I’ve just finished watching the director’s cut of this film - and indeed reading up on it on Wikipedia. Apparently the director cut out a few things that weren’t essential to the plot simply to help get the length down originally for the cinematic release, but when it came to the DVD, figured it didn’t matter as the viewers had their own time to watch it in.
I liked what they said about it being “a three hour film about classical music made right at the height of MTV”. This is actually similar to what happened in 1977, when right at the height of the punk revolution, Paul McCartney got to no1 on the charts with “Mull Of Kintyre”, which sounded so like a traditional folk song that people struggled to believe he’d written it himself.
Actually, speaking of things reminding me of other musicians, the debauchery of Mozart here is reminiscent of Freddie Mercury - whose life story is being told in a film due for release very soon as it happens!
OK, what I think of the film itself - well, it’s not something I’d naturally turn to, but it’s very impressive. The intensity works. You said the Austrian setting is almost a character in itself, I’d say that more about the music. It’s a great way to showcase Mozart’s prodigious output to an audience who might not be that well up on it. Obviously a lot of the viewers will know every note of his work by heart, but there’s plenty who won’t.
I think the film takes a few liberties with history, inevitably as it’s based on a play which is based on an opera which is based on another play, but it tells a story well enough. Despite the lavish production scale, the characters shine through, and it all boils down to one man’s envy of another. F. Murray Abraham, whom I knew from Star Trek Insurrection (the first Trek film I saw in the cinema, incidentally), was excellent as Salieri - he conveyed so much simply with his tone of voice, and that tone said at least as much as the words themselves. Tom Hulce as Mozart - yes, like I said before, reminiscent of Freddie Mercury, and possessed of an intensity that reflected in whatever he was doing, be it writing music or gallivanting with women.
Actually, the compositional element was one area that fascinated me as a songwriter - and when Mozart and Salieri are working on the requiem, you can hear the parts in their minds, and you know they’re getting a real buzz out of it. I get the same feeling when I’m writing a song and come up with something that I know is just right for it. It’s an excitement that I doubt even Meg Ryan could fake.
One thing that grated on me were the American accents in what was meant to be Austria. It’s a minor quibble, but they could have at least tried to sound a bit more neutral. (This is also my one major quibble with the 1948 version of The Three Musketeers.)
Perhaps the most notable thing about this film though, is that because of its success, Salieri’s music has enjoyed a major revival. What he himself would make of that, I wouldn’t like to guess, given the circumstances!
All in all though, yes, good.