). The conceit is absolutely delicious: Salieri secretly loathes Mozart's crude and bratty personality but is astounded by the beauty of his music. That's the heart of Salieri's torment--although he's in a unique position to recognise and cultivate both Mozart's talent and career, he's also consumed with envy and insecurity in the face of such genius. That such magnificent music should come from such a vulgar little creature strikes Salieri as one of God's cruellest jokes, and it drives him insane. Amadeus creates peculiar and delightful contrasts between the impeccably re-created details of its lavish period setting and the jarring (but humorously refreshing and unstuffy) modern tone of its dialogue and performances--all of which serve to remind us that these were people before they became enshrined in historical and artistic legend. Jeffrey Jones, best-known as Ferris Bueller's principal, is particularly wonderful as the bumbling emperor (with the voice of a modern mid-level businessman). The film's eight Oscars include statuettes for Best Director Forman, Best Actor Abraham (Hulce was also nominated), Best Screenplay and Best Picture. --Jim Emerson
Note: this DVD is a "flipper" (double-sided disc) with a break between sides A and B. It need to be turned over to play the second half.
Amazon.co.uk Review
A note-perfect cinematic event whose immortality was assured from its opening night, Amadeus is an unlikely candidate for the director's-cut treatment. Like one of Mozart's operas, the multiple Oscar-winning theatrical version seemed perfectly formed from the outset--ideal casting, costumes, sets, cinematography, lighting, screenplay, music, music, music--so the reinstatement of an extra 20 minutes simply risks adding "too many notes." Yet though this extended cut can hardly be said to improve a picture that needed no improvement, it does at least flesh out a couple of small subplots and shed new light on certain key scenes. Here we learn why Constanze Mozart bears such ill will towards Salieri when she discovers him at her husband's deathbed, and we see deeper into the reasons why Mozart has no students. The structure of the picture is otherwise unaltered. --Mark Walker
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
43 of 45 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase
This film is definitely one of my favourites films. The fact it won 8 oscars underlines just how amazing the film is - the story,the acting, the editing and the music are extraordinary.
However I gave this 3 stars (and not 6!) simply because the video quality struck me as very lucklustre very quickly. I currently own the directors's cut DVD and to me the difference in quality throughout the film was only marginal. The majority of the transfer definitely showed a deeper range of colour and less signs of video compression. However it just isn't enough to warrant a release on blu ray. Indeed some scenes looked pretty much the same as my DVD, particularly the opening scene. And I'm in the group of people trying to persuade others how good blu ray is.
I mean if you look at how they have restored the Bond films from the 60s, this "upgrade" might well be seen as a rip off. I remember some of the scenes in Dr. No looked spectacular - as if they had been filmed yesterday with bitrates often above 30Mbps in visually rich scenes. Amadeus is certainly not short of visually rich scenes with all the costumes, palaces, salons and stages but nothing was made of it. The VC-1 transfer seemed to hover at around 15Mbps for the majority of the film sometimes climbing to the twenties (and rarely to 30) and sometimes dropping to 6Mbps.
So... if you own the film already on DVD, make sure you really love this film enough to buy it on blu ray. It is better quality - but with the smallest justifiable margin.
If you have not seen the film, buy it already - this film IS brilliant and this is still the best quailty in which you can view it.
EDIT: Some useful comments have been made below regarding the use of excessive Digital Noise Reduction. Plus the Audio Quality does deserve a mention - it is brilliant and is a better upgrade than that of the video quality.
However I gave this 3 stars (and not 6!) simply because the video quality struck me as very lucklustre very quickly. I currently own the directors's cut DVD and to me the difference in quality throughout the film was only marginal. The majority of the transfer definitely showed a deeper range of colour and less signs of video compression. However it just isn't enough to warrant a release on blu ray. Indeed some scenes looked pretty much the same as my DVD, particularly the opening scene. And I'm in the group of people trying to persuade others how good blu ray is.
I mean if you look at how they have restored the Bond films from the 60s, this "upgrade" might well be seen as a rip off. I remember some of the scenes in Dr. No looked spectacular - as if they had been filmed yesterday with bitrates often above 30Mbps in visually rich scenes. Amadeus is certainly not short of visually rich scenes with all the costumes, palaces, salons and stages but nothing was made of it. The VC-1 transfer seemed to hover at around 15Mbps for the majority of the film sometimes climbing to the twenties (and rarely to 30) and sometimes dropping to 6Mbps.
So... if you own the film already on DVD, make sure you really love this film enough to buy it on blu ray. It is better quality - but with the smallest justifiable margin.
If you have not seen the film, buy it already - this film IS brilliant and this is still the best quailty in which you can view it.
EDIT: Some useful comments have been made below regarding the use of excessive Digital Noise Reduction. Plus the Audio Quality does deserve a mention - it is brilliant and is a better upgrade than that of the video quality.
62 of 66 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
"Amadeus", was a great success on stage prior to becoming a film that garnered 8 Academy Awards, together with dozens of other international honors. This director's cut version of the film not only adds 20 minutes to bring this exceptional film to 3 hours, it also has created a spectacular new digital transfer, and most interestingly a new film.
Many special editions and director's cut offerings are little more than the addition of scenes that were dumped prior to the film's original release, and rarely have any fundamental impact on the story that is told. Fully one third of all the chapters in this film have new footage, and the changes have a very real impact on the film. Most of the new exposition is about Salieri and it makes him a much darker character, this Salieri is much more than a jealous admirer of Mozart. This man makes demands of persons and actively intervenes much more in the professional destruction of Mozart in Vienna.
One of the film's mysteries for me was why Mozart's wife held such hatred for Salieri at the close of the film. This question is answered, and it again makes for a major change in how you will view Constanze. And of course more insight is given to Mozart as well. If you are a devotee of the original film you may have trouble warming to this version, you may even be well advised to avoid it. For once you see this film you will never be able to watch the shorter version and confine your thoughts to what they were prior to seeing the additional 20 minutes of film.
There is a second disc that includes extended interviews with Milos Forman, Peter Shaffer, and many of the main characters. An interesting aspect that is shared is that this entire film was shot behind the Iron Curtain of the USSR when it was still the nemesis of The United States. The difficulties in filming in Prague were countless, and even fascinating, as the director, Milos Forman was returning to his homeland as a self-described traitor who had previously left.
I have always felt, "Amadeus", is one of the finest films ever produced, and at first I did not care for some of the additional expository material. Now that I have seen it and thought about it a bit, this version really is the complete film, and even if I were to watch the original, I believe I would enjoy it as much, or possibly even more.
28 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Its not surprising that this film achieved so many oscars a few years back. Its wonderful. I welcome this new version however, because it does tighten up some "loose ends" which although may not have been noticeable in the original version, does enlighten the viewer on Constanze' attitude to Salieri at the end of the film. Not historically accurate, films like this seldom are, Mozart is portrayed as a musical genius which indeed he was; and a buffoon, which is highly unlikely. Moreover, the final sequence of Salieri completing Mozert's Requiem did not happen, it was in fact completed by Mozart's pupil Franz Sussmeyer who simply reprised the first movement. Still, its an amazing achievement in the history of the cinema and should be seen by all those who enjoy Mozart's music even though from time to time the music sounds as though "it has too many notes!" The extras are very interesting and reveal some of the problems of filming behind the Iron Curtain which of course still existed during the filming in 1985. Picture quality and sound, especially if you have a Home Cinema setup are first class. This can be bought for a brilliant price too. Dont miss it!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Excellent Film
I was worried when I first sat down to watch 'Amadeus' that it could just be a stuffy, over pretentious film about classical music and the life and music of arguably one of the... Read more
Published 19 days ago by Andrew Whitby
Very very Disappointing, ? genuine copy
This DVD did not look like a genuine issue, it looked like a copy. Once I played it the film stopped approx 40 minutes from the end. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mrs. H. A. Webb
Brilliant
Amadeus is a wonderful film. Full of Mozart's music the film is a delight to watch. Tom Hulce is convincing but surely this is Murray Abraham's film (he plays Salieri) The tension... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Florizel
Innacurate, but fabulous
This is one of those films that, although it is filled with historical innaccuracy, and downright lies, is still a fabulous film. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Serious Reviewer
A classic of its genre
Amadeus is a tale of jealousy and betrayal, set around the relationship between Salieri and Mozart in late 18th century Vienna. Read more
Published 3 months ago by D. J. Mortimer
enjoyable
My dad enjoyed this and particularly liked the "making of" film dvd, and wasnt worried by the two disc set up.
Published 4 months ago by glad2bhere
Better
I first bought the VHS version when I got into Hifi VHS, back in 1989. Bought it when I got into DVD back in 2001, and bought it last week when I took the plunge and invested in... Read more
Published 5 months ago by J. R. Clarke
Spectacular but impersonal.
What more can be said about this film? With 95 reviews already submitted not much i guess. It is a spectacular film and anyone who loves Mozart's music will love every minute. Read more
Published 5 months ago by S. Hyde
STUNNING
THIS MOTION PICTURE IS A PIECE OF CINEMA TO KEEP NEAR YOUR TV SET AND VIEW IT FROM TIME TO
TIME... AND ENJOY AGAIN AND AGAIN. Read more
TIME... AND ENJOY AGAIN AND AGAIN. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Geoffrey Helman
Amadeus revisited
After 25 years, the portrayal of Mozart and Sallieri still haunts: an outstanding film. If you missed it before, get it now and enjoy
Published 6 months ago by mikeinmacc
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