With apologies for possibly opening old wounds, I just wanted to report
that I took advantage of an opportunity to catch a free screening of the
"Director's Cut" of "Amadeus," sponsored by WETA-FM, one of Washington DC's
National Public Radio (and classical music) stations.  It was shown last
evening in widescreen format in the Cineplex Odeon in Shirlington, not far
from the WETA studios.

Since I have a videotape of the original theatrical release, and have
likely watched that version more times than the average moviegoer, it
was fairly easy for me to see what additions had been made to the film.

Earlier in the thread, Richard Claeys wrote:

>The updated version runs just under three hours (2 hrs., 58 min.),
>and, according to Forman, rounds out the drama by fleshing out the two
>protagonists.  Salieri has several more scenes, including a seduction and
>humiliation of Constanze that earns this edition an "R" rating, a change
>from the PG-13 of the original..  Mozart is depicted giving piano lessons
>to a bunch of barking dogs, and several lines of dialogue are restored to
>both composers.

The restored scene with Constanze and Salieri does add in an extra
dimension which explains the nature of their interactions later on,
especially in the deathbed scenes.

There are some other smaller scene additions/restorations, both with the
younger Salieri alone (intoning prayers/pleadings to God), and with Salieri
and Mozart together.  Other domestic scenes with Mozart and Constanze also
provide more glimpses into their relationship, especially with regard to
family finances.  A dressing-room scene with the soprano who sang in
"Abduction from the Seraglio" emphasizes Salieri's suspicions about her
relationship with Mozart.

Some of these restored scenes do, IMO, smooth out several transitions in
the story which make them less abrupt.  A couple of other scenes, however,
didn't really add anything to the narrative, such as the return of a
drunken Mozart to the house of the nobleman who owned the dogs, begging for
a loan.  (the barking dogs were not being "taught" by Mozart, it turns out;
they were simply there making noise while he was trying to start a lesson
with their owner's daughter).

>While acknowledging the risks of slowing down the action, Forman
>believes the additions bring the final product closer to what he and Peter
>Shaffer had in mind.  For what it's worth, one critic who sat through the
>update--Glenn Lovell of the San Jose Mercury News--describes it as a mixed
>bag--definitely more bloated, ponderous and slower in pace than the
>original, but enhanced by the fresh print and digital soundtrack.

Ditto my feelings regarding the soundtrack, which sounds quite good,
even if the dichotomy of "modern" instrument sounds coming out of the
period orchestra winds and strings is still quite obvious.  In one sense,
I much prefer the film version to the staged one I saw years ago, which was
hampered by a sorry excuse for a theatre sound system--at least one has a
better chance with the movie!

And our Moderator added:

>[Oh, damn, another version I'll have to buy.  They have this racket
>down, don't they?  I should also point out that I saw an ad today for
>a theatrical release of this version of Amadeus opening today in a
>limited number of locations nationwide (U.S. that is).  So, this may
>be our very last chance to see Amadeus on the big screen.  -Dave]

My guess is that the folks here and elsewhere who hated the movie,
and those who loved it, won't be swayed to the other side by the changes
Forman made.  However, if you do want to see it on the big screen,
the enhancements seemed worthwhile to me.

Bill H.