I would suggest this to everyone who liked the original. The extra footage adds so much more to the story, and the restored film sounds and looks so great. I can see why they kept out some footage, because now it’s rated R instead of PG, but the footage really adds alot to the movie. I don’t know whether or not it’s playling many places, but it’s worth seeking out.
The additional footage with Elizabeth Berridge as Mozart’s wife helps explain her overtly inhospitatable reaction when she comes home to find Salieri attending her husband – a scene that never made sense to me in the original cut. Other than that, the new footage doesn’t enhance the story that much, but the remixed soundtrack is great, especially if you can se it in some place like the new Arclight Theatres, adjacent to the Cinerama Dome, in Hollywood.
By the way, you can read producer Saul Zaent’s explanation for the restoration job here:
Aaaargh…I live in Houston and I can’t find a single theater anywhere in town that is showing this. If anyone knows of one please e-mail me. My SO in Toronto has already watched it on an IMAX screen. 
But now it has waaay “too many notes.”
I think that the scene with the dogs and later of Mozart going back there really help the script in showing how desperate he became alot.
I have a feeling you’re right about this. I love the original and think it’s about as close to perfect as a movie gets so I’m not thrilled by the prospect of extra padding.
Recently, I’ve become increasingly dismayed by filmmakers constantly mucking with their past works and wish they’d have the sense to leave well-enough alone. Far too often these types of shennanigans have resulted in a crappier, more bloated product, e.g., George Lucas and his damned digital crayons, the ridiculous new ending to The Exorcist, the seemingly endless colony scenes in Aliens, etc. Given this kind of track record, you’ll forgive me if I remain skeptical about the quality of this cut.
Having said that, I’d love to see this on the big screen and am seriously considering making the 1 1/2 hour drive to Toronto to see it. Man, I hate living in a cultural backwater.
Well, you’re right to be skeptical, but we shouldn’t dismiss the concept of a “director’s cut” across the board. Many films have suffered at the hands of studio interference, so it’s great that sometimes get a second chance to show the film they way they wanted it to be seen.
Where we run into problems is in situations like the STAR WARS films, which were retooled in order to make their theatrical re-release more marketable, after years of availability on TV and home video.
steve biodrowski
www.thescriptanalyst.com