Milos Forman spent months with Peter Shaffer adapting the playwright's stage hit into a screen biopic. It shows. Amadeus is a stunning exploration of genius, powered by mighty turns from two cinematic also-rans - Tom Hulce as the idiotic but blessed title character and F Murray Abraham as his bitter rival, Antonio Salieri.
DVD Extras:
"We should say something. If people are still listening to our gibberish..." Such is the tone of Forman and Shaffer's intermittent but amusing commentary, full of insight and info on shooting in then-Commie Prague ("The crew beat the shit out of some Cuban terrorists," recalls Forman).The Making Of is outstanding, revealing Forman cast Abraham because - ouch! - he believed he was "Salieri offstage as well as onstage." Shame this package neglects to include the original theatrical version alongside the elongated Director's Cut.
