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Amadeus, a review by Antares

Amadeus





Year: 1984
Film Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures, The Saul Zaentz Company
Genre: Drama, Classic, Music
Length: 180 Min.

Director
Milos Forman (1932)

Writing
Peter Shaffer (1926)...Play
Peter Shaffer (1926)...Screenplay

Producer
Michael Hausman
Bertil Ohlsson
Saul Zaentz (1921)

CinematographerMusic
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756)...Composer
Neville Marriner (1924)...Conductor
Antonio Salieri (1750)...Composer

Stars
F. Murray Abraham (1939) as Antonio Salieri
Tom Hulce (1953) as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Elizabeth Berridge (1962) as Constanze Mozart
Roy Dotrice (1923) as Leopold Mozart
Simon Callow (1949) as Emanuel Schikaneder
Christine Ebersole (1953) as Katerina Cavalieri
Jeffrey Jones (1946) as Emperor Joseph II
Charles Kay (1930) as Count Orsini-Rosenberg

Review
       Most Broadway plays that are adapted for the silver screen tend to not have the same passion or relevance as their stage counterpart, in the case of Amadeus the opposite is true. By allowing the classical compositions of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to act as an unseen major character in the screenplay, an atmosphere of aural intensity and fluidity is created that help the viewer to become engulfed in the story of this flawed genius of the musical arts. Though highly fictionalized, the screenplay written by Peter Shafer and directed by Milos Forman delves into the rivalry between Mozart and the court composer of Emperor Joseph II of Austria, Antonio Salieri. It is the jealousy and intrigue of this one character that unfolds the story in a series of flashbacks told to a priest in a sanitarium in Vienna in the early part of the 19th century. Salieri, who is now an elderly man, has attempted suicide by slashing his throat. In his delirium he pronounces himself the assassin who brought about the death of the now famous composer. He recounts for the priest how he first came to know Mozart and how he plotted and schemed to bring about his demise. Through it all we are serenaded with music so beautiful that at the end of the film, we can understand why Salieri felt as if he was , take away one of these performances and the film would lose all resonance.
 
       And finally, another player in the performance should have been rewarded with an Oscar in the category of Best Supporting Actor. Jeffrey Jones turn as the aristocratic, yet aloof Joseph II, is a scene stealing delight. Not only did he look and act the part of royalty, but also his delivery of the line , which he uses repeatedly to convey an array of emotions, is priceless.


Ratings Criterion
- The pinnacle of film perfection and excellence.
- Not quite an immortal film, yet a masterpiece in its own right.
- Historically important film, considered a classic.
- Borderline viewable.
- A gangrenous and festering pustule in the chronicles of celluloid.



(From Amadeus (1984) on March 24th, 2010)

The Twilight Saga: New Moon, a review by addicted2dvd

The Twilight Saga: New Moon: Two-Disc Deluxe Edition (2009/United States) Trailer |IMDb |Wikipedia | Summit Entertainment Director: Chris Weitz Writing: Melissa Rosenberg (Screenwriter), Stephenie Meyer (Original Material By) Length: 131 min. Rating: Rated PG-13 : Some Violence and Action Video: Widescreen 2.40:1 Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio: 5.1, English: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround, Spanish: Dolby Digital: 5.1 Subtitles: English, Spanish

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Stars:
Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan
Christina Jastrzembska as Gran/Bella
Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen
Billy Burke as Charlie Swan
Anna Kendrick as Jessica
Michael Welch as Mike

Plot:
In the second chapter of Stephanie Meyer's best-selling Twilight series, the romance between mortal Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) grows more intense as ancient secrets threaten to destroy them. When Edward leaves in an effort to keep Bella safe, she tests fate in increasingly reckless ways in order to glimpse her love once more. But when she's saved from the brink by her friend, Jacob Black (Taylor Loutner), Bella will uncover mysteries of the supernatural world that will put her in more peril than ever before.

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Audio Commentary
• Feature Trailers
• Deleted Scenes
• Featurettes
• Music Videos
• Interviews
• Storyboard Comparisons
• Picture-in-picture

OK... even though I really wasn't in the mood to watch this one today... I promised the person that gave it to me a review.... so decided to go ahead and get it done. I originally thought I never seen this film before... but too many parts seemed really familiar to me. So I am thinking I must have caught it before at some point... just forgot it. This one focuses more on the werewolves then the vampires for the first half of the movie... creating a love triangle for Bella. I tell you one thing.. watching this one movie... I seen enough shirtless guys to last a lifetime... had to wonder if some of those guys even owned a shirt. I say turnabout is fair play... how about one with almost constant shirtless girls! LOL.

I must say... and I am not surprised... but I didn't care too much for this one either. I actually prefer the first one to this one. But that could be because I like vampires so much. I found myself struggling to finish this one. Though it did have some decent scenes. I do like the continuation of the bad vampires still after Bella. And of course I did like the vampires vs. Werewolves scenes. Just wish there was more of them.



(From What Movies I Been Watching on September 14th, 2013)

"Stargate SG-1" Marathon, a review by DJ Doena

Synopsis: Another SG team has discovered an ancient ruin and Daniel suspects to find a library in it - similar to the one that loaded all the knowledge of the Ancients into Jack's head. But as soon as they've arrived they are attacked by Anubis's troops who also wants to obtain the knowledge. Thus Jack must once again absorb the knowledge because there's no faster way.
But things are changing on Earth: General Hammond has to stand down and is replaced by Dr. Elizabeth Weir. And then Master Bra'tac is the bearer of bad news: Anubis is gathering his entire fleet to defeat Earth once and for all. There is only one hope left: To find the lost city: terre atlantus - Atlantis.

My Opinion: "The battle's done and we kind of won, so we sound our victory cheer." (Giles in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode Once More, With Feeling) A very good season finale that could have served as series finale, too. The story is very thrilling - I only noticed shortly before the end that this two-parter is edited as feature-length movie on this DVD.
I immediately had the feeling that I know the actress who played Dr. Weir. She flew the shuttle in Armageddon but I knew her as Jennifer "Pilot" Chase from Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future. I could imagine that she would have done well but the producers decided to cast Torri Higginson for Stargate Atlantis.
The battle above Antarctica was great: The BC-303 and an entire squadron of F-302's vs. Al'keshs and Death Gliders and high above in orbit a fleet of approximately 30 Ha'taks. This is what I call a battle.

The Season - My Opinion: The season had a surprising number of episodes that concentrated on single members of SG-1 (especially Sam and Daniel) and where the members of the team are on different missions. It's probably because the producers thought that "SG-1 goes to a planet" has become tiresome.
I wouldn't describe this season as the peak of the series yet I would say that they've past their prime with this one. I will elaborate on that at the end of the eight season.

(From "Stargate SG-1" Marathon on April 19th, 2008)