Amadeus Director's Cut

This is the edition to get...
I first saw "Amadeus" around 1984 when it was first released. Besides being a visual and musical masterpiece of film making, it kick-started my life-long love of and appreciation for classical music.

I won't repeat the story synopsis as it's already been thoroughly described both by Amazon.com's critical review and multiple customers here already.

I will say though that this edition, 'The Directors Cut', is a major improvement over the first DVD release. First, (and finally!!), the movie is now a single-side DVD...gone is the annoying 2 sided 'flipper' that the first release was. You can now watch "Amadeus" from start to finish without having to get up and turn it over. For my money, that's reason enough alone to own this new version.

Secondly, 'The Directors Cut' now adds about 20-30 minutes of previously deleted scenes, placed back into where they were originally intended. Personally I find some of the newer stuff enhances the story overall and fills in some details that were...

Theatrical version vs. "Director's Cut"
If you're a fan of the original theatrical cut of "Amadeus" you'll have mixed feelings about the "Director's Cut". While I perfer the latter for a number of reasons, the feeling and flow of the original theatrical version differs somewhat from the "Director's Cut". The most important part are extended scenes that include Salieri agreeing to help Constanze if she has an affair with him. He ends up rejecting her when she shows that she so loves her husband that she would be willing to do so. A number of the opera scenes are extended as well with more business after the show between Mozart and his leading lady. There's also a longer sequence involving Salieri's visit to Mozart comissioning the "Requiem". Most of the material adds to the power of the film while a few sequences just give additional back story on various characters. The original theatrical version which won an 8 Oscars runs about 25 minutes shorter than the 3 hour "Director's Cut". Forman also provide a fascinating...

Gorgeous Director's Cut transfer. Beware of the Digital Copy, if included.
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...

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