Amadeus (Blu-ray Packaging)
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- Gripping human drama. Sumptuous period epic. Glorious celebration of the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. This marvelous winner of eight Academy Awards(R) portrays the rivalry between the genius Mozart (Tom Hulce) and the jealous court composer (Best Actor Oscar(R) Winner F.Murray Abraham) who may have ruined Mozart’s career and shortened his life. Format: BLU-RAY DISC Genre: DRAMA Ra
Abrahams salieri declares war against the heavens for speaking through the genius of wolfgang amadeus mozart played by hulce. Flashbacks illuminate the mad energetic brilliance of mozart and salieris struggle with his own mediocrity. Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 02/10/2009 Starring: F Murray Abraham Jeffery Jones Run time: 180 minutes Rating: Pg Director: Milos Forman
Amadeus (Blu-ray Packaging)
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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 I’m not one to complain about a little female flesh being exposed, but I think the film works well enough without it.
Other “new” scenes follow pretty much the same description: they are interesting but their necessity is debatable.
There is one small addition that I did enjoy, though. Early in the film, during one of the scenes where the elderly Salieri is confessing (?) to the young priest, Salieri is recounting the episode when he first met the young composer Mozart he’d heard about for so many years. He was blown away by his talent but outraged and offended by his peurile behavior. He insisted to the priest that such talent (evident in one composition in particular) could not and should not exist in such a vile and vulgar child. That brilliant composition simply HAD to be an accident! Salieri’s lines are briefly extended in that moment, and it adds a wonderful touch of menace. I can’t understand why it was cut from the original release.
The LaserDisc release included a wonderful behind-the-scenes documentary called “The Last Laugh”. So far I haven’t seen it included in any DVD or Blu-Ray release. I’m holding on to my LaserDisc player for precisely that reason. Add that documentary to this Blu-Ray release and you have a slam-dunk 5-star product.
Depending on the release version, this Blu-Ray movie may come in book form and include a short bonus CD of some music from the film and a picture booklet. If you bought/buy the version that comes with the bonus Digital Copy of the film (available at some retailers but harder to find online), bear in mind that the Digital Copy is NOT compatible with iTunes and cannot be loaded to your iPod. There is no wording on the package to indicate this. One has to open the Digital Copy booklet to find that out. The Digital Copy booklet looks the same on the outside as the booklet for the Digital Copies of other movies that ARE compatible with iTunes, so a consumer who has purchased iTunes-compatible Digital Copy-included DVDs before could reasonably assume this one would be compatible also. That consumer would be wrong. Nice bait-and-switch, don’t you think?
If you got the non-book version of the Blu-Ray, it probably didn’t come with the bonus CD, booklet, or Digital Copy.
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