Le concours

The stars of this film spent months learning how to play piano and mimic the finger movements of piano prodigies. That is one reason it feels authentic. Its two stars, Richard Dreyfuss and Amy Irving, do a good job of balancing the drama of a prestigious piano competition with the joys of young love.

Lee Remick is wonderful as the protective mentor of Irving. And Sam Wanamaker is convincing as the Bernstein-like conductor who oversees the competition and rules his own little musical kingdom.

The story has to do with whether or not the two young pianists can compete in the cut-throat world of career-making competitions and still maintain a relationship. The script never becomes too mawkish. And the musical excerpts are a bonus.

First the flaws: the extraneous characters of the various competitors are pretty blatant stereotypes, not offensive, but not particularly compelling either. The time spent on them would have been better spent on further development of the relationship between Paul (Richard Dreyfuss) and Heidi (Amy Irving) two pianists facing off in the same competition who fall in love while preparing for it. Secondly, the "contemporary" music...it was released in 1980, but all you hear in bars and at parties is disco music. It makes everything seem a little too quaint and cute to be real.

Moments of greatness: The clashes and arguments that ensue between Paul and Heidi make it obvious why they fall in love, but it happens very quickly. Which is fine in a standard romance, but that isn't what this movie is. These two people are complex individuals with various insecurities and desires that make the love story so great, so interesting and so real. But the ending feels strange...a lot happens before the film's resolution, and leaves me feeling that the characters haven't been explored enough. The movie's shining moment is during the second half of the competition, when Paul has already played and Heidi proceeds to blow him out of the water. Irving's performance onstage is totally convincing, and Dreyfuss conveys an incredible amount of emotion and intelligence simply in his reactions to the piece.

The tension here is incredible, and very, very real. A good movie--one that dares to show its characters in an unglamorous, real way few movies have

Ostensibly about the competitiveness between gifted young pianists, this picture is actually about ambition, disappointment, sacrifice, love, betrayal and a lot more. By the time this film was made, Dreyfuss had already fallen into his period of self-adulation during which he exalted himself, but sometimes, sadly, not his work. Amy Irving had not yet married (and divorced) Steven Spielberg, a move that for many reasons probably ended her career in Hollywood. As leads, they both came to their roles in perfect form, and their intelligent and layered performances are the centerpiece of this astounding ensemble cast.

The movie does a great job of convincing us that we are looking through the keyhole into the rarefied world of young pianists who look upon the likes Vladimir Ashkenazy as a peer while still finding themselves as adults. They angst over their futures, which always seem just out of reach, and then render performances of the classical repertoire that amaze and delight. All the while, they trip through the comically serious pas de deux of youthful obsession.

Lee Remick is stunning as the demanding teacher to Heidi Joan Schoonover (Irving). I get the feeling that the original character was supposed to be a lesbian, but Remick's instrument won't play that note. Instead, she is a hard-nosed, totally serious, single-minded taskmaster who demands, and brings forth, the best from her pupil. Dreyfuss is the driven and desperate young man who, while gifted, has never been able to break through as a serious musician, and who, hounded by financial responsibilities and tempted by a job that cannot possibly provide more than a paycheck, runs the risk of being washed up at 25.

They become romantically involved, much to Remick's dismay, only to find themselves competing head to head for the most coveted prize in their field. Can they work it out knowing that only one of them can win? Hey, it's the 80's!

There are basically two kinds of movies. Those in which things happen, and those in which we get to know the characters. This is a shining example of the latter. I've loved this film since its original release, but I still yearn for a DVD edition.

Amy Irving, Richard Dreyfuss, Lee Remick, and Sam Wanamaker star in "The Competition," a 1980 film, written and directed by Joel Oliansky.

The story concerns pianists gathering for the semifinals of a competition in San Francisco. Paul Dietrich (Dreyfuss) has one last shot at a career as a pianist, given his age, and the fact that his parents have been supporting him, and his dad is in bad shape.

Heidi (Irving) knew Paul from a summer program. She studies with a top teacher, Greta Vandeman (Remick) and is there basically to see how far she can go. Despite Paul's attempts to put off the smitten Heidi, he finally admits his feelings, and the two fall in love.

Greta isn't happy - she's afraid Heidi is going to lose her competitive edge and take a back seat so that Paul can win.

This very good movie is just about overshadowed by the brilliant music and the magnificent fingerings and look of the actors as they're playing. They obviously had the benefit of great coaching.

The film gives a realistic look at the tension of competitions, and the various states of mind that people have going into them. For Paul, it's his last shot; the Joseph Cali character wants to use it as a steppingstone to Vegas and a Liberace-type act; Heidi has nothing to lose. There is a lot of psychoanalysis throughout the film, which some may find off-putting. It does go on.

Amy Irving is an excellent actress, and she does a beautiful job here. Dreyfuss is also excellent, coming off as desperate, arrogant, and sad. Lee Remick is the ultimate piano teacher who knows too well the pitfalls of being a woman, particularly a woman in love.

If you like classical piano, don't miss "The Competition."

The Competition (1980)

The Main Cast:

Richard Dreyfuss (Paul Dietrich) Amy Irving (Heidi Joan Schoonover) Lee Remick (Greta Vandemann)

Two concert pianists, played by Richard Dreyfuss and Amy Irving, fall in love at a prestigeous competition they are finalists in, but there is much more to the story than that. The film gives an insight as to what takes place in those competitions during which the participants must be aware of and protect themselves from the "competitive edge" of the other pianists. The acting by the entire cast and the directing is exceptional, but what is more exceptional than that is the fingersynching of the actors while appearing to actually play the piano. The late Lee Remick is outstanding as Amy Irving's teacher. A thoroughly enjoyable film with great acting, script, direction and music. A tip of the hat should go to Jean Evensen Shaw and her assistant Dorothy Hull for tutoring the actors about where, when and how to place their fingers on the keyboard. But, since nothing is ever perfect, I can still imagine James Mason, who wasn't in the movie, rapping the knuckles of a few of the pianists because of poor hand position. Richard Dreyfuss was the worst. Amy Irving was perfect! She had her hands always above the keys and did a stellar job of fingersynching the playing of Sergei Prokofiev's Piano Concerto #3, which is actually played by Daniel Pollack. The 5 minutes and 25 seconds Amy Irving spent at the piano during the performance of that piece was one of the highlights of the film. I can't praise this film too highly. However, the end left something to be desired, although not as much as one would think. But I would be remiss in my praise if I didn't at least give the lion's share of the credit to Joel Oliansky for all the hard work he and his crew put into the making of this film and getting it to the public.