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 Director
:Milos Forman
Starring
: F Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce, Elizabeth Berridge, Simon
Callow, Roy Dotrice, Christine Ebersole, Jeffery Jones.
Picture
2.35:1 Anamorphic, DD 5.1, 2-Disc, Dual-Layer, Keep Case
Running
Time : 180 Mins
The
story:
The
Man... The Music... The Madness... The Murder... The Motion
Picture...
Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart (Tom Hulce) is a child prodigy who, having
been given every opportunity by his father, becomes the
greatest musician and composer ever known. Antonio Salieri
(F Murray Abraham) is the son of a farmer who when he was
a boy, dreamt of becoming as famous and talented a composer
as the child Mozart. This is the story of Mozart through
the eyes of his greatest enemy. It tells of how Salieri,
in the prestigious position of Court Composer to Emperor
Joseph II of Austria, realises that he will never have the
talent of Mozart. He recognises that this obscene child
(as he sees him) can create music so beautiful that it is
ahead of it's time, but only Salieri seems to realise it.
As you see Salieri's struggle to come to terms with being
second best, he decides that the only way to cope is to
try and destroy Mozart's career and ultimately Mozart himself.
The
summary:
When Milos Forman was taken to see "another play about
a composer" he was expecting a long boring evening.
What he experienced was an amazing slant on the life of
one of the world's most famous and talented composers. Peter
Shaffear's original play has been adapted brilliantly to
the big screen without detracting from the story. The idea
of portraying Mozart through the eyes of Salieri is daring.
Although Mozart comes across as an egocentric, you have
to keep in mind that Salieri is consumed with jealously
and you are probably not seeing Mozart as he really was.
What does come across though is the amazing gift that this
one man possessed, the ability to hear music in his mind
and just write it down as if "taking dictation".
He was ahead of his time and was not really recognised for
the talent he was until after his death.
The
one thing that stands out in the film is the use of Mozart's
music and this is the real star of the film. It seems as
if the actors and script are working around the music instead
of the music being fitted in around the script. The full
scale opera scenes are amazing and you seem to be surrounded
by the music. Having said this both Tom Hulce and F Murray
Abraham put in brilliant performances as the two rival composers.
The whole film is a flashback from Salieri's memory of events
and Abraham is as believable as the old Salieri who is remembering
the past, as he is as the young composer. Tom Hulce has
captured the slightly prima donna role of Mozart. He is
the best
musician in Vienna and he knows it! The whole rivalry comes
to a head in the last scenes as Salieri struggles to take
down as much he can of the music of the Requiem Mass as
Mozart dictates it before he dies.
There
is much mystery surrounding the death of Mozart at the age
of 37, but one possibility is the well known suggestion
that he was poisoned by Salieri. Although earlier in the
film you hear Salieri planning Mozart's demise, you are
left not knowing whether it was Salieri's plan or Mozart's
lifestyle that brought about his early death. This being
a director's cut, there are 20 minutes of new footage in
the film including some previously unseen moments. However,
maybe I have seen this film too many times as to me, the
acting in some of the new scenes lacks the quality of the
rest of the film.
Amadeus
fans will welcome this new Director's Cut with open arms,
not least because they can finally bin the old 'flipper'
from their collection. Whilst the old flipper was a rather
lazy affair, this new edition features a new digital video
transfer and remastered 5.1 soundtrack in addition to the
20 minutes of restored footage. Whilst I was a little disappointed
by the lack of extras for a 2-disc release, the new hour-long
documentary goes some way to making amends (and bear in
mind the three-hour running time). This is a fantastic release
from Warner and if you have even the slightest interest
in classic music then this is a must for you - if you haven't
then you just might be surprised..
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