I enjoyed the Director's cut if only for the chance to see more Salieri and the director, producer, writer, and main actor's interviewed-years after the fact it is clear to see this fantasia about a legendary genius's music and the jealous rage of his alleged 'killer' Salieri was a labor of love.

In the interviews it's great fun to hear the cold war tales of secret police (half the Czech crew it seems lol) bugged rooms (F. Murray's story is particularly hilarious).

`Amadeus', a play about the adult life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart written by Peter Shaffer, with the film version directed by Milos Forman won an Academy Award for best picture plus seven other Academy Awards. And, for someone who saw the play on Broadway with the dynamic Tim Curry as Mozart and F. Murray Abraham in the role of Salieri, a role he repeats in the film.

For starters, the movie definitely benefits from being moved from the stage to the real world of 18th century Vienna, played by the older sections of 20th century Prague. I am just a little disappointed that they couldn't convince Vienna to play itself in the movie, but Prague does an excellent job, as it was the third major city of the Austro-Hungarian Empire when Mozart lived.

One of the most interesting aspects of this movie is that, believe it or not, most of it is based on verifiable historical fact. The remainder is based on legends about Mozart and Salieri that may or may not have been disproved. Mozart was every bit as much of a musical genius as he is presented in the movie. Reliable sources also state that he was quite crude and had a rather vulgar sense of humor. His interaction with the Archbishop of Salzburg and the Austro-Hungarian emperor are all accurate, or at least accurate enough in general to provide a sound skeleton to the fictional dialogue and some of the more speculative events. Salieri is also a thoroughly accurate historical figure who was the emperor's court composer and who did write many operas. His being lost in the dust of history is also quite accurate. If you are lucky, you may be able to find some DVDs of his operas in bins of works by Mozart's contemporaries. The story of whether or not Salieri actually had anything to do with Mozart's death or with Mozart's composition of his unfinished requiem is entirely a part of legend, at least according the Encyclopedias I have consulted. I have not read any biographies of Mozart, but I suspect the Britannia got it right.

Since Tim Curry did such a good job as Mozart on the stage, I was just a bit surprised to see the part of Mozart go to an almost totally unknown actor, Tom Hulce, whose main role up to that time was as the wimp, Flounder in the great comedy, `Animal House'. I will assure you that Hulce gave the role everything it needed, more than enough to erase my recollection of Curry's interpretation of the role. As it turns out, Forman wanted to fill all the roles with relatively unknown actors, except for the central role of Salieri, taken by Abraham, who did it on the stage in New York. Oddly, Hulce seems to have disappeared from view shortly after `Amadeus' was released. Aside from Abraham, the most familiar faces are those of a very young Cynthia Nixon who plays a minor role as a maid and Vincent Schiavelli, a character actor in `Taxi', `One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest', and dozens of other small parts.

Aside from the very large, believable palate offered by Prague, the best part of the transition from the stage to the screen is the chance to do full justice to Mozart's music, performed by Mozart specialist Neville Marriner in all its symphonic and operatic glory. The things the DVD can do with the music make it especially valuable to trade in your VHS for the DVD. I would go so far as to say that if a youngster needs some inspiration toward the appreciation of great music, you could do a lot worse than sitting them down in front of this movie. It almost makes me wish we could get some of Mozart's operas on DVD.

The music contributes to the rewatchability of the work but since, unlike `Cats', for example, the music is only one subject out of several in the movie, the work may not be quite as rewatchable as an out and out musical play. Yet, I still watch this movie an average of once a year for the last six years, since I owned a copy of the VCR before I got the DVD.

Worth the purchase if you like the movie or the music.

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 commentary track for the film along with writer Peter Shaffer ("Equus").

The image quality for the "Director's Cut" is superior to the original theatrical version. The film was restored to its original luster for re-release resulting in much more natural flesh tones and a sharper visual image as well. The colors which play in important part in conveying the themes of each sequence are more robust and vivid. The theatrical version looks quite good although it was first issued on DVD as a "flipper" (meaning you had to flip it over) DVD after roughly two hours to watch the last third of the movie. The big advantage for the theatrical version is Neville Mariner's score on an isolated track.

The second disc of the "Director's Cut" has one terrific extra, a brief talent list and the original theatrical trailer. The marvelous behind-the-scenes documentary covers the highlights and difficulties that Forman faced in translating Shaffer's stage play to the screen. At nearly 40 minutes it could have provided more background including outtakes, rehearsals and auditions but it's quite a few documentary as it is. There was plenty of room on the second disc to include Mariner's isolated score but the documentary is really all we get.

As to which is better--it's a toss up. Both versions of the film work extremely well although I prefer the "Director's Cut" for the added footage, the sharper more robust image quality and the higher definintion anamorphic transfer. I do miss the isolated Marriner score of Mozart's music that appeared on the original disc in 5.1. Given the capacity of the second disc, it could easily have been transferred and would have added value to this special edition.

A story of envy, lust and anger "Amadeus" focuses on the brief life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart (Oscar nominee Tom Hulce giving a terrific performance) was a child prodigy who composed his first piece at the age of 4 and produced a remarkably large body of work for such a brief life. His nemesis is court composer Antonio Salieri (Oscar winner F. Murray Abraham in a remarkable performance). This is really Salieri's story as his jealousy drives him to destroy Mozart. Salieri is so consumed with his jealousy, that while recognizing the beauty and originality of Mozart's music, he can't help but want to destroy its creator. Salieri's quaint compositions can't hold a candle to Mozart's complex, original and brilliant pieces.

Featuring inspired supporting performances by Christine Ebersole, Jeffrey Jones, Simon Callow ("Three Weddings and a Funeral"), the only performer that doesn't do anything for me is Elizabeth Berridge as Constanze. She replaced Meg Tilly just prior to shooting. The stunning production design, cinematography and sharp direction make "Amadeus: The Director's Cut" an experience worth savoring. This deluxe edition features a running commentary by director Milos Forman, writer Peter Shaffer ("Equus"), a great 30 minute documentary on the making of the movie and a terrific 5.1 Dolby Digital remastered soundtrack. Restored from the original film elements, the film hasn't looked this robust and colorful in quite some time. The digital anamorphic transfer looks marvelous and almost rich enough to eat. This version doesn't replace the original theatrical version but is more of an enhanced experience for those who loved the first film. Since this version runs roughly three hours, be prepared for a long evening.

Highly recommended, this examination of the destructive power of jealousy still resonates with power, passion and wonderful music. If you're not an opera buff, I'd suggest skipping this for, while the film is powerful, part of the power comes from appreciating the music that Mozart wrote. We see a lot of excerpts from a variety of Mozart's operas throughout the movie. Whichever version of the movie you choose, you'll sure to be delighted. I'd give the "Director's Cut" a slight edge for better picture.

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm very sick of the whole "directors cut" marketing gimmick used to push movies on DVD these days. And please, make no mistake about it, that's all it is...a marketing gimmick. Amadeus is one of my favorite films of all-time. I saw it when I was 12 and it made me change my mind about movies and what I considered to be a great movie. Before Amadeus, I thought a great movie was some trash like Nightmare on Elm Street or a summer blockbuster like Return of the Jedi. After Amadeus, I started getting into REAL movies like Raging Bull, One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest and my favorite A Clockwork Orange. In other words, I credit this film for changing my taste in movies. Unfortunately, this Director's Cut of Amadeus doesn't reflect the original love I had for this classic film. There's new footage added and the film, which I thought was one of the best edited and paced films I had ever seen, now has lost some of that pacing and appears tedious in places. The 2 biggest additions are a backstage scene after one of Mozarts operas and a scene where Mozart's wife is about to make love to Salieri in exchange for a favor. Both of these additions have caused previous edits used to get the same points across to either be removed entirely or lose their impact. I was very sad to see this had been done, because now, it's not the same film and it prevents me from giving it a 5 star review. The only new addition I thought was interesting was the new footage of Mozart teaching students, but it too feels teadious and just slows the movie down.
With that said, this is a brilliant transfer of the film. It's a million times better than the original DVD release. Plus, the extras on disc 2 are very informative. For example, some of the locations they shot at were actual locations that Mozart performed his music.
It's worth buying to see the brilliant new transfer and to view the extras and insider info on disc 2, but longtime fans of the movie will be dissapointed by the change in pace and additions that are not necessary. Keep the original DVD release and check this one out for the extras.

Amadeus is one hell of a movie. With its phenomenal acting, realistic locations and dramatic storytelling Director Milos Forman depicts the power, truth and wisdom in Salieri story. I enjoyed this film from a viewers perspective and a film makers perspective.
"Watching Amadeus is like listening to Mozart: it is a horrible beauty beyond words." Says James Brundage from filmcritic.com. Which I agree with entirely. Amadeus leaves you speechless and left in deep thought.
The first thing I instantly liked about the film was the narrative from the older Salieri. I really like how he was sitting there playing the piano and then in walks the priest. How Salieri introduces Mozart was clever too, that's probably one of my favorite parts of the movie.
Some of the filming techniques were also very intriguing. For example, when they showed Mozart as a child performing blindfolded. That was a very well planned ingenious shot. Now even though this isn't my kind of movie, these filming techniques kept me watching. Another favorite part of mine was when Mozart walked into the room hearing a piece being played and was able to play it back without looking at a music sheet. That was a very well thought out sequence.
I think the actor who played Mozart was well chosen, he really captured the obnoxiousness of Amadeus. He really lit up the screen with those outrageous wigs and that absurd laugh. It almost broke my ear drums. But his performance at the end towards his death was outstanding.
The number one thing I could not stand was those wigs. I just wanted to jump into movie and beat the living crap out of those entire wig wearing pansies. I think the costume crew could've done better with the wigs. Maybe they were the way they had them back then, they still aggravated me.
This movie was a big step in cinematic history. Although I'm not into these kind of films I hold it highly recommend it to anyone that is able to watch it. The climatic last ten minutes are worth it, Salieri and Mozart side by side writing...