The Competition

Director: Joel Oliansky Joel Oliansky

Overview

While competing against each other in a music contest, two pianists (Richard Dreyfuss, Amy Irving) fall in love and must battle to stay together in case either of them wins. The film was Oscar-nominated for Best Song and Best Film Editing.

Product Details

Release Date:	07/03/2012
UPC:	0043396404946
Original Release:	1980
Rating:	PG
Source:	ALLIED VAUGHN
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Sales rank:	37,461

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Richard Dreyfuss	Paul Dietrich
Amy Irving	Heidi Joan Schoonover
Lee Remick	Greta Vandemann
Sam Wanamaker	Erskine
Joseph Cali	Jerry DiSalvo
Ty Henderson	Michael Humphries
Vickie Kriegler	Tatiana Baronov,Tatjana Baronova
Adam Stern	Mark Landau
Philip Sterling	Mr. Dietrich
Gloria Stroock	Mrs. Dietrich
Della Salvi	Mrs. DiSalvo,Mrs. DiSalvo
Priscilla Pointer	Mrs. Donellan
Bea Silvern	Mme. Gorshev
James B. Sikking	Brudnell
Elaine Welton Hill	Mitzi
Ben Hammer	Nichols
Jennifer Shull	Actor
Rhio H. Blair	Karnow
Ross Evans	Judge Heimling
Sterling Swanson	Rudko
Jimmy Sturtevant	Vinnie DiSalva
Kathy Talbot	Denise DiSalva
Lalo Schifrin	Composer
Ralph Grierson	Composer

Technical Credits

Joel Oliansky	Director
Howard Pine	Executive Producer
William Sackheim	Producer
Tex Rudloff	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

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.