A few words about...™ Amadeus -- in Blu-ray - Page 7

Re: A few words about...™ Amadeus -- in Blu-ray

Indeed. I have now about 600 HD discs and over 90% of them I find very watchable, not excellent or reference, but very watchable. Real stinkers I have less than 10, I would guess. The ones I knew about I did not buy, of course.

Re: A few words about...™ Amadeus -- in Blu-ray

Glenn Erickson thinks it looks stunning :::


DVD Savant Blu-ray Review: Amadeus

Re: A few words about...™ Amadeus -- in Blu-ray

Yeah, he thinks Patton looks great too. As much as I enjoy Glenn's essays on some movies, he's less than well informed when it comes to picture quality.

Re: A few words about...™ Amadeus -- in Blu-ray

Also, remember that some of Glenn's equipment is from the dark ages. I think he's still using a 46" RPTV with 1080i via component. Under those circumstances the picture may look stunning to him.

Re: A few words about...™ Amadeus -- in Blu-ray

Sorry I haven't read all this. I was wondering how is the Director's Cut compared to the original version? Is the original version, the version that won the Best Picture Oscar included in this set?

Re: A few words about...™ Amadeus -- in Blu-ray

'Fraid not, Sam.

Re: A few words about...™ Amadeus -- in Blu-ray

Shame, really.

Re: A few words about...™ Amadeus -- in Blu-ray

Wow! How is that possible? It won a Best Picture award. Anyway, is this Director's Cut at least as good as the original one?

Re: A few words about...™ Amadeus -- in Blu-ray

Sam: Here are some quotes from the HTF Amadeus Blu-ray Review Thread:

Re: A few words about...™ Amadeus -- in Blu-ray

Sam, as Mike so accurately said, you will never know which one you prefer until you see both. I prefer DC. He prefers TC.

The one thing I will say to be careful of (which has come up in this thread and in the "French Connection" thread as well) is the "Oscar winning Best Picture" label. It is kind of meaningless in the larger discussions of films. All it really means that those Academy members who voted that year picked one specific film for whatever reason to be Best Picture. No more, no less.

If we accept it as an all-time benchmark by which we judge the merits of a picture, we have to accept that The Greatest Show On Earth (Oscar winner) is a better film than Citizen Kane (Oscar nominee) and that Hello, Dolly! (Oscar nominee) is a better film than Vertigo or Touch of Evil or Some Like It Hot (none even nominated.)

Re: A few words about...™ Amadeus -- in Blu-ray

My favorite years to play that game, John, are 1939 & 1994.

Re: A few words about...™ Amadeus -- in Blu-ray

Understood, but I was referring to the use of the label as indication of a film's merits to new viewers today, not in an historical sense. I stand by my assertion that it means no more or less than what the Academy members who chose to vote in a single year thought at that time.

Which is not to say that one can't enjoy The Greatest Show On Earth (which I don't) or Oliver! (which I do), but that it's the film itself that determines my embrace of it today, not the label. That is an interesting historical footnote to me, nothing more. Same with its boxoffice take.

Re: A few words about...™ Amadeus -- in Blu-ray

Thanks, I will buy it and have never seen any versions of the film.

Re: A few words about...™ Amadeus -- in Blu-ray

When I read his essays I'm always reminded that everyone's got an opinion.

He repeatedly refers to Amadeus as a "biography," which it is not in any way (it's more like an assassination, of both Mozart and Salieri, but it's still a great movie).

Re: A few words about...™ Amadeus -- in Blu-ray

This looks great on my 42" plasma screen and, of course, vastly better than the DVD which, frankly is what matters to me. Warner Bros deserve credit for the excellent book-style presentation with booklet and bonus CD. I bought the US version because here in the UK we typically just get the single disc in a standard case and nothing else.

Re: A few words about...™ Amadeus -- in Blu-ray

I received mine and watched it -- first time seeing the DC.

PQ is indeed vastly better than the old DVD (on my 61" DLP RPTV from 9-to-10ft), *but* yes, it could certainly be better w/ a more film-like look -- the PQ reminds me a fair bit of Dark City. To me, the bigger beef now is the lack of the theatrical cut. I found pretty much all the additions to the DC to be pretty needless and just drags on pacing.

Also, while the digibook presentation looks nice at first glance, it'll probably turn out to be pretty poor over the long haul. NVM that the digibook will experience wear-and-tear like any actual book or even that it doesn't fit one's BD shelf neatly like a standard case. But why the heck is the digital copy disc attached to the back like that?? And I really dislike that Warner (and some other studios) often attaches a one-sheet backcover to whatever special packaging too. They really should just design these special packaging better and not have loose items on the outside like that. I need to find some good plastic(?) covers/bags for these digibooks -- and store the discs themselves in blank standard cases.

_Man_

Re: A few words about...™ Amadeus -- in Blu-ray

I think having both the TC and DC of films via seamless branching is the way to go. But somehow, I'm beginning to suspect that either Milos Forman or Saul Zaentz perfers to have only the DC of Amadeus be seen now. Like Oliver Stone's DC's, once they exist you don't seem to get a choice anymore. Unlike, say, Lawrence Kasdan's DC of Wyatt Earp which was released on VHS, but when the DVD and blu-rays were released, it was back to the TC. To me, if there isn't a creator's preference or serious problems with the elements of a particular version, then offer both.

Streisand just offered both cuts of Yentl on dvd via seamless branching and it was great.

Re: A few words about...™ Amadeus -- in Blu-ray

I'm 95% sure that in the case of Amadeus and JFK, Forman/Zaentz and Stone do indeed prefer the DC and no longer consider the TC relevant.

Re: A few words about...™ Amadeus -- in Blu-ray

We finally had time to watch our copy tonight, and I agree with Man regarding the picture quality. It was certainly better than the DVD, but I definitely noticed the DNR that took away some of the detail. As the film went on, though, I became more engrossed in the film and paid less attention to the transfer quality. An excellent film will usually do this to me, as long as the transfer is not too bad.

Regarding the DC, I think the additional scenes with Salieri and Constanze do add to the film, and help explain the tensions between the two at the end of the film. The added scene with Mozart and the nobleman with the dogs (can't remember the character's name) was not really necessary, though, IMO.

Re: A few words about...™ Amadeus -- in Blu-ray

Hmmm... Good point about how that added sequence (and subplot) helped better explain the tension in the ending. I wonder if it would not feel like a bit of a drag w/out the other additions.

Also, re: the PQ, I should add that the most obvious problem w/ the DNR do show up in the characters' faces, particularly in close(r)-ups where one would expect to see more facial details and skin texture than is visible here. It's really not just that it's lost the film-like look (w/ lost of grain), but the faces often also lost significant detail/texture. But yeah, the movie itself does tend to draw me in enough to overlook this problem much of the time -- except during parts where it started to drag some for me. However, I'm not sure how distracting the DNR would be if I'm using a much larger viewing angle like many FP folks use. It's minor enough in my current (forseeable) situation.

_Man_

Re: A few words about...™ Amadeus -- in Blu-ray

Totally agreed though we're unfortunately still each of us left w/ a decision to make as consumers, particularly those of us who really want to own this title and would find the PQ fine enough for the forseeable future. OTOH, I never bought Patton after finding out about the (worse) PQ issue. I'm also still holding out on The Last Emperor (for the MAR issue even though that's Storaro's IMHO-poor decision and will probably do likewise for all his other MAR releases). And I regret having bought a few others so far even though I got them at essentially bargain bin prices (thinking that might be a reasonable tradeoff).

And thanks again, RAH, for spending so much of your time over here, contributing to our benefit -- and also for being a very notable voice for the cause in the industry as well.

_Man_

The Digibook is bargain-bin priced at the moment, $7.99 at Amazon.

 

Is WB clearing inventory for a new re-issue/new 4K scan a la Casablanca?

I picked it up for that price. It's better than the vhs copy I saw long ago.... I saw it in the theater in 1984, and if my memory can be believed from way back then it does not look as good as that. It does seem like maybe some dnr was used or overused. Still, for the price it's a fine movie and the best way to see it until a remaster is done someday. And I love the music and opera recreations. The performance of Salieri is memorable. Didn't he win an Oscar for that?

The $7.99 price is gone from Amadeus (no matter to me as I already have my copy!).

 

F. Murray Abraham most certainly did win the Oscar for his portrayal of Salieri, Ben.  The film also won Best Picture and Best Directing as well as five other awards.

 

The only thing you'll notice different about this Blu-ray release--outside of the beautiful images/sound...is that this will only be the "Director's Cut" of the film.  It includes 20 additional minutes of footage to the 161 minute theatrical release.  Too bad for all those who would like to see the original version which won all those awards.

 

Yes, that's his name. F. Murray Abraham is amazing in this. Impressive make up too. This seems like a film that has stood the test of time as one of the films where the academy made the right choice....

I have to say I feel strange about how hyped The Artist has been. I liked it well enough, but Best Picture? I just don't really believe that. I would vote for War Horse or Tree of Life....

Count on it. Occasionally a picture comes along that charms Hollywood down to its socks, and The Artist has done that (Slumdog Millionaire accomplished the same feat a few years ago). It has also helped that Jean Dujardin has given several blithe acceptance speeches in the past few weeks (George Clooney's once foregone Oscar has evaporated as a result), and the movie has the great Weinstein publicity machine behind it.

 

No, I'd say the only major race still up for grabs is Best Actress where either Viola Davis or Meryl Streep will prevail.
 

 

Amazon is still letting you order the digibook for $8; it's just backordered. However, I recommend that people spend a few extra bucks on the 1997 DVD release. Yeah, you have to flip the disc halfway through, but you get to see the vastly superior theatrical cut.

IMO the added scenes just cheapened the story by making Salieri out to be a lech. Of course, the nudity was fun.

I think the digibook is a flawed bargain. I like both cuts of the film. And the digibook has better pq and sound, and also a free CD of Mozart music that's nice. Sure, we all have CDs of Mozart, but it's a fun compilation of stuff that's nice for commuting to work. For $8 I think it's worth it.

But I mostly agree with the original review by RAH--something is wrong with the picture. DNR makes it look unfilm-like. And it's such a magnificent movie that it deserves a remaster. Perhaps the fact that they are blowing these out the door at pennies on the original msrp means that a new version is in the works???