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In this special edition of the 1984 Academy Award winning movie, the sound has been re-mixed and 20 additional minutes of footage are added - more music, more drama, more notes (but not too many). However, the timeless story remains the same...
After a failed suicide attempt, the once legendary composer Antonio Salieri
(F. Murray Abraham) makes a confession to Father Vogler (Richard Frank)
that he is responsible for the death of the great Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
(Tom Hulce). He proceeds to tell his tale of jealousy and revenge.
Salieri vows to God that he will live a chaste life if allowed to create
music - he eventually is promoted to Court Composer. Life is good until
a young musical genius (Amadeus) comes to court - he's rude, vile, lecherous,
and composes the most amazing music Salieri has ever heard. As Amadeus'
career takes off, he composes operas and symphonies; Salieri is there at
every turn to influence the critics to abhor the work. Amadeus attracts
opera singer Katerina (Christine Ebersole), a woman Salieri has his eye
on, increasing the strain.
When Amadeus gets into financial trouble, having no success with his work,
his wife Constanze (Elizabeth Berridge) asks Salieri for his help - instead
he plots to destroy Amadeus. The fact that such beautiful music could come
from a man like Amadeus drives Salieri mad.
This movie has humor, love, tragic frustration, jealousy, and music that
sends chills through you - church songs, bar songs, chamber music, and
opera - all the classical bases are covered.
As a general rule, the Movie Chicks are opposed to director's cuts of movies - if something was that great, it should have been included in the original. Adding footage is often just an excuse to re-release a movie, it's just Hollywood greed. The exception is a movie that's edited for time (because some executive thought it was too long) and the additional footage enhances the movie experience and gives the excuse of bringing a great movie back into the theater for a new generation to enjoy it on the big screen - we're all for that. Amadeus falls somewhere squarely in the middle - some of the additional footage enhances the movie, some doesn't. But really, they could add an hour of Mozart's music and that would be fine! Seeing this movie on the big screen is worth it.
One scene that showcases the actors - Salieri writing down the composition
as Mozart is creating the Requiem (the death mass). It is like a fine dance,
an intimate scene with give and take of two great actors so involved -
you can feel the energy flowing between the characters. It's incredible,
it's powerful and it works.
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