ClassyWas Excellent, smart action film.

PiraBit if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Ogosmith Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Tyreece Hulme One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

jperl66 Based on previous comments and critical reviews, I went to see this movie. I expected to see a well made documentary about Mozart's life, a composer I love to listen to and whose home I have visited. I was very disappointed. There was nothing new in this movie that made me sit up and take notice. You might learn a little about Mozart's life if you knew nothing, but taken as a whole, I was unimpressed with the details that were presented. You could not get emotionally involved with this genius by watching this movie. The presentation in many respects is unfortunate. Interviewees spoke in their native tongue, no translations were given. Now I know a little German, so I could understand those speakers, but the Italian, French and whatever other languages were spoken were beyond me and I'm sure to most other viewers. There was also no identification of who the interviewees were, so you could not relate to them in any way.

miknnik For someone who would like to explore Mozart's music and/or learn more about his life, this documentary will be an excellent source of both. Except for Great G minor (K.550--on the selection screen on DVD) and Clarinet Concerto in A (K.622), which we hear at the very beginning, the viewers can listen to Mozart's compositions in a chronological order mostly and hear the progression of his composition skills. And how fast he progresses! As one of the interviewees in the film says, Mozart's life and the development of his musical talent were as if they had been on the fast-forward. The documentary showcases a wide range of musical genres--sonatas, concerti, symphonies, operas, motets, string quartets, and more. World-class musicians and conductors explain the technical aspects of certain pieces and talk about the emotions they evoke. We also journey through Mozart's life following some excerpts of his and his parents' letters and video clips of the cities he visited during his lifetime.If you are a Mozart aficionado and have been gathering any scrap of information on Mozart over the years, you won't find anything earth-shattering in the film. After all, Mozart's life has been well chronicled through his correspondence and other forms of documents. The information the documentary provides is on the conservative side. I could not help smiling when I read the producer's note at the end; that Mozart probably died of rheumatic fever and kidney failure, and that he was not poisoned. I get this feeling that Phil Grabsky doesn't approve of the portrayal of Mozart in Amadeus. Attributing Mozart's death to rheumatic fever and renal failure has been one of the main theories for decades, but what about other possibilities? Only a year or two ago, I read a newspaper article, which claimed Mozart might have died of trichinosis. The article was fascinating, but Mozart's death is one of many mysteries we will never be able to solve. For music connoisseurs, this film has a great appeal with Renée Fleming, Lang Lang, Sir Roger Norrington and others affectionately and passionately speaking of Mozart's music. And let's fact it, you don't get to hear Mozart's first compositions on keyboard or early operas often even if you listen to an all-classical format radio station. In addition, you get to hear the samples of well-known, and not so well-known pieces by Mozart.There's a Japanese proverb on prodigies that goes like this: A prodigy (literal translation: divine child) at age ten, a whiz at fifteen, just a man at twenty and over. I suppose Mozart himself, and In Search of Mozart to a certain extent, proved that even ancient oriental wisdom can be wrong every once in a century or two.

alan-goldman I was recently given the DVD as a present which was a little surprising as I am not normally a fan of this type of film and would not normally choose to buy such a film , however I found it absolutely fascinating and thoroughly enjoyed it. It certainly gave me an insight into the world of Mozart. I thought the Direction & Acting was first class and it brought to life , for me the period and times of Mozart. I would recommend this film to anyone . Watching this film has given me the incentive to become a little more adventurous in my choice of subject and I will be looking to view other films of this type and by this Director.

SteveLondon Stunning. Bought the DVD but loved seeing it in the cinema more. And hearing it too. I really liked the voices used - Sam West to read Mozart was smart but Juliet Stephenson narrating added a lovely tone (and a female side to a largely male film). The thing that impresses at first is the wide variety of interviewees and performers - I loved Ronald Brautigam and also the Orchestra of the 18th century. Lang Lang is funny and endearing too. Most insightful historians were Jonathan Miller and Cliff Eisen - but it's a cracking good story well told. I'd have liked it longer but that's because sometimes the music extracts seem a bit short but there's a lot to fit in. Beautiful camera-work but best of all is the editing - what a task that must have been. Best of all: no dramatic reconstructions apart from one or two stagecoach wheels turning here and there (not really needed but no big deal). Def recommend you make the effort to see it.