Amadeus (1984)

• Video: 2160p resolution (4K) with HDR10, remastered from the original film.
• Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.0, along with Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and Dolby Digital 5.1.
• Special Features:
  • 4K restoration of the theatrical cut.
  • "The Making of Amadeus" featurette.
  • "The Making of Amadeus" documentary.
  • U.S. Release Date: February 25, 2025.

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.”

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