AMADEUS (1984)
Theatrical Cut 4K Ultra HD + Digital
Label: WBDHE
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: PG
Duration: 159 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: HDR10 2160p Ultra HD Widescreen (2.39:1)
Director: Milos Forman
Cast: F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce, Elizabeth, Simon Callow, Roy Dotrice, Christine Ebersole, Jeffrey Jones, Charles Kay
Amadeus (1984), directed by two-time Academy Award winner Milos Forman (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), has a been a difficult film to see in it's original theatrical form for a couple of decades now, the only version available in HD has been the 2002 director's cut which added 20-minutes of material. I never had a problem with the director's cut, in fact I quite like it, especially the scene that explains why Mozart's wife so loathed the envious composer Salieri so much, but it always seemed odd to me that the original version that earned the film eight Academy Awards has never had a proper restoration, that is until now, thanks to this delightful 4K UHD presentation from Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment.
This music bio pic is quite interesting, for one it's about a classical composer of yesteryear, which itself seems quite novel when I saw it, but also because it is told through the eyes of a jealous composer who is resentful of Mozart's natural talent. The film opens in 1823 with the elderly Antonio Salieri (a never better F. Murray Abraham, Scarface), a former court composer for Emperor Joseph II (Jeffrey Jones, Beetlejuice) at an asylum where he was sent after attempting to kill himself by slicing open his own throat. It;s there that he is approached by Father Vogler (Richard Frank) to confess his sins, telling the priest it was he who killed composer Mozart. He explains to the clergy that he was once a renowned composer, but after humming the priest the refrains from his own compositions the priest confesses that he is unfamiliar with his work. Salieri then he hums "Eine kleine Nachtmusik" which the priests recognizes right away, only for Salieri to tell him that is the music of Mozart. He then launches into his tale in flashback, of how he met Mozart, was envious of his musical ability, and of how his actions lead tot he great composer's death.
Salieri is crestfallen when Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Tom Hulce, Animal House) arrives in Vienna and makes the scene, noting his otherworldly musical talent far surpasses his own. He is also wildly disheartened to learn that Amadeus is impulsive, brash and a bit of quirky goofball, Saliero having mistaken musical ability with a God-given talent, unable to reconcile how God could bestow such musical gifts on someone so hedonistic and ribald - renouncing God and vowing to destroy Amadeus. He masquerades as a friend to Amadeus, secretly pulling string behind-the-scenes to ensure his failure, all the while gaslighting the composer with envious accolades.
Mozart is quite bad with money, which alarms his wife
Constanze Mozart (Elizabeth Berridge, The Funhouse) and disappoints his stern father Leopold Mozart (Roy Dotrice, Amicus horror anthology Tales from the Crypt), who later dis, thrusting Mozart into deep despair, drinking heavily, not sleeping and becoming quite a mess, which leads to his wife taking their young son and leaving him. With Mozart at his lowest Salieri masquerades as an anonymous masked benefactor who commissions him to write Requiem Mass, working himself deathly ill to the delight of Salieri.
It's a lush and opulentperiod production, beautifully stages and film, the locations in Prague looks astounding, the costuming is wonderful, and I love the performances. I will admit the first time I saw it I thought Hulce's ribald and giggling musical genius was annoying, but the more I watched it the more I love it, standing in stark contrast to the envious Salieri who is collected and composed, unable to fathom how his beloved God could seemingly favor the unruly and childish, skirt-chasing, man-child, the dichotomy of the two men is just so tasty, so the performances really do compliment one another. That said, it is F. Murray Abraham who steals the show year, well-deserving of the Best Actor award from the Academy Awards.
Audio/Video: The theatrical cut of Amadeus (1985) gets the 4K Ultra HD treatment from Warner Bros. with a restoration done by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with the participation of Paul Zaentz, restored from a 3K scan of a reconstruction of the OCN. How it looks? Freaking awesome, the film has an inherent softness, but the locations in Prague are so gorgeous and opulent, many of the interior scenes being shot with candlelight, and it just looks marvelous. Grain structures are healthy and intact, and the HDR-enhanced transfer tastefully plumps primaries, with the superior black levels and contrast really tightening up the visuals. Depth and clarity are quite pleasing as well, perhaps the one area that lacks is sharpness, because of the aesthetic choices made during filming it has an inherently soft appearance, but that's by design and no fault of the transfer. Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 5.1 with optional English subtitles. The track sounds wonderful, while the movie itself is very front-centric there are some room-filling musical/opera performances that throughout that have plenty of discreet activity.
Extras include a new 23-min The Making of Amadeus and the 61-min Amadeus: The Making of a Masterpiece. Absent from this release is the director's cut of the film, the Audio Commentary with Director Milos Forman and writer Peter Shaffer, and the Trailer than accompanied the 2009 Director's Cut Blu-ray release, so hang onto that edition for the alternate cut and extras.
The single-disc release arrives in a black keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork, a slipcover mirroring that artwork, and inside is a redemption code for a 4K Digital Copy of the film.
Special Features:
- NEW! The Making of Amadeus (23.27)
- Amadeus: The Making of a Masterpiece (60:42)
Buy it!
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