Amadeus 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		0.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Amadeus 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Fear and Loathing in Vienna.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III February 21, 2025

"It's quality work. And there are simply too many notes, that's all. Just cut a few and it will be perfect."

This remark by Emperor Joseph II (played by Jeffrey Jones) in Milos Forman's monumental Amadeus (1984) offers an accurate critique of its controversial Director's Cut, which debuted in 2002 and has been the only available version on home video for over two decades. The original theatrical cut, a rousing box office success and winner of eight Academy Awards including Best Picture, was last released on a 1997 "flipper" DVD and languished in SD purgatory. This has all changed thanks to a recent 4K restoration by The Academy Film Archive in conjunction with The Saul Zentz Company, Teatro Della Pace Films, The Film Foundation, and The George Lucas Family Foundation. Their collective mission was to reverse changes made to the camera negative for that Director's Cut and present Amadeus as it was originally seen in 1984, which was successfully done during a process that was originally announced back in 2020.

For a synopsis and appreciation of the film, please see Ken Brown's 2009 review of the Digibook Blu-ray, which was soon re-released as a keepcase edition that jettisoned the printed book and bonus music CD. Of course, both of those releases only contain the 2002 Director's Cut, which featured an additional 20 minutes of footage and other changes which are meticulously detailed here. Fans will have their preferences, of course, but most (including myself) can admit that one Director's Cut scene absolutely earned its place: a short meeting between Mozart's wife Constanze and Salieri that later more fully explains her contempt for him near the end of the film. Other added or alternate scenes have their moments, but my main problem with the Director's Cut was its noticeably weaker editing and flow, which really makes that three-hour film feel like one. In comparison, the theatrical cut here is less taxing even at a robust 160 minutes and clearly seems like the superior version. This is a damn near flawless film in my book and clearly deserving of its Best Picture win, so if nothing else it's wonderful to know that this original cut hasn't been lost to time. You're essentially getting just about everything that moviegoers saw back in 1984, minus the Orion Pictures logo.

In a perfect world, we'd have both versions sitting side-by side as part of a definitive 4K edition celebrating the film's 40th anniversary last year, maybe even with a wealth of new bonus features and remastered Blu-ray copies of each cut too. Sadly that's not what we get: it looks like the restoration teams listed above did 95% of the work here and Warner Bros. just slapped the finished product on a lone UHD disc with a so-so new retrospective featurette. It's still a highly recommended purchase based on the theatrical cut's formidable strength and A/V merits, of course, so fans and first-timers should definitely seek this one out... especially if they've never seen the original version before.

Amadeus 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

NOTE: Since no Blu-ray is included, these screenshots are sourced from the 4K disc but have been downsampled to 1080p/SDR and should thus not be considered an accurate representation of the film's appearance on UHD.

Shot in Prague and featuring lavishly decorated interiors often evocatively lit solely by candles, Amadeus is a beautiful-looking film and absolutely shines on this UHD's 2160p/HDR transfer, which was reportedly assembled from a recent 4K scan of the reconstructed original camera negative. Given that said negative was altered for the 2002 Director's Cut, I'll assume this was no easy task. (More information about its completion can be found here, which reportedly included bits and pieces of a 35mm interpositive.) Additional work was done in the form of both manual cleanup and color correction, affording Amadeus an overwhelmingly pitch-perfect appearance that is most likely as accurate to a vintage theatrical presentation as possible under the circumstances. The benefits of HDR are fully felt during those low-lit interior scenes, where gentle candle flicker stands out strongly against the shadows with no traces of blooming of banding, but it's a tasteful effort that thankfully doesn't push things too far at either end of the visual spectrum.

Truthfully, Amadeus is a fairly soft-looking production by design and thus doesn't achieve the kind of tack-sharp and almost crystalline appearance that some may be used to seeing in classic films remastered in 4K; instead it simply lets color and overall mood do most of the heavy lifting. Both are represented strongly here from start to finish, as only stray moments like the opening optical credits dip in quality with more pronounced noise levels and a flatter overall appearance. Perhaps this restoration's only shortcoming is in occasional shot transitions during a few scenes where the color correction doesn't quite match up flawlessly, but it's so dangerously close to perfection that my 4.5/5 is probably closer to a 4.75 -- there's almost nothing to complain about here, since organic film grain seems fully intact and the encoding is solid too, running at a supportive bit rate on this triple-layered disc. In almost every respect, it's truly a best-case scenario for purists and should consistently delight even the pickiest videophiles out there.

Amadeus 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Similarly, this DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track -- which is apparently Amadeus' original 5.0 mix in a 5.1 container -- pulls more than its own weight with a lively, robust, and extremely dynamic presentation that's at once both intimate and extremely forceful during pivotal moments, from intense arguments to lively get-togethers and, of course, the numerous operas and other shows presented in expansive concert halls. Discrete activity and panning are somewhat limited with most of this track aiming for a front-forward presentation that ramps up considerably to include the rear channels as well, often expanding to a convincing room-filling sound that really puts you in the middle of the show. It's excellent work and certainly in keeping with the film's stage roots, provided a dynamic "you are there" experience punctuated by more than a few clever stylistic flourishes. (That crumpled paper transition absolutely floors me every time I hear it, and it's just one of several such moments during the film.) Of course a new Atmos remix would've been interesting... but given the inarguable strength of this original track, it stands on its own two feet just fine.

Optional subtitles, including English (SDH), are offered during the main feature and both extras listed below.

Amadeus 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with brand-new cover artwork -- again, it's not terrible but falls short of the theatrical poster -- with a matching slipcover and Digital Copy redemption code. Bonus features include two similarly-named featurettes, one of them new, but several items from previous releases aren't carried over; some are forgivable like the Director's Cut audio commentary with Milos Forman and writer Peter Shaffer as well as a bonus music CD, but the theatrical trailer and an isolated score track (from the 1997 theatrical DVD) are gone too. Select scenes from the Director's Cut should also have been included here, as well as a piece on the new restoration.

• NEW! Amadeus: The Making of a Masterpiece (23:27) - This recent piece, presumably assembled during the last several years, offers reflections on Amadeus from members of the cast, crew, and other notables who are all recorded separately via webcam. Featured participants include actors F. Murray Abraham and Tom Hulce, music historian Jon Burlingame, actors Simon Callow (Emanuel Schickaneder) and Christine Ebersole (Katerina Cavalieri), and production designer Patrizia Von Brandenstein; collectively, they speak about the casting process, the invaluable contributions of Milos Forman and playwright Peter Shaffer, shooting on location in Prague during Russia's occupation, 18th century costume designs, and of course the lives of Mozart and Salieri. Thematically, there's good info here but nothing is really mentioned about the theatrical cut or its 4K restoration. Visually, though, it's kind of a hot mess: slathered with obvious AI sharpening filters (on top of already-awful webcam resolution, of course), this one's a far cry from the crisp and professional featurettes of yesteryear.

• The Making of Amadeus (60:42) - This familiar 2002 featurette of yesteryear is still a comprehensive, essential watch and was outlined in Kenneth Brown's 2009 review of the Director's Cut Blu-ray.

Amadeus 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Milos Forman's Amadeus is a timeless drama whose theatrical release was warmly met by critics and audiences alike, so it's fitting that WB's 4K edition finally offers a reconstruction of that original version more than two decades after the inferior Director's Cut dominated the home video market. This labor of love is absolutely worth owning, although it can't help but feel incomplete due to the lack of a similarly restored Blu-ray and a more comprehensive set of existing bonus features, including at least one scene from the Director's Cut that most fans agree would make it an even better film. It's nonetheless Highly Recommended to fans and first-timers alike; without question, you won't regret it.