The Movie Journal

The Competition (1980) The Competition is a well-crafted movie that features some interesting ideas about forbidden romance, but it is highly forgettable in the end. If anything, the movie is a good showcase for Richard Dreyfuss, five years removed from his breakthrough performance in Jaws . The film also features a good deal of music and the piano work is masterful and soothing to the ears. However, this is really not about a piano competition or music. At its core, we get a sweet (and perhaps a bit superficial) love story between two pianists.   There is a huge international piano competition occurring in San Francisco, where the world’s best pianists gather to compete against each other. The first place prize is a $20,000 cash reward and a two-year concert contract. This is Paul’s (Richard Dreyfuss) last chance to win the prize. However, newcomer Heidi (Amy Irving) might be the slightly better pianist. The two rivals form an unlikely romance, but is it likely to surviv

Raging Bull (1980) Raging Bull is hands-down my favorite movie of 1980. It is also the best boxing movie ever made, and it is a movie that will forever be remembered by American audiences. Martin Scorsese’s film tells the true story of the unhinged boxer, Jake LaMotta (who passed away last year at the ripe old age of 95). He was a boxer who punched hard, harder, and hardest, and he went all out in the boxing ring. Outside of the ring, he was a vulnerable man especially when it came to women. He believed women to be precious virgins for his own making, and only he can take away their virginity. The movie really went deep with his character, and I love how the movie is not afraid to throw punches.   This was Martin Scorsese’s big passion project. After the disappointment of his 1977 feature, New York, New York, he fell into a state of depression and that triggered his drug use which almost killed him. Fortunately, this movie took him away from those dark times. He was reluctant