Milos Forman’s multi-Oscar-winning epic “Amadeus” has received a major 40th anniversary present thanks to the Academy Film Archive: a 4k digital restoration which will be unveiled May 31st at the Academy Museum. There’s major anticipation for this new restoration; the event is sold out with stand-by tickets available on a first-come, first-serve basis. The restoration by the archive and the Saul Zaentz Co. with funding provided by Teatro Della Pace Film marks the first time the original theatrical release has been available in over two decades.
“Amadeus,” produced by Saul Zaentz and adapted by Peter Shaffer from his Tony Award-winning Broadway play, revolves around the rivalry in last half of the 18th century Vienna between the mediocre court composer Antonio Salieri (F. Murray Abraham) and his rival, the brilliant young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Tom Hulce). Shot on location in Prague, the film was a homecoming for Forman who left the then-Communist Czechoslovakia in 1969. “Amadeus” earned 11 Oscar nominations receiving eight Academy Awards for best picture, director, adapted screenplay, actor for Abraham, art direction, costume design, make-up, and sound.
Zaentz was one of the first people to bring their collection to the Film Archive when it opened in 1991. “The way he produced his films in a unique kind of way for the time period he was active,” said archive director Mike Pogorzelski in a recent Zoom chat. “He would only make deals for distribution with studios. The Saul Zaentz Company owned all the movies; the studios did not. When the film was released on DVD, Saul wanted to create a new version of it that was marketed as ‘Amadeus (Director’s Cut).’ He wanted to access the original negative to make that version. So, the negative was cut. For all of those years, since 2001, the original camera negative has only existed in this alternate version.”
The producer died at the age of 92 in 2014; his nephew Paul Zaentz now owns the company. He has always preferred the original two-hour 40-minute version over the three-hour eight-minute director’s cut. “So, we all came together in a way we all want to: Paul, because he wants to put ‘Amadeus’ back into distribution for the 40th anniversary of its release and for us, the academy we want the version that the academy members awarded,” noted Pogorzelski.
Because nothing had been taken out of the negative, it made the Academy Film Archive’s job a little easier. “We weren’t trying to find missing footage for the most part,” said archive preservationist Tessa Idlewine. “It just meant we lost a frame on either side on the original negative. It meant replacing those two frames. We used a 35mm interpositive…we were able to fill those in.” Luckily, she added, the original negative was in “pretty good shape” with some dirt, and scratches.”
Larry Karaszewski, who with his partner Scott Alexander, wrote the scripts to Forman’s 1996’s “The People Vs. Larry Flynt” and 1999’s “Man in the Moon,” was also involved in making the restoration a reality when he was the academy’s vice president of History & Preservation having many discussions with Pogorzelski and Executive Vice President of Library, Archive and Sci-Tech Randy Haberkamp. Karaszewski also consulted with Forman’s widow Martina. “We were both very excited about trying to push this through and make it happen.”
Forman, who also won a best director for 1975’s “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” had loved the stage play starring Ian McKellen as Salieri. “What was the stage version didn’t have was Mozart music,” said Karaszewski. “So, he felt like ‘Oh, my God if I could bring the brilliance of that stage play to film and the genius of Mozart’s music on top of it, that would be something special.”
Karaszewski was eager to have the original restored because “’Amadeus’ is one of the greatest films of all time. It’s about the action of creation and who God points their finger at. So, all of those scenes where Mozart does these things kind of effortlessly, the rest of us-we can do nothing but look at what Mozart’s doing in total awe.” For all the gorgeous sets, costumes and delicious Mozart music, “Amadeus” is at its heart an intimate two-character piece. “It’s really these two guys battling it out,” said Karaszewski. “I think people can relate to the movie There’s somebody you went to college with who is now incredibly successful, and you say, ‘Why did this person make it?’ And here I am.”’
Karaszewski believes there “are many good things about the longer version…I actually prefer the best picture version. “t’s lighter on its feet. One of the great things about ‘Amadeus’ is that it’s an epic, but also breezy. And the additional material, I don’ t know necessarily helps it. I’m happy to have both of them available to be seen. When they made the longer version, I’m not sure Milos realized that it would make it harder to see the original version. I think Milos just wanted the people to see [the director’s cut] because he thought it was so good.”
Make your predictions at Gold Derby now. Download our free and easy app for Apple/iPhone devices or Android (Google Play) to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for best prediction accuracy scores. See our latest prediction champs. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Always remember to keep your predictions updated because they impact our latest racetrack odds, which terrify Hollywood chiefs and stars. Don’t miss the fun. Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our famous forums where 5,000 showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. Everybody wants to know: What do you think? Who do you predict and why?
