The Sting (1973)

THE STING (UNIVERSAL PICTURES/1973)

REVIEW: This sparkling comedy/crime caper not only cemented George Roy Hill's reputation as a first-class director: but also proved to be THE perfect showcase for the acting team of Paul Newman and Robert Redford. "THE STING" is a classic re-creation of the Depression-era 30's complete with mobsters, grifters, cops, feds, and small-time confidence men. Newman and Redford play two such con-men looking to outsmart a big-headed crime boss/banker named Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw) who is responsible for killing a mutual friend of theirs. Along with a bevy of co-conspiritors (including Ray Walston, Eileen Brennan, and Harold Gould): they cook up a scheme to divest the mob of half-a-million dollars, and to hoodwink a crooked cop (played with gusto by Charles Durning) who is hot on their trail. This is a grand entertainment: everything about the film looks as sharp as a pair of spit-shined, patent-leather shoes. And even though it's all breezy, good-natured fun: it does have its fair share of serious moments, and a finale that is truly a bravura of filmaking genius. It's easy to understand (considering the technical quality of the production, the superb acting, and the glorious screenplay by David S. Ward) why it earned seven ACADEMY AWARDS. HARSH LANGUAGE: about 38 words (45 if you count the bonus material in the LEGACY EDITION). VIOLENCE: about 10 scenes. NUDITY/SEXUAL REFERENCES: A couple of bedroom scenes involving no nudity or sex, and the part where Redford visits his girlfriend who is a burlesque dancer in a very, very revealing...ah...outfit. DRUG REFERENCES: quite a few scenes of smoking and drinking (including the scene where Newman makes his first appearance passed out drunk on his bedroom floor).


THE MORAL COMPASS: This is a lightweight, charming picture that does have a more somber core in that the two leads are trying to "sting" the evil Lonnegan in honor of their grifter friend (Robert Earl Jones) who is married with children and murdered in cold blood because he (along with Redford's character) inadvertently conned one of Lonnegan's stooges out of thousands of dollars. Of course the "code" (if you can call it that) of the grifter is to take money from the "mark" (without the use of force or bloodshed) by playing upon that person's own weaknesses and greed. And even though such "bandit" behavior may not be the most moral of examples to follow: the audience will certainly cheer the comraderie (and die-hard friendship) that these guys have for each other in fleecing the selfish, crooked, and morally bankrupt suckers who (pretty much) get what they deserve. It is also necessary to keep in mind that the film is set in the Depression-era of 1936 Illinois where jobs were scarce, people were out on the street, and the mob was in full swing. But as far as the content is concerned: there is a decent amount of mild profanity (although God/Jesus' name is taken in vain about five or six times); a few scenes of brief violence; one risque scene at a burlesque show; and several instances of smoking, drinking, and drunkenness. It would probably have gotten a PG-13 rating if released nowadays, and thus should earn a CAUTIONARY rating for the reasons noted above.


ACADEMY AWARDS: Best Picture, Best Director (George Roy Hill), Best Original Screenplay (David S. Ward), Best Music Adaptation (Marvin Hamlisch), Best Film Editing (William Reynolds), Best Costume Design (Edith Head), Best Art Direction/Set Decoration (Henry Bumstead and James W. Payne)

ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS: Best Actor (Robert Redford), Best Cinematogrphy (Robert Surtees), Best Sound (Ronald Pierce and Robert R. Bertrand)

GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINATIONS: Best Screenplay (David S. Ward)

January 2, 2009

3.5 stars out of 4

The Bottom Line:

Always entertaining, The Sting is a lighthearted caper movie that features a nice give-and-take between its two leads, a plot that (mostly) holds up, a great poker scene and a lot of twists and turns--what more could one ask from such a film? December 18, 2008

To pull off the "BIG CON," all you need is some...CONfidence

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"You're right...[The con game] is not enough. But it's close!"

The above is what one of the con artists (or CONfidence game artists) says at the end of this fantastically entertaining movie.

This is a caper film set in late 1936. It revolves around a complicated but interesting plot by two professional con artists (played by Paul Newman and Robert Redford) to swindle a mob boss (played by Robert Shaw). The actual genesis of the idea behind this movie's plot is really unknown but rumour has it that it was inspired by some real-life con games.

The expression "the sting" refers to the moment a con artist finishes the "play" (the mechanics of the con game) and takes the "mark's" (the one being swindled or conned) money. (Today this expression is mainly used in the context of a law enforcement sting operation.)

If the con game is successful, the mark does not realize he or she has been "taken" (cheated), at least not until the con artists are long gone.

This movie goes out of its way to make you feel like you're watching a 1930's film. Here are four reasons why:

(1) During the opening credits, the viewer is shown the main actors (there are eleven) with extracts from the actual movie. This is a style reminiscent of films from the early to mid 1930s.

(2) This movie is divided into distinct sections or parts with old fashioned title cards that has lettering and illustrations.

(3) The costumes that the actors wear. All are 1930's style.

(4) This movie's musical score especially its main theme melody "The Entertainer", a piano ragtime composition by American composer Scott Joplin (1867 to 1917). This music in turn encouraged a surge of popularity and critical acclaim (and deservedly so!!) for Joplin's music. (Ragtime is an originally American genre which had its peak popularity between 1897 and 1918. It predated jazz which began in America roughly around 1915.)

I said in (2) above that this movie is divided into title card sections. The titles on these cards are the preliminary work that has to be done in order to make the actual sting successful. Here are the actual titles:

(1) The Set-Up (24 minutes into the movie). That is, this is the actual set-up for the sting.

(2) The Hook (40 minutes)

(3) The Tale (1 hour, 7 minutes)

(4) The Wire (1 hr, 23 min). The "wire" is an off-track horse race betting scam.

(5) The Shut-Out (1 hr, 33 min). Here, the horse race bettor is unable (that is, is "shut-out") to make his bet.

(6) The Sting (1 hr, 52 min). See above for explanation of this term.

The acting by all is excellent. In fact, Robert Redford was nominated for an Academy Award. However, personally I have to give kudos to Robert Shaw for his fantastic portrayal of a person you want to see swindled.

This movie won 7 Academy Award including Best Picture.

Finally, the DVD itself (the one released Sept. 2005) is perfect in picture and sound quality. It has some interesting extras.

In conclusion, you deserve to see for yourself how the Big Con is performed!! (Note that this review is not attempting to con you into seeing this movie.)

(1973; 2 hr, 9 min; wide screen; 16 scenes; 2 discs)

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December 18, 2008

there's nothing that "special" about this edition

I'm not sure what other people are saying about the widescreen format. however, there is no need for this material to be on two discs. disc two just has a documentary and some other stuff. there's not really enough bonus features. also, there's no feature commentary. boo! December 15, 2008

Was it worth it?

I hadn't seen The Sting is decades, so I didn't remember much of anything about it. My oldest son had seen it sometime back and just raved about it, so when I found it on HDDVD for a good price on Amazon, I decided to go ahead and spend some of my birthday money on it. However, although it is a really good movie, it wasn't worth it for me to have purchased it and have it take up space in my DVD cabinet. I try to get & keep only the ones I feel most necessary, and this isn't one of those. It's DEFINITELY worth renting and watching ... once a decade or so, but that's it for me. Now their Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid would be worth purchasing & keeping! December 12, 2008

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