MovieChat Forums > The Competition (1980) Discussion > Good movie, getting dated though

Good movie, getting dated though

posted 17 years ago by cjr3559
13 replies | jump to latest

I liked this movie when I was a kid, but watching it again recently made me realize how terribly dated it's become. The story is still great, but man oh man, the styles are BAD. I really felt uncomfortable at the end for the actors involved in the disco scene. Yikes. Call me shallow, but it's time for an update. Plus, most younger people may not understand the relevance of the Russian girl and her mother defecting, since the Soviet Union is no longer around.

Still, it's a neat piece about the life of the competitive musician. I vote for a remake. If King Kong (3 times), Spiderman, Batman, Superman, and every other movie known to man has been remade, then why not this?

[–] chwise309-1 16 years ago

While remakes sometimes work... (in this case it might as the themes are universal)... there are many times that newer is not necessarily better. Take movies like "To Kill a Mockingbird" or "Casablanca"... they are period movies and somewhat dated, but what would be improved by updating them? It's all about the basic themes of the plot and the acting, both of which are superb in the 1980 release of "The Competition". Updating the movie would be a waste of time unless the writing were mainly left alone (not likely in ego-land: a.k.a. Hollywood) or the actors were on the same level as the cast of Irving, Dreyfuss, Remick and Wanamaker (again, not likely). As for the Soviet Union, I hope young people still study history and for that matter current events since, if our buddy Putin has his way, the Soviet Union may not always be a thing of the past.

[–] WarpedRecord 16 years ago

Call me cynical, but I have trouble picturing Hollywood doing a decent remake of this film. I think the major studios are more interested in the dance competitions in "Step Up 2 the Streets," and I doubt classical music would be sexy enough to deliver the coveted opening-weekend box office. But I'd love to be proved wrong.

I completely agree about Putin's longing for the "good old days" of the iron curtain. Remember: Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it!

[–] grifffinity 14 years ago

A Hollywood remake would be:

Robert Pattinson and Amanda Seyfried as the leads. They are both so darn good looking there is a tie - they both WIN!!!!

Johnny Depp as the conductor.

Lindsey Lohan as Mitzi (who is now a mean girl lesbian)

Sassy gay black guy = sassy gay black guy. (That NEVER goes out of style)

Evil Soviet = Evil North Korean

It would be such a piece of trash like everything else produced in Hollywood.

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] bravehome 11 years ago

Sorry, but sassy gay black guy? How many out of style comments does this entail??

Besides, if you really watched the movie, you'd notice he's not 'gay', because he does invite Lee Remick to "stay after the festivities' for a little party of their own....

[–] pouncemo 9 years ago

The black guy was gay?

[–] jakob3 12 years ago

Should not be remade: the Remick / Irving & Remick / Wanamaker / Dreyfuss
angles only work in the late 1970's, when a paleo-feminist could relive
her life (w/o falling for the Schmuck's BS)thru a 2nd-heneration feminist like Heide, onlt to be surprised by a struggling post-MC Pig like Paul. Those social dynamics are history.

[–] pouncemo 11 years ago

Yeah, I like that it is dated. It came out when I was at college and reminds me, fondly, of those days.

I also like that it DOESN'T feel that dated, 33 yrs. later.

[–] Clemencedane 10 years ago

People who can't understand another time period will never understand films from more than 10 years ago and I see no need to cater to them. All of film history would have to be repeated for them with a crew of the latest tedious Hollywood actors and it would all blur together into so much pabulum. I don't find the film dated because the themes and emotions transcend the style of the period.

[–] thbryn 10 years ago

the actors involved in the disco scene.

It's funny because Disco only had a few months to live. It would have been gone if the film was done a year later and while that wasn't the only thing that was dated it did end the production in kind of a strange way. There was something about the total package that felt like it was a TV movie-of the week.

# I knew the black guy was atypical but I didn't realize he was gay?

[–] sage2112 8 years ago

You wrong in so many ways.

[–] sage2112 8 years ago

You are a moron and will always be broke.

[–] liscarkat-2 8 years ago

How can a movie not be "dated"? If it is a contemporary story, the actors will be wearing the clothes of the time, driving cars of the time, doing the popular dances of the time, etc. There's nothing negative about that. The story is set in 1980, so it looks like 1980. So what? What did you expect it to look like? The whole concept of movies being "dated" is ridiculous.