« La compétition, de Boulat Mansourov, œuvre typique de l'inspiration folklorique au service du maintien des traditions culturelles, en l’occurrence un tournoi poétique et musical superbement évocateur » Le cinéma soviétique: de Khrouchtchev à Gorbatchev, 1955-1992, Marcel Martin
« Bulat Mansurov’s The Competition (Sostiazanie / Shukur bakhshi, 1964) was one of the most noteworthy film events of the 1960s,[5] even if it is largely forgotten today. As Margolit explains, the work marks the founding of poetic cinema and focuses on the features of the human face » The Socialist Avant-Garde at the 33rd Moscow International Film Festival, Julie Draskoczy, KinoKultra
