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The Little Mermaid wasn't our usual sort of movie but it would be hard to argue that it wasn't both a fun and artful movie. This week, Democracy is again dead because we're following the club's birthday boy rules and letting ace-1 choose from the movie queue! And he has, perhaps predictably, Miloš Forman's Mozart-derived drama Amadeus (1984)! You can join us this Friday via Discord to watch along. Please note that due to Amadeus' run time we are starting at 9 PM Eastern instead of 10 PM, one hour earlier than usual.
Our main connection to this film is the Wing Commander IV introduction which features a ship named Amadeus which is destroyed by Seether in a test of the flash-pak. The Amadeus is a Clarkson-class ship, the Confederation transport type introduced in Wing Commander III, which features medical segments instead of cargo pods. Its "class A" distress call says that it is an unarmed Confederation medical transport designated MOD-SB71 which is evacuating civilian refugees to Megaron.
One of my favorite parts of the intro, which Chris Roberts famously reworked just before the game shipped, is the ever-so-brief composite shot of the Amadeus' passengers visible out Seether's cockpit which is then followed by a shot of their perspective watching him fly past. It's a couple frames that serves to humanize the situation so much more than would've otherwise happened!
The Amadeus also appears in-game; the Lexington discovers it at the end of Hellespont B1 (complete with skeletons floating outside).
Where can I find a copy of the movie for the watch party?
PLEASE NOTE we will we be watching the theatrical cut of the film (161m) rather than the later director's cut (180m). Both are readily available online so make sure you get the right one! Amadeus is available for rent or purchase on all of the standard streaming services. If you would like a physical copy, it was released on UHD in the US in 2025 and remains in print around the world. If you are not able to locate a copy please stop by the Discord and ping a CIC staff member before Friday's showing.
How do we watch the movie together?
It's pretty low tech! Simply join the Wing Commander CIC Discord on Friday and we will be chatting (in text) along with the film in the main channel. Everyone who wants to join in should bring their own copy and we will count down to play them together at 9 PM EST. THIS IS ONE HOUR BEFORE THE USUAL START TIME. Everyone is welcome and we encourage you to join in the conversation; sharing your thoughts helps make the experience better for everyone!
How can I help pick future movie club movies?
The movie club movies are voted on each week by the Wing Commander Discord. The poll is typically posted 24 hours before each week's screening and the next movie is announced at the end. The choices for the poll come from a master pool of Wing Commander-related movies. If you would like to suggest a film for inclusion in that pool you can post it to this thread.
