Amadeus

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

For this film adaptation of Peter Shaffer's Broadway hit, director Milos Forman returned to the city of Prague that he'd left behind during the Czech political crises of 1968, bringing along his usual cinematographer and fellow Czech expatriate, Miroslav Ondricek. Amadeus is an expansion of a Viennese "urban legend" concerning the death of 18th-century musical genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. From the vantage point of an insane asylum, aging royal composer Salieri (F. Murray Abraham) recalls the events of three decades earlier, when the young Mozart (Tom Hulce) first gained favor in the court of Austrian emperor Joseph II (Jeffrey Jones). Salieri was incensed that God would bless so vulgar and obnoxious a young snipe as Mozart with divine genius. Why was Salieri--so disciplined, so devoted to his art, and so willing to toady to his superiors--not touched by God? Unable to match Mozart's talent, Salieri uses his influence in court to sabotage the young upstart's career. Disguising himself as a mysterious benefactor, Salieri commissions the backbreaking "Requiem," which eventually costs Mozart his health, wealth, and life. Among the film's many pearls of dialogue, the best line goes to the Emperor, who rejects a Mozart composition on the grounds that it has "too many notes." Amadeus won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Actor for F. Murray Abraham. In 2002, the film received a theatrical re-release as "Amadeus: The Director's Cut," a version that includes 20 minutes of additional footage. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1
• Encoding: NTSC
• Screen: Color
• Subtitle: French, English
• Features:
  • cc
  • Production Notes
  • Theatrical Trailer

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Won Best Actor - 1984 (F. Murray Abraham)
•     Won Best Adapted Screenplay - 1984 (Peter Shaffer)
•     Won Best Art Direction - 1984 (Patrizia Von Brandenstein, Karel Cerny)
•     Won Best Costume Design - 1984 (Theodor Pistek)
•     Won Best Director - 1984 (Milos Forman)
•     Won Best Makeup - 1984 (Paul LeBlanc, Dick Smith)
•     Won Best Picture - 1984 (Saul Zaentz)
•     Won Best Sound - 1984 (Tom Scott, Chris Newman, Mark Berger, Todd Boekelheide)
•     Nominated Best Actor - 1984 (Tom Hulce)
•     Nominated Best Cinematography - 1984 (Miroslav Ondrícek)
•     Nominated Best Editing - 1984 (Nena Danevic, Michael Chandler)

• American Film Institute

•     Won 100 Greatest American Movies - 1998

• British Academy of Film and Television Arts

•     Nominated Editing Award - 1986 (Michael Chandler)
•     Nominated Best Adapted Screenplay - 1985 (Peter Shaffer)
•     Nominated Best Cinematography - 1985 (Miroslav Ondrícek)
•     Nominated Best Costumes - 1985 (Theodor Pistek)
•     Nominated Best Picture - 1985
•     Nominated Best Production Design - 1985 (Patrizia Von Brandenstein)
•     Nominated Makeup Award - 1985 (Dick Smith)
•     Nominated Sound Award - 1985 (Dick Smith)

• Directors Guild of America

•     Won Best Director - 1984 (Milos Forman)

• French Academy of Cinema

•     Won Best Foreign Film - 1984 (Milos Forman)

• Hollywood Foreign Press Association

•     Won Best Director - 1984 (Milos Forman)
•     Won Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama - 1984 (F. Murray Abraham)
•     Won Best Picture - Drama - 1984
•     Won Best Screenplay - 1984 (Peter Shaffer)
•     Nominated Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama - 1984 (Tom Hulce)
•     Nominated Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Pictu - 1984 (Jeffrey Jones)

• Los Angeles Film Critics Association

•     Won Best Actor - 1984 (F. Murray Abraham)
•     Won Best Director - 1984 (Milos Forman)
•     Won Best Picture - 1984
•     Won Best Screenplay - 1984 (Peter Shaffer)

• Telluride Film Festival

•     Film Presented - 2001

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       F. Murray Abraham - Antonio Salieri
       Tom Hulce - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
       Elizabeth Berridge - Constance Mozart
       Simon Callow - Emanuel Schikaneder
       Roy Dotrice - Leopold Mozart

• Director:

  Milos Forman

• Producer:

  Michael Hausman, Bertil Ohlsson, Saul Zaentz

• Play Author:

  Peter Shaffer

• Screen Story:

  Peter Shaffer

• Screenwriter:

  Peter Shaffer

• Cinematographer:

  Miroslav Ondrícek

• Composer (Music Score):

  Neville Marriner

• Featured Music:

  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Antonio Salieri

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Neville Marriner, John Strauss

• Editor:

  Michael Chandler, Nena Danevic

• Production Designer:

  Patrizia Von Brandenstein

• Art Director:

  Karel Cerny, Francesco Chianese

REVIEWS:

• Amadeus is a rarity: a dramatic film made by people who understood music as much as filmmaking. A celebration of music and genius, the film exults over Mozart's seemingly divine creations even as it refuses to canonize the man behind them. Instead, the decision to tell the story from Salieri's point of view provides a justly critical portrait of Mozart, and in so doing so it provides a commentary on genius that mines trenchant insight from resolute objectivity. That Mozart's music is beyond reproach is never called into doubt; likewise, that the man himself could be utterly reproachful is also beyond question. Paradox is at the film's core, both in the presentation of Mozart and his music, and in the character of Salieri, who managed to be both Mozart's greatest fan and most punishing detractor. In making this sort of paradox its central theme, Amadeus is one of the most illuminating pictures of genius ever committed to celluloid. Part of its brilliance lies in its principal performances: in Tom Hulce's Mozart, we see a man equally un-self-conscious about his genius and his vulgarity, and in F. Murray Abraham's Oscar-winning Salieri, we see the tragedy that results from the inability of talent to live up to desire. These performances are lavishly complemented by the music in question, a forceful character in its own right. Part of Forman's great acheivement as the film's director was bringing this music to millions who had never set foot inside of an opera house or theatre, with a passion and immediacy that could appeal to a much wider audience than just classical music enthusiasts. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
• {#Amadeus} is a rarity: a dramatic film made by people who understood music as much as filmmaking. A celebration of music and genius, the film exults over {$Mozart}'s seemingly divine creations even as it refuses to canonize the man behind them. Instead, the decision to tell the story from Salieri's point of view provides a justly critical portrait of {$Mozart}, and in so doing so it provides a commentary on genius that mines trenchant insight from resolute objectivity. That {$Mozart}'s music is beyond reproach is never called into doubt; likewise, that the man himself could be utterly reproachful is also beyond question. Paradox is at the film's core, both in the presentation of {$Mozart} and his music, and in the character of Salieri, who managed to be both {$Mozart}'s greatest fan and most punishing detractor. In making this sort of paradox its central theme, {#Amadeus} is one of the most illuminating pictures of genius ever committed to celluloid. Part of its brilliance lies in its principal performances: in {$Tom Hulce}'s {$Mozart}, we see a man equally un-self-conscious about his genius and his vulgarity, and in {$F. Murray Abraham}'s Oscar-winning Salieri, we see the tragedy that results from the inability of talent to live up to desire. These performances are lavishly complemented by the music in question, a forceful character in its own right. Part of {$Forman}'s great acheivement as the film's director was bringing this music to millions who had never set foot inside of an opera house or theatre, with a passion and immediacy that could appeal to a much wider audience than just classical music enthusiasts. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide

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