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The Sting

The Sting

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Why no widescreen???
Review: I give this movie 5 stars(it won best picture, after all) But I give the DVD 1 star. Why did they release it the the awful full screen(pan & scan)? ALL best pictures winners deserve widescreen (letterbox) special editions with ALL the extras!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: great,great movie
Review: This is simply a great movie. This is one you show to a friend who always predicts what happens in the end and is always right. I guarantee they will be wrong obout this movie.This movie is so unpredictable scene after scene. If you're in the mood for a smart movie definitely watch this one! It has one of the greatest endings ever.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A little wider please!
Review: A 5 star Oscar winning movie all the way. Hey Universal Studios, how about a widescreen DVD? You just gotta release the best picture of 1973 in widescreen DVD format. You make it and people will buy it; I'll be the first in line.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A timeless delight
Review: What a joy just thinking about "The Sting" again. I catch it every time it shows up on cable. Why? I think part of its appeal is how richly the script immerses itself in the way these con men talk and think. Any movie that revels in the details of a person's work is fascinating to me, and you become utterly absorbed here in what Newman and Redford are doing. You don't know what their goal is (besides conning Shaw -- but how?), and that's all the more fun.

The music might be of a period older than the setting of the story (turn of the century vs. the thirties), but it fits the attitudes and pacing perfectly. In fact, this movie is full of smart choices. One of my favorites is the close-up of Redford's face when he looks back at his dead friend near the beginning of the picture -- it's what sets up the forward momentum that drives the rest of the story (his determination) -- lesser movies wouldn't have included it.

I admit with all humility that I did figure out the end of the movie (which I won't divulge), but an earlier twist, involving "Celino," or however it's spelled, threw me completely.

It's better than "Butch Cassidy" (less glib and meandering), and I can only wonder why Newman and Redford didn't make a third movie. Even at their age now, the chemistry must still be there, and the right script (which is probably what they've been waiting for) would capitalize on that.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: More solid entertainment from Newman, Redford, and Hill
Review: I think that winning the Best Picture Oscar actually hurt 'The Sting's reputation. I know that armed with the knowledge of that win, I was expecting an arty, gritty take on the lives of those practicing the Big Con in 1930s Chicago (okay, I wasn't expecting all of that, but you get the general idea). What I ended up getting (don't worry, you'll get this too), is one damn fine piece of entertainment.

Coming off the success of Butch & Sundance (also with director George Roy Hill), where they set the standard for buddy-film chemistry, Redford and Newman actually don't have much to do together here. Redford's Hooker loses a partner at the hands of a shady banker, and enlists the help of Newman's Gondorff to attain some revenge. Gondorff rounds up the old crew, and off they go. The scenes they do have together are wonderful to watch, especially their first meeting, with a drunken Newman waking up in the bathtub. Otherwise, their characters serve opposing functions to the narrative.

Newman is the rock. Gondorff may be past his prime, but he still knows all the old tricks and scams, and is beloved enough to gather round him a prodigious group of talent. He never shows an ounce of anxiety, even when confronted by a roomful of enemies. Redford actually plays a more complete character, he being the focal point of the film's subplot. And even though his California tan clashed with the Midwestern setting, I thought he did a fine job of keeping all the plots together. Hooker is a hotheaded young grifter, in over his head here, and Redford ably shows his immaturity and ignorance.

Robert Shaw (as "the mark", Doyle Lonnegan) is a great villain. He gets to talk with a ridiculous accent, and walk with a limp, and generally just be imposing as all hell. If he weren't such a worthy adversary, the con would be a piece of cake. But Shaw brings a fierce intelligence to his role that raises the level of the movie.

There are many other recognizable faces here (Charles Durning, Ray Walston, Eileen Brennan, and Harold Gould stand out in my mind), and although they make for a solid mosaic of supporting characters, it's the big three that you'll remember most.

As mentioned before, there's a subplot involving a Chicago cop tracking down Hooker, eventually getting the FBI involved. It ably provides dramatic tension to flesh out the movie. But it's the main plot of the story that is so fascinating, for it slowly reveals details of how they pull off the Big Con. And not until the final moment are you sure of how the whole thing is going to end. I would have been satisfied with just this plot alone; it's put together so exceptionally well. Watch as everyone is given a clearly delineated job to do, and listen to the amusing jargon they use. And while you're listening to the dialogue, don't forget to pay attention to the entrancing Scott Joplin ragtime piano on the soundtrack.

This film is entertaining all over the place. Enjoy.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Classic
Review: The Sting, which I watched for the first time a month or so ago, is now my favourite film of all time. The plot is sooo clever, something is rarely found in films of today (I have just been watching the Coen Brothers, though, so heh!). The acting is superb, all contributors are on superb form and the only way it could have been better was if a young Clark Gable had Newman's place, but hey! Paul does an amazing job anyway! I'm desperately trying to find Butch Cassidy now, it's prettt difficult when you live in the UK!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of my All-Time Favorites BUT ...
Review: don't buy this DVD until it comes out as a Special Edition which surely it will. It's Pan And Scan folks which takes away tremendously in what is an absolutely terrific movie.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "Sorry I'm late fellas...
Review: This film is an absolute gem! It is one of the few movies from the seventies that hasn't aged a bit. Nothing looks dated, and no one has ever succeeded in making a film that "stings" the audience so well. One of Paul Newman's best.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the Best!
Review: The Sting is one of my all time favorite movies. I loved the drawings in between scenes, but I loved most the music that echoed the feelings, the action taking place. The Entertainer is one of my favorite pieces of music, I never get tired of hearing it. Robert Redford and Paul Newman were a perfect match for this movie, and Robert Shaw was excellent as Doyle Lonigan. I liked the part on the train in which Newman's character was playing poker against Lonigan. It was so funny when, even though Lonigan fixed a deck and switched it with the other one to win, Newman's character won any way. "What was I supposed to do? Accuse him in front of everyone of cheatin better than me?" quoth he. I didn't care for all the swearing, and feel that they could have done without it. I also felt that the part with the stripper in the dance hall, even though she wasn't completely nude, was inappropriate as well, but the rest of the movie was good. Even though I don't think being a con man is the best way to make a living, and wouldn't try it myself, I find it funny how some people can let themselves be conned, and not even know it. Lonigan and that detective were not smart. Lonigan may have been the best at poker, cheater or not, but he was no match for those two con men.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Yeah, but who's conning who?
Review: Impossible to review without giving away the plot...so I won't. But if you've never seen it, DO NOT MISS a single line of dialogue!

The movie is about Redford/Newman setting up the "big con" con on nefarious villain Robert Shaw. So much for the plot...the fun is how they get there.

Almost every plot thread in the movie involves some kind of con, but since you're never really sure who's "the mark" these threads continue to pile up towards the conclusion and weave together perfectly for a real "Holy S--t!" ending.

But, don't try to guess what's going on...turn out the lights, grab some popcorn, get some friends and prepare to laugh and cheer for over two hours.

Ignore all the criticisms in the previous reviews, they're minor complaints and, while some are valid, are just too picky. (Almost "show-offy" in my humble opinion.)

You can't NOT have fun with this one.


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