Amadeus: 4K UHD Review
Now available on 4K UHD for the first time is Miloš Forman’s 1984 biographical drama, Amadeus, starring F. Murray Abraham and Tom Hulce. Surprisingly, up until now, I had never actually seen eight-time Academy Award winning film. I had always meant to, but just never got around to it. This is the theatrical release of the film and not the 2002 director’s cut (which obviously, I had never seen either). In fact, this is the first time the theatrical cut of the film has had a new physical release since the 1997 DVD.
Adapted from Peter Shaffer’s stage play of the same name, Amadeus is set in Vienna, Austria during the early 18th century and centers on composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Hulce) and Antonio Salieri (Abraham). Despite his father thinking his son wanting to have a career in music, was the equivalent of becoming a trained monkey, Antonio offered God a deal, that he would be faithful to the Lord if he could become as famous as the child composer, Mozart that he had heard so much about.
When Antonio Salieri was older and working with Emperor Joseph II (Jeffrey Jones), he finally had the opportunity to meet Mozart in-person. To his surprise, Salieri soon learned that the musician that truly inspired him for years was an immature, foul-mouth and spoiled musical genius. He was not only shocked but outraged that God chose Mozart as the vessel for the creation of such beautiful music. Salieri now wanted to renounce God and destroy Mozart.
While the narrative is mostly focused on Antonio Salieri, it is Tom Hulce who really steals the show here. While Abraham is fantastic in the role, Hulce seems to be having an absolute blast. What I funny though, while watching Abraham here, I started to think about the 2000 film, Finding Forrester, in which he played a school professor, which very much seemed like a reincarnation of Salieri. I also loved Elizabeth Berridge’s performance as Mozart’s wife Constanze.
The restoration and mastering of the Amadeus original theatrical cut was completed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with the participation of Paul Zaentz. The new 2160p presentation looks incredible and to my understanding was assembled from a recent 4K scan of the original camera negative, which was altered for the director’s cut. This is an incredible looking film, from the set design and costumes to the locations in Prague, everything looks sharp and incredibly detailed. Again, having never seen Amadeus before, I was just blown away how nearly flawless that four-decade old film looked. When your film is about Mozart, you know that audio has to live up to the legend and it definitely delivers. The DTS-HD 5.1 Audio track never lags. We get the full sound of the orchestra and of course Mozart’s singers.
If biographical dramas and historical pieces are your fancy, then I highly recommend picking up the new 4K release of Amadeus.
Bonus Features:
- The Making of Amadeus (New)
- Amadeus: The Making of a Masterpiece
By Marc Ferman