The Sting

Reunited several years after being paired in 1969's Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Paul Newman and Robert Redford proved in this delightful 1973 caper film that their earlier, hugely successful teaming wasn't just a fluke. The Sting was another box-office smash, and it won a total of seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Director, and Screenplay. David S. Ward's complicated but skillfully developed script sets the action during the depths of the Depression in Chicago, where small-time grifter Johnny Hooker (Redford) enlists the aid of legendary con man Henry Gondorff (Newman) to mount an elaborate “sting” targeting ruthless New York gangster Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw), who's responsible for the murder of Johnny's mentor, Luther Coleman (Robert Earl Jones). It's a potentially dangerous undertaking that Henry initially disdains. But the lure of the “big con” is irresistible, and ultimately the two men team up to stage an operation so intricate it will require the services of more than a dozen confederates—all of whom anticipate a big payoff. Director George Roy Hill (The World According to Garp), never the most stylish of filmmakers, won his well-deserved Oscar for coordinating the creative efforts of a sublimely talented group working both in front of and behind the cameras. The production design brilliantly recreates the 1930s in sets, costumes, and props; the lighting and cinematography are crisp; the editing maintains a crackling pace; and even the ragtime music of Scott Joplin (arranged by Marvin Hamlisch), though written decades before the movie takes place, seems perfectly appropriate for the mood and setting. Acting-wise, the movie is faultless, with stars Newman and Redford heading but not dominating a superb cast. It's hard to imagine anyone other than Shaw as the vicious Irish mobster, and the same goes for Harold Gould's dapper con man, Charles Durning's corrupt cop, Eileen Brennan's hardboiled hooker, or Ray Walston's smooth-talking sharpster. Simply put, there isn't a single discordant note in this symphony of cinematic artisanship. Part of Universal's “Legacy Series,” The Sting is presented in a two-disc edition with an excellent new DVD transfer and an in-depth 71-minute “making-of” documentary entitled “The Art of The Sting.” Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (E. Hulse)[Blu-ray Review—May 22, 2012—Universal, 130 min., PG, $39.98—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1973's The Sting sports a great transfer with DTS-HD 5.1 sound. Extras include the three-part “making-of” featurette “The Art of The Sting” (56 min.), three “100 Years of Universal” featurettes on “The 70's” (11 min.), “Restoring the Classics” (10 min.), and “The Lot” (10 min.), trailers, a bonus DVD copy of the film, and the BD-Live function, all packaged in a digi-book with photos, trivia, and an intro by critic Leonard Maltin. Bottom line: a welcome Blu-ray debut for a ‘70s classic.]