Product Details

• Actors: F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce, Elizabeth Berridge, Roy Dotrice, Simon Callow
• Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
• Subtitles: English, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• DVD Release Date: December 17, 1997
• Run Time: 160 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (450 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304712936
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,230 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Amadeus" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

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 recognize 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 cruelest 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 midlevel 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

Product Description

THE INCREDIBLE STORY OF WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART, TOLD INFLASHBACK MODE BY ANTONIO SALIERI - NOW CONFINED TO AN INSANE ASYLUM.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

72 of 78 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous Director's Cut transfer. Beware of the Digital Copy, if included., July 12, 2009

By 

John S. Harris "The Voice of Reason" (Memphis, TN) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Amadeus: Director's Cut [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

I've purchased every disc release of this movie: the expensive LaserDisc collector's set, the original DVD release and the subsquent Director's Cut, and this new Blu-Ray of the Director's Cut. The Blu-Ray release stands head and shoulders above the rest for picture quality, color, and sound.

My only gripe is that the original theatrical cut is not available on Blu-Ray as a separate item or as an alternative viewing option on the Director's Cut. The theatrical cut is the one that most of us saw first and saw over and over again over the course of some 20 years before the Director's Cut was released on DVD.

The additional footage in the Director's Cut is interesting but, to me at least, seems intrusive. It interrupts the flow and tempo I am used to. There is also a brief scene of female nudity that seems a bit gratuitous. The scene does, though, lend some weight to a scene later in the film where you see Constanze's open hostility toward Salieri. Normally I'm not one to complain about a little female flesh being exposed, but I think the film works well enough without it.

Other "new" scenes follow pretty much the same description: they are interesting but their necessity is debatable.

There is one small addition that I did enjoy, though. Early in the film, during one of the scenes where the elderly Salieri is confessing (?) to the young priest, Salieri is recounting the episode when he first met the young composer Mozart he'd heard about for so many years. He was blown away by his talent but outraged and offended by his peurile behavior. He insisted to the priest that such talent (evident in one composition in particular) could not and should not exist in such a vile and vulgar child. That brilliant composition simply HAD to be an accident! Salieri's lines are briefly extended in that moment, and it adds a wonderful touch of menace. I can't understand why it was cut from the original release.

The LaserDisc release included a wonderful behind-the-scenes documentary called "The Last Laugh". So far I haven't seen it included in any DVD or Blu-Ray release. I'm holding on to my LaserDisc player for precisely that reason. Add that documentary to this Blu-Ray release and you have a slam-dunk 5-star product.

Depending on the release version, this Blu-Ray movie may come in book form and include a short bonus CD of some music from the film and a picture booklet. If you bought/buy the version that comes with the bonus Digital Copy of the film (available at some retailers but harder to find online), bear in mind that the Digital Copy is NOT compatible with iTunes and cannot be loaded to your iPod. There is no wording on the package to indicate this. One has to open the Digital Copy booklet to find that out. The Digital Copy booklet looks the same on the outside as the booklet for the Digital Copies of other movies that ARE compatible with iTunes, so a consumer who has purchased iTunes-compatible Digital Copy-included DVDs before could reasonably assume this one would be compatible also. That consumer would be wrong. Nice bait-and-switch, don't you think?

If you got the non-book version of the Blu-Ray, it probably didn't come with the bonus CD, booklet, or Digital Copy.

45 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Wait for a Theatrical Release, December 8, 2009

By 

Patricia J. Mintz (NY suburbs) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Amadeus (Blu-ray Packaging) (Blu-ray)

I'm in agreement with many others who have reviewed the Director's Cut - the added footage ruins the flow of the movie and coherence of the characters.

I love the theatrical release of this movie, and I'm very disappointed that they chose not to include the theatrical release in this blu-ray set. Amadeus is a gorgeous film, and I would very much like to enjoy the original in hi-def splendor.

As of now it's a choice between watching a pretty movie and a good movie. I'll be watching my old DVD theatrical version until they release it on Blu-Ray. Watching the blu-ray directors cut equates to wasting 3 hours getting mad about what they did to an excellent movie.

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars great movie - horrible mastering of dvd, November 15, 2008

By 

B. Wicklander (Michigan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Amadeus (DVD)

the movie is stellar, the people who mastered this dvd should be ashamed. This is for the 1997 & Jan 08 re-release of this movie. I owned the 1997 release and they split the movie half on side 1, the other on side 2. I thought the re-release, which I repurchased, would have the movie on 1 side, as technology has improved immensely, it was just the same horrible sub VHS copy as my original dvd. Having the movie as a "flipper" is impractical. I hope the blue-ray release will be remastered and for those who purchase won't be subjected to a grainy pixelated version.
Very sad to see this movie put out this way. Again brilliant movie! Horrible DVD.