A coliseum-sized event! A Jewish nobleman is enslaved but survives to triumph over his Roman tormentors in a furious chariot race. Charlton Heston heads the cast of this winner of 11 Academy Awards, seen in a breathtaking new digital transfer in refurbished digital stereo, now at its lowest-ever and making its long-awaited DVD debut!
On his deathbed, Court Composer Antonio Salieri confesses to having killed Mozart, the Genius composer. Flashback to Mozart's arrival in Vienna. His brash and vulgar manner is the antithesis of his divine musical gift. Salieri cannot reconcile that God would endow such genius on this coarse boy. The story unfolds as Mozart becomes more and more popular and Salieri becomes more obsessed with destroying him and getting his revenge on God. Using his influence, Salieri drives his rival to poverty.
Choreographer-turned-director Bob Fosse (Cabaret, Lenny) turns the camera on himself in this nervy, sometimes unnerving 1979 feature, a nakedly autobiographical piece that veers from gritty drama to razzle-dazzle musical, allegory to satire. It's an indication of his bravura, and possibly his self-absorption, that Fosse (who also cowrote the script) literally opens alter ego Joe Gideon's heart in a key scene--an unflinching glimpse of cardiac surgery, shot during an actual open-heart procedure.
