Customer Reviews

The Competition [VHS]

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The reviews for this movie go back to 1999.If
this isn't evidence enough that people would
buy this movie if it came out on dvd then I don't know what is.
Like all of you I have been waiting for it
to come out on dvd.Luckily I transferred my
entire vhs tape collection onto blank dvd's so they
wouldn't deteriorate any further than they
already had.
If you want this movie put on dvd then click on
yes if you liked this review.
PLEASE PUT IT OUT ON DVD NOW>!!!!!!!!!!!

The romance here is between a pair of virtuoso pianists, Richard Dreyfuss as Paul Dietrich and Amy Irving as Heidi Joan Schoonover, who fall in love during an intense piano competition. It is his chance to compete for such a prize while she gets entered by her teacher without her knowledge. Some political intrique involving a young Russian pianist gives the competitors some down time and the young couple makes the most of it. Okay, so the romance is sappy, I watch this movie for the music. Paul plays Beethoven's "Emperor" Piano Concerto (No. 5 for those who need the number), while Heidi tackles Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3. This is one of those films where you go out and track down the complete piano concertos the first chance you get (For the record, Chester B. Swiatkowski is the actual pianist for the "Emperor" while Daniel Pollack plays the Prokofiev). The supporting performances by Lee Remick as Heidi's teacher Greta Vandemann, and Sam Wanamaker as temperamental conductor Andrew Erskine are both quite excellent. I can never forget Remick's great line to Erskine: "It costs extra to carve schmuck on a tombstone, but you would be worth the expense." Besides, nobody can arch an eyebrow like Lee Remick. The other competitors in the finals are Jerry DiSalvo (Joseph Cali), who is playing the rags to riches angle, Michael Humphries (Ty Henderson), who already has the money, poor little Russian girl Tatjana Baronov (Vicki Kriegler), and the silent Adam Stern (Mark Landau). A nice little movie with great piano music. This 1980 film was directed by Joel Oliansky, who also gets credit for the original story.

I just bought this video to share with my daughter who is a high school musician beginning to seriously compete. I saw it in 1980 when it was released, eight years before she was born, and it has remained in my memory as one of my all-time favorites. I just finished watching it for the first time in 20 years or so. The entire movie looks very late-70s, and Richard Dreyfuss really needs to lose that silly-looking cap, but the power of the music and the message is completely intact. The scene in which Amy Irving performs her concerto is absolutely delicious and riveting. Richard Dreyfuss overacts as usual, but his realization as he listens to her performance backstage that she is, as he puts it, "brilliant," is in itself brilliantly communicated without words. Lee Remick's character provides a kind of narrative frame for Dreyfuss' and Irving's romance, and lends the movie some much-needed zing to balance all that sweetness. As does the delightful Sam Wanamaker, who plays a Leonard Bernstein-type (quite accurate except that Sam's character likes girls). And the music is just extraordinary. Although The Competition is entertaining as a love story, this is most especially a movie for musicians to savor. When I was a music major in college it was those few who were "driven" to create music and felt they had no other choice who were the tortured souls. They reached amazing emotional peaks with their music, but often struggled with despair as well. The rest of us just enjoyed ourselves. The variety of personalities portrayed in this movie is very accurate.

Having been associated with a couple of the people who were in this film - one as a pianist - and having been in competitions like this back at that time - although now as a ragtime player, I have one pressing comment.

DVD DVD Blu-Ray DVD DVD DVD, DVD DVD DVD - DVD DVD DVD DVD DVD. DVD Blu-Ray DVD DVD DVD DVD DVD I-Tunes DVD, DVD DVD DVD Blu-Ray I-Tunes DVD DVD.

DVD DVD DVD DVD People will buy it DVD DVD Optical Storage. DVD Special Features DVD Blu-Ray DVD DVD what's the holdup DVD DVD Blu-Ray Red-Ray DVD DVD.

Amazon DVD Dreyfuss sells DVD DVD Irving is cute DVD DVD.

And to quote from the film for whoever may be holding up the DVD release, - "If it costs extra to put the word sc**mk on your headstone it would be worth every penny."

DVD, DVD buyer.

I have literally worn out my video of this movie, which I guess I've had for about 15 years - about time to replace it!

The Competition has always been one of my favorite movies - combining classical piano concertos, somewhat-sappy-yet-realistic romance, and a young sexy Richard Dreyfuss (seriously, I love him, esp. his early work, swoon) as an abrasive yet charasmatic concert pianist.

This is one of the few movies I can quote the dialogue from in everyday conversation, love it.

A fun, romatic movie with usual settings and unusual confrontations. It NEEDS a DVD release!!!!!

Just a short review of a movie I would immediately buy if released on DVD. I saw this movie with a group of piano students about 25 years ago, and it seemed to embody much of the angst, joys, and politics of this type of competition. Although somewhat trite, the movie provided a theme for a group of college aged music students to identify with. I check about once a year to see if this movie is available on DVD, and alas---not yet. I will keep checking in hopes that the studios will see this little gem for what it is!

One of the greatest movies with piano music and brillant love story between two great actors. The piano music is superb! I loved this movie. It is one of my favorites but I can only purchase it if it becomes available on DVD now...please!!!

This movie is something of an underground classic in the world of musicians/pianists. It seems like most of the pianists I've talked to over the years have seen this and love to talk about it, especially the piano "faking", which is done so well, it actually fooled my piano teacher. Unlike most other movies that show a well-known actor playing the piano from only the chest up, this one keeps the hands and body in full view during the crucial scenes, instead of cutting back and a forth to a close-up of a stand-in's hands. Richard and Amy reportedly spent several months learning how to fake the moves required to make the piano playing look believable, and the results are astounding. The actual piano on the soundtrack was recorded by others, but you'd never know it just from watching the movie. The story line is very touching and has many moments that ring true, especially the portrayal of what we have to give up for the sake of our art.
This is the movie that I have watched over the years when I don't feel like practicing, or when I need to be inspired to keep pushing ahead at the keyboard. No, this didn't win any awards, and some people unfairly dismiss it, but in my book, it's still a classic.

...for the DVD. It won't be any more or less dated when it comes. It was a sappy love story in 1980, almost embarrassing, but looking at it now I'm surprised by how well it was put together, without any computer effects, without 5-second cuts for short attention spans, etc. The acting is competent, but it's the music that carries the film. The sexual energy comes from Prokofieff, not Amy Irving.

I used to get residuals twice a year from this, my only major Hollywood gig, but the checks stopped last year. Possibly my contract ran out, or perhaps they stopped showing it on Romanian TV. So scream for the DVD, friends! I can always use the cash. And if you enjoyed the Where's Waldo books, you can play Where's Giordano with this film. I dig out the VHS once in a while just to amaze new acquaintances.