 Director's Cut - Digibook Now seen in a Director's Cut including 20 minutes worth of scenes not seen in its original release, Amadeus remains a screen triumph: as sumptuous period epic, soaring celebration of the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and as the winner of eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture (produced by Saul Zaentz), Actor (F. Murray Abraham), Director (Milos Forman) and Adapted Screenplay (Peter Shaffer, from his play). In 1781 Vienna, court composer Antonio Salieri (Abraham) is maddened with envy after discovering that the divine musical gifts he desires for himself have been bestowed on the bawdy, impish Mozart (Tom Hulce), whom he plots to destroy by any means necessary. And by means of cinematic craft and sublime music, we watch spellbound. Storyline: Antonio Salieri believes that Mozart's music is divine. He wishes he was himself as good a musician as Mozart so that he can praise the Lord through composing. But he can't understand why God favored Mozart, such a vulgar creature, to be his instrument. Salieri's envy has made him an enemy of God whose greatness was evident in Mozart. He is set to take revenge. Written by Khaled Salem Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Kenneth Brown on February 11, 2009 -- It's always a nerve-wracking experience to revisit former award winners and old personal favorites. Will an acclaimed masterpiece still pack the same punch it did twenty-five years ago? Will a nostalgic classic stir up the same feelings it once did? Will age leave a rousing drama with nothing more than dated performances and laughable production values? These are the questions I found myself asking as I removed Amadeus from its case and stared down at my Blu-ray player. Thankfully, all of my doubts and fears were put to rest within minutes; with each passing scene, director Milos Forman's staggering period biopic proved it deserved every Oscar it brought home, all the praise critics hurled its way, and every ounce of affection I've held for the film all these years. Based on a 1979 stage play by screenwriter Peter Shaffer (which itself was inspired by Mozart and Salieri, a short play by Aleksandr Pushkin), Amadeus tells the sprawling tale of a young musical prodigy named Mozart (Tom Hulce) and his encounters with a manipulative rival named Antonio Salieri (F. Murray Abraham). At the end of his life, Salieri -- committed to an insane asylum after attempting suicide -- decides to confess his sins to a priest... among them the murder of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Told through a series of flashbacks, Salieri describes how excited he was to learn he was going to meet the renowned genius, the intense disappointment he felt when he discovered the boy was a crude and foppish dolt, and the growing bitterness he developed towards God for giving a fool like Mozart such an extraordinary gift. Believing God was somehow mocking his meager talent, Salieri explains how he became obsessed with destroying the legendary composer's career and legacy; an obsession, he says, that led to Mozart's murder. It's a loose biopic to be sure -- no one should come to Amadeus looking for a factual depiction of Mozart's life or death -- but the film's historical accuracy is beside the point. Shaffer's screenplay presents a story of rage, revenge, and madness; a cautionary tale that follows a well-regarded master composer as he falls prey to his own insecurities and self-doubt. Forman and Shaffer aren't concerned with the untimely death of a brilliant mind, they're focused on the slow descent of his rival. As a result, the story simmers with unexpected developments, dark twists and turns, and some truly unsettling performances from both Hulce and Abraham. Both men are at the top of their game, playing to their physical strengths as well as their carefully-honed crafts. They not only transform their characters into opposing sides of the same coin, they effortlessly present two variations of insanity that have evolved from the debilitating discontentment that consumes both their lives. More importantly, Shaffer and Forman's depiction of Mozart becomes moot as well. Because the entire story is told from the perspective of Salieri (who, lest we forget, is recounting his story from the confines of a mental institution), the legitimacy and credibility of his every description is ironically undermined by his hatred for the film's title character and his own shaky state of mind. Because Mozart is an impish caricature in Salieri's mind, he appears so on screen. Because Salieri believes Mozart to be a curse from God, we see the fool's every action leading both men to ruin. To his great credit, Hulce deftly indulges his rival's skewed memories by creating an obnoxious, self-destructive creature that forces us to side, rather unexpectedly, with the mustache-twirling villain of the film. Mozart is a tragic figure to be sure, but Salieri is more so; a pitiful soul who's brought his terrible fate upon himself. Even so, the film isn't just an engrossing study of envy and jealousy, it's a sumptuous period piece that continues to lure viewers into its lush 18th and 19th century vistas and candlelit chambers. In 1984, the film was nominated for more than fifty awards and took home eight Oscars (including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Director, among others), but I'm fairly certain it would earn similar acclaim if it was released today. Forget the fact that it's a twenty-five year-old catalog film, Amadeus is a timeless classic that should be revisited by generations of filmfans for countless years to come. If you've never seen Amadeus, shut down your computer, make your way to a local video store, and rent a copy ASAP. It's a wonderfully acted, beautifully shot, and meticulously designed period classic that still holds up today. The Blu-ray edition is a great place to start. While its video transfer could have been more faithful to its source, it still offers a substantial upgrade over previous releases. Add to that an immersive lossless audio track, an engaging collection of special features, and an attractive digibook that includes an hour-long audio CD is sure to please newcomers and longtime fans alike. What more are you waiting for? Trivia:
IMDb Rating (07/24/14): 8.4/10 from 206,465 users Top 250: #89 IMDb Rating (02/02/12): 8.4/10 from 126,432 users Top 250: #82
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
