to win best picture that year, but, you know, fantasy and sci-fi doesn t usually win oscars. what wins oscars is epic. amadeus is a kind of meditation on genius. i know your work well, signore. do you know why? i actually composed some variations on a melody of yours. which one? well, i m flattered. funny little tune, but it yielded some good things. the protagonist of the movie is not mozart. it is salieri who is actually deficient. he s not a great artist. he doesn t have great inspiration. he s jealous of mozart who does. shouldn t it be a bit more or this. this. yes. the most intelligent and rational individual in the movie is the jealous figure who isn t particularly talented and the least rational and mature figure