The Sting [HD DVD]
![The Sting [HD DVD]](/images/The-Sting-HD-DVD-B000KN7BIQ-L.jpg)
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Charles Durning, Paul Newman, Ray Walston, Robert Redford, Robert ShawDVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language); Spanish (Original Language); French (Original Language); French (Dubbed); Spanish (Dubbed)
Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 129 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-01-16
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Movie Reviews of The Sting [HD DVD]
Movie Review: A timeless classic in any format
Summary: 5 Stars
I will refrain from commenting on technological aspects of presentation to concentrate on the storyline, which is worth watching any way you can get it.
It is ironic that I have not reviewed this previously, and that I had actually just watched "The Sting" - for about the 60th time - on the day that I read of the passing of Paul Newman. This is a movie for the ages, filmed to look like the old movies of the 40s, and I have enjoyed it now since its first showing in 1973.
Backed by an incomparable score - one of the best ever done for film - it tells the story of two con men, Johnny Hooker(Robert Redford) and Henry Gondorff(Paul Newman), and their plot to undermine a vicious third con man, Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw). Hooker is on the lam from the cops in Joliet, Illinois, for his low-level cons, and also from Lonnegan, because of inadvertently relieving the crime boss of a considerable chunk of change during one of those cons. Lonnegan, who does not forgive being bested by anyone, much less a grifter, has hit men out looking for Hooker. Hooker hightails it for Chicago, to sanctuary with an old friend of his mentor's.
Hooker finds that contact, a legendary con man named Henry Gondorff, in somewhat reduced circumstances, recovering from a retreat necessitated by crossing the wrong political figure. Hooker arrives on Henry's doorstep eager for tutelage in a way to get back at Lonnegan, who has succeeded in murdering Hooker's mentor in Joliet. The mentor, Luther, was universally loved within the con world; Lonnegan is universally hated and feared, with good reason. So Gondorff pulls himself out of his funk to assist Hooker in conning the con as spectacularly as possible.
The pacing and acting in this film is impeccable and a joy to watch. All the principals were perfect in their different roles. Henry Gondorff assembles a host of players with special talents to help take down Lonnegan; and it shows how much theater is involved in the complete execution of the perfect con. The men who make up Henry's cadre of inner circle all have some specialty in the underworld; Twist (Harold Gould) is a personnel director par excellance; J.J. (Ray Walston)is a specialist in the mechanics involved in the plan, in this case running the Wire, reading horse racing results; there is a banker, Eddie (John Heffernan)who takes care of the finances. Together they weave a plot to pay back Lonnegan for his murdering Luther.
The feel of the 30s, at the height of the Depression, is clear throughout "The Sting". Men lounge in doorways, defeated; hobo jungles and shack towns cluster near the tracks; everyone is just a little seedier-looking than they should be, and the lure of money is everywhere. Life burns bright in everyone, in a fever glow of enjoy-it-while-you-can. The temper of what the 30s must have been like is felt in this film, with all its desperation and little victories. In the original con, when Hooker and Luther grift a collection man for Lonnegan of $11,000, Hooker says in breathless wonder, "We're millionaires!"
This movie has probably seen more airplay at my house than any other movie I own. I saw it several times at the theater when it originally came out; took several friends to see it, because of the great twist at the end (no spoilers) and have had it in various formats since it became available for personal viewing. All technologies aside, this is a film that deserves top shelf in anyone's collection; great acting from everyone, great sets, wonderful score (you'll try to hum along with it but it's difficult), and perfect timing throughout. It's interesting to see how the different actors have aged since then also. Redford was a fresh-faced, wide-eyed blond in those days, and seemed younger than he was. Newman, who always played down his good looks, exudes a world-weariness with a sardonic grin, and could have pulled off cons on his own if that's the line of work he had chosen. I would certainly have believed him.
"The Sting" is highly, highly recommended. One of the best films ever made.
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