Synopsis:

The original 160-minute 'Theatrical Cut' of 'Amadeus' that won multiple Oscars and BAFTAs in 1984 only exists on an old poor quality 1998 PAL "flipper" DVD (and Laserdisc and VHS). Every release since then (including all blu-rays) has been the 180-minute 'Director's Cut'. I simply wanted to cut the DC blu-ray to match the TC DVD, so I have both cuts as an option.

Intentions:

Cut the blu-ray down to time with the DVD, down to the exact frame. Restore any missing footage with DVD material as seamlessly as possible. Cut the blu-ray commentary down to fit the DVD runtime, for another optional audio track.

Change List:

00.00.00 - Replaced modern 'Warner Bros' titlecard with original 'Orion Pictures' titlecard from 'The Terminator' blu-ray (Matted from widescreen down to scope). 00.02.57 - Erased additional "Director's Cut" title using the same area from the shot on the TC DVD. 00.03.34 - Erased additional "Kenneth McMillan" credit using the same area from the shot on the TC DVD. 00.13.48 - Added two "new" frames and removed 26-seconds of DC footage. 00.13.49 - Added 2-second shot from TC DVD. 00.13.51 - Added "new" frame. 00.18.46 - Added "new" frame. 00.18.51 - Added "new" frame. 00.21.24 - Added "new" frame. 00.23.48 - Added 4-seconds of TC DVD footage, blended into the DC footage to extend two shots. 00.23.50 - Removed 18-seconds of DC footage. 00.28.59 - Added two "new" frames and removed 4-seconds of DC footage. 00.37.55 - Added two "new" frames. 00.40.55 - Added two "new" frames. 00.46.40 - Added "new" frame and added 2-second shot from TC DVD. 00.46.42 - Added "new" frame and removed 2-minutes of DC footage. 00.46.58 - Added "new" frame and added 2-second shot from TC DVD. 00.47.00 - Added "new" frame and removed 30-seconds of DC footage. 00.47.17 - Added 2 "new" frames and removed 27-seconds of DC footage. 00.51.18 - Added 7-seconds of TC DVD footage, blended into the DC footage to extend two shots. 00.51.24 - Removed 1.5 minutes of DC footage. 00.53.07 - Added two "new" frames. 00.57.28 - Added "new" frame and added 6-seconds of TC DVD footage. 00.57.34 - Added "new" frame and removed 1-minute of DC footage. 00.57.45 - Added "new" frame and removed 5-minutes of DC footage. 00.57.46 - Added 2-seconds of TC DVD footage, blended into the DC footage to extend a shot. 00.57.49 - Added 2-seconds of TC DVD footage, blended into the DC footage to extend a shot. 00.57.51 - Trimmed DC shot by 1-second to match almost identical TC shot 00.58.07 - Added "new" frame. 00.58.25 - Trimmed DC shot by 1-second and added 10-second shot from TC DVD. 00.58.35 - Added "new" frame. 00.59.18 - Reordered all the footage of Mozart welcoming his father back to the way it was and blended in shots/frames from the TC DVD to fill in the gaps. Removed 14-seconds of DC footage. 00.59.56 - Shortened two sots by 6-frames total 01.01.58 - Added two "new" frames. 01.07.52 - Added two "new" frames and removed 4-seconds of DC footage. 01.11.24 - Added "new" frame, removed 40-seconds of DC footage and added 32-seconds of TC DVD footage. 01.11.59 - Added two "new" frames. 01.20.03 - Added two "new" frames. 01.22.11 - Removed 1-second of DC footage and added "new" frame. 01.37.22 - Added "new" frame. 01.42.55 - Removed 7-seconds of blank TC DVD footage (at the DVD flip point) and added two "new" frames. 01.55.01 - Added "new" frame and removed 2.5-minutes of DC footage. 01.55.46 - Removed 6-frames of DC footage. 02.01.09 - Added "new" frame, removed 4-seconds of DC footage and added 3-seconds of TC DVD footage. 02.01.12 - Added "new" frame. 02.16.10 - Added "new" frame. 02.19.36 - Added two "new" frames. 02.34.22 - Replaced 5.5-minutes of DC credits, with 5.5-minutes of TC DVD credits. Not Changed: 00.02.41 - Not replaced opening titles. They are re-composited very slightly differently for the DC but it's the same text (apart from two places that I fixed), the same font and the same timing as the TC. IMO Leaving in the clean HD versions is infinity preferable to replacing then with frame-accurate but obviously super low-res versions. 00.57.51 - Left in alternate 16-second take of crucifix, as the difference is almost imperceptible IMO (you have to closely compare frames to be sure it's a different take). Trimmed 14 frames.

Additional Notes:

- Conformed DC blu-ray frame-by-frame to the old PAL "flipper" TC DVD (which was converted back to film-speed). - Whenever a cut was made for the DC there tended to be one or two frames spliced. To replace these missing frames I created new ones combining elements from both the DC and TC, then graded and adjusted to match. - Upscaled TC DVD footage using 'Super-Resolution' in VirtualDub plus various filters in Vegas. It's still way below the clarity of the blu-ray footage but as it only makes up 0.9% of the runtime it's not very distracting. Also graded to remove heavy red-shift and to match blu-ray. - Edited DC blu-ray commentary track to fit TC runtime. To do this sometimes it meant shifting the audio out of sync with the picture and filling in silences. I felt this was preferable to cutting out parts of the interesting chat.

Other Sources:

Amadeus - Director's Cut 2009 blu-ray Amadeus - Theatrical Cut 1998 PAL (Flipper) DVD The Terminator - 2012 blu-ray

Special Thanks: