"The Competition" did not shortchange viewers on glorious music! The premise of a piano competition taking place in San Francisco was a springboard not only for the beautiful sights of the City by the Bay, but for magnificently performed classical music.
Two competitors, Richard Dreyfuss's Paul and Amy Irving's Heidi, fall in love in the course of the competition. The screenplay is over-the-top in the excesses of melodrama with the characters on a roller-coaster romance. Paul is the uptight perfectionist, driven to succeed. Heidi is the laid-back Polyanna, who serves to steady the nerves of her Type-A lover. The cast is nicely rounded out with Lee Remick as Heidi's hard-driving mentor and Sam Wanamaker as the stern conductor.
Given the intensity of the competition and the unfolding love connection, the most memorable part of the film is the Paul's rendition of Beethoven's Emperor Concerto and Irving's stunning performance of Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3. The actors were convincing as the pianists, and nothing was spared in the production values.
This film was made in 1980, and it is difficult to imagine the high-caliber of filmmaking and the commitment made to sustained scenes of music in today's world of brief sound bytes. For this reason, "The Competition" is a film to be savored and treasured. Even the theme song, "People Alone" was a terrific ballad that worked in counterpoint with the classical music.
Sit back, enjoy, and listen to the music!
Two competitors, Richard Dreyfuss's Paul and Amy Irving's Heidi, fall in love in the course of the competition. The screenplay is over-the-top in the excesses of melodrama with the characters on a roller-coaster romance. Paul is the uptight perfectionist, driven to succeed. Heidi is the laid-back Polyanna, who serves to steady the nerves of her Type-A lover. The cast is nicely rounded out with Lee Remick as Heidi's hard-driving mentor and Sam Wanamaker as the stern conductor.
Given the intensity of the competition and the unfolding love connection, the most memorable part of the film is the Paul's rendition of Beethoven's Emperor Concerto and Irving's stunning performance of Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3. The actors were convincing as the pianists, and nothing was spared in the production values.
This film was made in 1980, and it is difficult to imagine the high-caliber of filmmaking and the commitment made to sustained scenes of music in today's world of brief sound bytes. For this reason, "The Competition" is a film to be savored and treasured. Even the theme song, "People Alone" was a terrific ballad that worked in counterpoint with the classical music.
Sit back, enjoy, and listen to the music!