Amadeus

Theatrical Release Date: 1984 09 19 (USA) / 2002 04 05 (USA - Rerelease)

UPC: 883929091058

Studio: Warner Home Video

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Adult Situations, Questionable for Children, Adult Language]

Summary: For this film adaptation of Peter Shaffer's Broadway hit, director Milos Forman returned to the city of Prague that he'd left behind during the Czech political crises of 1968, bringing along his usual cinematographer and fellow Czech expatriate, Miroslav Ondr?cek. Amadeus is an expansion of a Viennese "urban legend" concerning the death of 18th century musical genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. From the vantage point of an insane asylum, aging royal composer Salieri (F. Murray Abraham) recalls the events of three decades earlier, when the young Mozart (Tom Hulce) first gained favor in the court of Austrian emperor Joseph II (Jeffrey Jones). Salieri was incensed that God would bless so vulgar and obnoxious a young snipe as Mozart with divine genius. Why was Salieri -- so disciplined, so devoted to his art, and so willing to toady to his superiors -- not touched by God? Unable to match Mozart's talent, Salieri uses his influence in court to sabotage the young upstart's career. Disguising himself as a mysterious benefactor, Salieri commissions the backbreaking Requiem, which eventually costs Mozart his health, wealth, and life. Among the film's many pearls of dialogue, the best line goes to the emperor, who rejects a Mozart composition on the grounds that it has "too many notes." Amadeus won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Actor for F. Murray Abraham. In 2002, the film received a theatrical re-release as "Amadeus: The Director's Cut," a version that includes 20 minutes of additional footage. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Category: Comedy Drama

Awards: Best Picture – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Adapted Screenplay – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Cinematography – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Production Design – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Costumes – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Sound Award – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Makeup Award – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Editing Award – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Foreign Film – French Academy of Cinema 100 Greatest American Movies – American Film Institute Best Picture – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Actor – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Director – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Screenplay – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Picture - Drama – null Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama – null Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama – null Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – null Best Director – null Best Screenplay – null Best Actor – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Actor – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Adapted Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Art Direction – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Art Direction – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Cinematography – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Costume Design – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Director – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Editing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Editing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Makeup – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Makeup – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Film Presented – Telluride Film Festival Best Screenplay – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Director – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Picture - Drama – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Director – Directors Guild of America

Features: Commentary by director Milos Forman and writer Peter Shaffer
The Making of Amadeus documentary
Theatrical trailer

Amadeus

Format: Blu-ray

Release Date: 09/15/2009

Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1 2.40:1

Audio: DTHD null, DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 180 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,French,Spanish,German

Subtitles: English,French,Spanish,German

Rebecca Flint Marx

Amadeus is a rarity: a dramatic film made by people who understand music as much as filmmaking. A celebration of music and genius, the film exults over Mozart's seemingly divine creations even as it refuses to canonize the man behind them. Instead, the decision to tell the story from Salieri's point-of-view provides a justly critical portrait of Mozart, and in so doing so it provides a commentary on genius that mines trenchant insight from resolute objectivity. That Mozart's music is beyond reproach is never called into doubt; likewise, that the man himself could be utterly reproachful is also beyond question. Paradox is at the film's core, both in the presentation of Mozart and his music, and in the character of Salieri, who managed to be both Mozart's greatest fan and most punishing detractor. In making this sort of paradox its central theme, Amadeus is one of the most illuminating pictures of genius ever committed to celluloid. Part of its brilliance lies in its principal performances: in Tom Hulce's Mozart, we see a man equally un-self-conscious about his genius and his vulgarity, and in F. Murray Abraham's Oscar-winning Salieri, we see the tragedy that results from the inability of talent to live up to desire. These performances are lavishly complemented by the music in question, a forceful character in its own right. Part of Forman's great achievement as the film's director was bringing this music to millions who had never set foot inside of an opera house or a theater, with a passion and immediacy that could appeal to a much wider audience than just classical music enthusiasts. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Karl-Heinz Teuber  Actor 
Douglas Seale  Actor 
Roderick Cook  Actor 
Philip Lenkowsky  Actor 
Vincent Schiavelli  Actor 
Cynthia Nixon  Actor 
John Strauss  Actor 
Martin Cavani  Actor 
Nicholas Kepros  Actor 
Herman Meckler  Actor 
Jonathan Moore  Actor 
Patrick Hines  Actor 
Brian Pettifer  Actor 
Gil Amelio  Actor 
Miroslav Sekera  Actor 
Kenneth McMillan  Actor 
Dana Vávrová  Actor 
Milos Forman  Director 
Michael Hausman  Executive Producer 
Michael Hausman  Producer 
Neville Marriner  Composer (Music Score) 
Saul Zaentz  Producer 
Bertil Ohlsson  Executive Producer 
Bertil Ohlsson  Producer 
Peter Shaffer  Screenwriter 
F. Murray Abraham  Actor 
Tom Hulce  Actor 
Elizabeth Berridge  Actor 
Simon Callow  Actor 
Roy Dotrice  Actor 
Christine Ebersole  Actor 
Jeffrey Jones  Actor 
Charles Kay  Actor 
Kenny Baker  Actor 
Lisbeth Bartlett  Actor 
Barbara Byrne  Actor 

Country: USA