Main Cast: Richard Dreyfuss, Amy Irving, Lee Remick, Sam Wanamaker, Joseph Cali, Ty Henderson
Release Year: 1980
Country: US
Run Time: 129 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Can two prodigies fall in love and stay in love, even when they are competing against one another in an international piano competition? Richard Dreyfuss and Amy Irving attempt to answer that question in The Competition. Richard Dreyfuss plays Paul Dietrich, a shabby prodigy slouching past the thirty year mark. Embittered at never having won an international competition and being pushed and prodded by his parents, Paul decides to enter one last time and, if he fails, he will devote himself to teaching. Since this is his last chance, he throws himself into the competition with an energy and determination comparable to Duddy Kravitz. During preparations for the competition he meets Heidi (Amy Irving), a natural talent who is does not have Paul's drive to succeed. Heidi takes one look at Paul and immediately falls in love with him. Paul feels an attraction for her but holds his feelings in check, trying to center himself on winning the competition. Looking at the burgeoning love affair with dread is Heidi's possessive music teacher Greta Vandemann (Lee Remick), who sees Heidi's relationship with Paul as compromising her talent and jeopardizing her standing in the competition. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
Review
Fans of classical music may enjoy this film despite its pedestrian love story and Richard Dreyfuss' acting. (His performance earned him a 1981 Razzie nomination for worst actor of the year.) What makes The Competition worth watching -- or at least listening to -- is the piano music. It soars. Daniel Pollack, who debuted at age nine with the New York Philharmonic in a performance of Chopin's piano Concerto No. 1, plays for Amy Irving's character, Heidi Schoonover. Chester B. Swiatkowski, a Polish-American pianist with considerable technical skill, plays for Dreyfuss' character, Paul Dietrich. The production gives plenty of ear time to the selections, which include Beethoven's Concerto No. 5 and Prokofiev's Concerto No. 3. Thanks to months of practice at the keyboard, Dreyfuss and Irving convincingly synchronize their finger movements to the music. Consequently, viewers see what appears to be real virtuoso performances, with judges listening for appropriately executed crescendos and diminuendos or for evidence of rubato. The story has something of the quality of a dignified barroom brawl (last one standing wins) or an episode of the popular TV series Survivor. Between cadenzas, Schoonover and Dietrich fall in love, leaving viewers wondering whether either of them will deliberately play badly to throw victory to the other. Sam Wanamaker and Lee Remick give yeomanly supporting performances as orchestra conductor Andrew Erskine and Schoonover's teacher, Greta Vandemann. ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide
James B. Sikking - Brudnell; Vickie Kriegler - Tatiana Baronov; Adam Stern - Mark Landau; Bea Silvern - Mme. Gorshev; Philip Sterling - Mr. Dietrich; Gloria Stroock - Mrs. Dietrich; Delia Salvi - Mrs. DiSalvo; Priscilla Pointer - Mrs. Donelian; Ben Hammer - Nichols; Elaine Welton Hill - Mitzi; Sterling Swanson - Rudko; Jennifer Shull; Ross Evans - Judge Heimling
Credit
Ruth Myers - Costume Designer, Jon Anderson - First Assistant Director, Joel Oliansky - Director, David Blewitt - Editor, Howard Pine - Executive Producer, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra - Composer (Music Score), Lincoln Mayorga - Composer (Music Score), Sergey Prokofiev - Composer (Music Score), Lalo Schifrin - Composer (Music Score), Eduardo Delgado - Composer (Music Score), Ralph Grierson - Composer (Music Score), Daniel Pollack - Composer (Music Score), Chester B. Swiatowski - Composer (Music Score), Bruce Miller - Musical Arrangement, Will Jennings - Songwriter, Lalo Schifrin - Songwriter, Dale Hennesy - Production Designer, Richard H. Kline - Cinematographer, Howard Pine - Producer, William Sackheim - Producer, Monroe Sachson - Producer, James W. Payne - Set Designer, Dianne I. Wager - Set Designer, Les Fresholtz - Sound/Sound Designer, Aaron Rochin - Sound/Sound Designer, John Speak - Sound/Sound Designer, Tex Rudloff - Sound/Sound Designer, Joel Oliansky - Screenwriter, William Sackheim - Screenwriter, James Seidelman - Additional Editing, Fryderyc Chopin - Featured Music
Paul Dietrich is an extremely gifted but disillusioned classical pianist, running out of time to prove himself. He logically believes that the time has come for him to give up performing in amateur contests and accept a paying position as a music teacher at a school.
Against his better judgment, Paul decides to travel to San Francisco for an international piano competition. It could cost him the job back home, where his father is seriously ill, but he feels that he needs to take one last stab at success as a musician.
The competition for a financial grant and performing engagements with famed conductor Andrew Erskine pits the intense and arrogant Paul against a select group of talented artists. He advances to the final cut of six, which includes a brash New Yorker named Jerry DiSalvo who knows how to play only one concerto, a sophisticated world traveler named Michael Humphries who likes to rehearse in the nude, and a meek Russian girl named Tatjana Baronova who disrupts the contest by seeking political asylum in the U.S.
Another contestant is Heidi Joan Schoonover, a wealthy young American who has felt a romantic inclination toward Paul ever since meeting him briefly at a previous competition. Heidi is scolded by her esteemed music teacher, Greta, not to let personal matters interfere with her concentration. And she is rebuffed rudely by Paul, who also doesn't care to be distracted.
Paul's resolve weakens, though, and he and Heidi fall in love. Just before the competition, she realizes how much winning means to Paul and she wants to drop out. But he persuades her to play.
The competition begins and everyone is excellent. But partway through her performance, Heidi's piano has a tuning malfunction and she is forced to stop. Rather than fold under pressure, Heidi angrily demands a new concerto and performs it with magnificence. She is voted the winner, with Paul finishing in second place.
Heidi is happy because she and Paul have agreed to form a partnership, combining their talents and resources no matter which of them wins. But to her surprise, Paul petulantly walks out on her yet again.
However, at a victory party following the performance, he eventually comes to his senses and returns to be a part of her celebration of winning the competition.
A few other films with a similar theme, e.g. someone with a love for classical music and their journey as a result of their passion include Mr. Holland's Opus and August Rush.
