Amadeus: Director's Cut

Rock me Amadeus! Winner of eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Milos Forman's 1984 Amadeus, adapted by Peter Shaffer from his acclaimed stage production, gives us Mozart (Tom Hulce) as a crude, fun-loving brat, whose brilliant musical gift is recognized, envied, and--whenever possible--squelched by his jealous rival Antonio Salieri (F. Murray Abraham). Masterful direction, earthy performances, lavish period costumes and settings, and a sublime selection of Mozart's music combine to create a visual and aural masterpiece that truly comes to life in Warner's double-disc special edition, which not only features the director's cut (an extra 20 minutes interspersed throughout the film) in a lustrous new 2001 digital transfer backed by room-shaking Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, but also serves up some nice extras, including a commentary track with Forman and Shaffer, and a new 61-minute retrospective documentary "The Making of Amadeus." Magnifico, indeed. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (R. Pitman)[Blu-ray Review—Mar. 3, 2009—Warner, 180 min., R, $35.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1984's Amadeus (Director's Cut) sports a fine transfer with Dolby TrueHD 5.1 sound. Blu-ray extras are nearly identical to those on the standard DVD release, also featuring the 20-minute-longer director's cut, including audio commentary by director Milos Forman and writer Peter Shaffer, an hour-plus “making-of” documentary, and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are a bonus audio CD compilation of Mozart's music, a bonus digital copy of the film, and packaging that features a built-in 35-page color booklet. Bottom line: one of 1984's best makes a winning debut in Blu.]