Paul Dietrich, at almost 30 years old, is a fading piano prodigy. Heidi Schoonover is a talented young pianist with a promising future. When Paul hears of an upcoming competition that could ... Read allPaul Dietrich, at almost 30 years old, is a fading piano prodigy. Heidi Schoonover is a talented young pianist with a promising future. When Paul hears of an upcoming competition that could make his career, he dedicates himself to winning.Paul Dietrich, at almost 30 years old, is a fading piano prodigy. Heidi Schoonover is a talented young pianist with a promising future. When Paul hears of an upcoming competition that could make his career, he dedicates himself to winning.
- Nominated for 2 Oscars
- 5 nominations total
- Brudenell
- (as James B. Sikking)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn addition to coaching the film's six "competitors" in piano technique, Jean Evensen Shaw stayed on throughout the production, providing technical advice. Actress Lee Remick recalled that Shaw's help was "invaluable. Remick recalls that Shaw's help was "invaluable. Remick explained: "She kept us from making awful mistakes for which a real musician would have hooted us off the screen". One such scene was a verbal sparring match between Lee Remick) and Amy Irving over Richard Dreyfuss' intrusion in their well-ordered lives. Both women are sipping wine and as the argument escalates, Remick puts her goblet down on the sounding board of a grand piano and rises to confront her student."No, no." Shaw cried out as if in personal pain: "I don't care how excited you are. You must never put food or drink near such a beautiful instrument. You could damage it forever". The scene was re-staged.
- GoofsGreta, a legendary pianist, mentions the "una corda" pedal, but pronounces it "yoo-na kor-da". This is not the proper way and any musician knows it is "oo-na", not "yoo-na".
- Quotes
Greta Vandemann: [Lighting a cigarette] Ludwig Von Beethoven taught Carl Czerny, who taught Leschetizky, who taught Schnabel, who taught Renaldi, who taught me. And now the sixth pianist in a direct line from Beethoven is standing here staring at me in her Jordan Marsh mix-and-match.
Heidi Joan Schoonover: You shouldn't smoke.
- Alternate versionsABC edited 31 minutes from this film for its 1985 network television premiere
- ConnectionsFeatured in Sneak Previews: Eyewitness/Tess/The Competition/The Dogs of War (1981)
- SoundtracksLove Theme - The Competition (People Alone)
Music by Lalo Schifrin
Lyrics by Will Jennings
Sung by Randy Crawford
Produced & Arranged by Ed Freeman (uncredited)
Courtesy of MCA Records
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
- rad111
- Aug 10, 2001
- How long is The Competition?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Das große Finale
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $10,100,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $14,287,755
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $76,163
- Dec 7, 1980
- Gross worldwide
- $14,287,755
- Runtime2 hours 3 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1