Amadeus: Original Theatrical Cut - Blu-ray Forum

citizenmilton · 11-07-2019, 03:40 PM

Hello Blu-Ray forum. I'd like to enlist you all in a cause for the preservation of a great piece of cinema. Help me create a groundswell to restore the original theatrical cut of AMADEUS - to be made available in the best video formats available. I would plead the editors and writers on this amazing site to provide me with contact information at Warner home video to champion the cause directly.

I may lose many of you on the merits of debating the quality of the original cut vs. the director's cut, but the original theatrical cut is the one that actually won the Best Picture Oscar and I think it deserves preservation for that reason alone.

Furthermore, and pardon my hyperbole here, but I believe the director's cut is an abomination, a bizarre act of self-destructive indulgence. Many of its most glorious edits and musical cues are lost - and some of its themes are mangled, taken from subtle effectiveness and bloated into overbearing preachiness.

Yes, those of us who loved the original may have temporarily enjoyed seeing several minutes more of footage, and enjoyed the expanded version upon its initial release. But the version that deserves to be re-seen and rewatched for posterity, is, and I will scream it from the rooftops, the original theatrical cut. I don't know if you've ever seen the two in close proximity. The original cut sings and moves along with a propulsive and delightful energy, with not a frame wasted. But the director's cut is a relatively turgid, dreadfully paced slog that frequently interrupts its own momentum to belabor points already made clear in the laser-sharp edition.

The vast superiority of the original cut aside, I think audiences should at least have the option to choose for themselves, and have both versions available.

This is my cinematic hill to die on. The Directors' Cut of Amadeus is an atrocity. The theatrical cut is one of the finest films ever made. People deserve the chance to see it in the highest available quality.

-Milton in Houston

P.S. and yes, I am aware of the irony that I find myself, metaphorically speaking, much like Emperor Joseph II telling Wolfgang after his opera that there are "too many notes," but I humbly suggest that Forman, as brilliant as a filmmaker as he was.... Milos was not Mozart. He's fallible, and his extended cut proves that.

11-07-2019, 03:40 PM	#1
citizenmilton New Member Member since:Feb 2011	Amadeus: Original Theatrical Cut Hello Blu-Ray forum. I'd like to enlist you all in a cause for the preservation of a great piece of cinema. Help me create a groundswell to restore the original theatrical cut of AMADEUS - to be made available in the best video formats available. I would plead the editors and writers on this amazing site to provide me with contact information at Warner home video to champion the cause directly. I may lose many of you on the merits of debating the quality of the original cut vs. the director's cut, but the original theatrical cut is the one that actually won the Best Picture Oscar and I think it deserves preservation for that reason alone. Furthermore, and pardon my hyperbole here, but I believe the director's cut is an abomination, a bizarre act of self-destructive indulgence. Many of its most glorious edits and musical cues are lost - and some of its themes are mangled, taken from subtle effectiveness and bloated into overbearing preachiness. Yes, those of us who loved the original may have temporarily enjoyed seeing several minutes more of footage, and enjoyed the expanded version upon its initial release. But the version that deserves to be re-seen and rewatched for posterity, is, and I will scream it from the rooftops, the original theatrical cut. I don't know if you've ever seen the two in close proximity. The original cut sings and moves along with a propulsive and delightful energy, with not a frame wasted. But the director's cut is a relatively turgid, dreadfully paced slog that frequently interrupts its own momentum to belabor points already made clear in the laser-sharp edition. The vast superiority of the original cut aside, I think audiences should at least have the option to choose for themselves, and have both versions available. This is my cinematic hill to die on. The Directors' Cut of Amadeus is an atrocity. The theatrical cut is one of the finest films ever made. People deserve the chance to see it in the highest available quality. -Milton in Houston P.S. and yes, I am aware of the irony that I find myself, metaphorically speaking, much like Emperor Joseph II telling Wolfgang after his opera that there are "too many notes," but I humbly suggest that Forman, as brilliant as a filmmaker as he was.... Milos was not Mozart. He's fallible, and his extended cut proves that.

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