The Film
Has there been a greater film duo than Paul Newman and Robert Redford? It's hard to believe that the two movie hunks only made two movies together. In 1969's Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Newman and Redford had such great on-screen chemistry. That's probably why director George Roy Hill got the duo back together for 1973's The Sting.
It seems that Hill made a safe bet with this tale of two grifters. It went on to win seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Score. If there had been an Oscar for best cast, it surely would have snagged that one, too, since this remains to be one of the best groupings in cinematic history.
Newman and Redford play Henry Gondorff and Johnny Hooker, respectively. The pair of con men team up to pull the con of all cons, on ruthless Chicago mobster Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw).
Filmed in 1973 and set in 1936, The Sting seems as fresh as ever. Thank the two leads and Hill for another excellent outing. However, Shaw is a total gem here, all the way down to incorporating an actual injury into his performance. (Watch the extras, people.) Other notable performances include Charles Durning, Ray Walston, Eileen Brennan, and Harold Gould, among others. Even Marvin Hamlisch's Scott Joplin-inspired soundtrack is a standout (and award winner), even after all these years.
The Sting is a great affair and blows through its 129-minute runtime with ease. Place your bets on this one; it's a winner.
The Picture
The Sting is a 39-year-old movie, so it's hard to get too excited about the image. The film has a good number of soft scenes and a little noise. Overall, though, the 1.85:1 transfer looks good for its age. The film has great colors and there are actual details to be seen here. It's hard to complain seeing such an improvement on this classic film.
The Sound
The real surprise is this release's DTS-HD Master Audio track. Dialogue is clear and there's a surprising amount of ambient noises. However, Marvin Hamlisch's soundtrack is the star of this track. It's full, sounds wonderful, and it's definitely a memorable portion of this release.
The Extras
The main attraction here is "The Art of The Sting," a three-part documentary from 2005. The SD featurette includes many of the principal players, including Paul Newman, Robert Redford and Charles Durning, as well as composer Marvin Hamlisch. It covers a lot of the production, but it's how the interviews relate the movie on such a personal level that make it a nice touch.
Other than that, Universal has included two featurettes made for the studio's 100th anniversary. These include "100 Years of Universal: The '70s" and "100 Years of Universal: The Lot," which we covered in our review of Smokey and the Bandit.
Finally, this is a digibook release, with 44 pages of pictures, cast bios, costumes, accolades, and other info about the movie. Also, this release comes with a standard-def DVD of the movie and a Digital Copy code.
Final Thoughts
The Sting is one of those classics worthy of repeat viewings. Paul Newman and Robert Redford are absolute magic together and they've never looked better than what's included in this Blu-ray Book release. It's a no-brainer for fans of the movie. For everyone else, this is definitely worth a blind buy.
Product Details
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