“Fun” and “Great” are two words that scarcely go together when it comes to films. I don’t mean enjoyable by fun, great films are always enjoyable. I mean playful and easygoing. But in some rare cases, these two words can be applied simultaneously. The Sting is one such case.
Lately I’ve been watching a few films that I’ve seen at a much younger age and with untrained eyes. Following that route, decided to watch The Sting again last night. It turned out to be such an amazing experience!
The story goes like this -
Hooker (played by Robert Redford) and Luther are two con men. They stage a robbery and take 11,000 dollars. The time is right after the great depression when the economy was slowly recovering and that was a huge amount of money. But what they didn’t realize is that the money belonged to a notorious mafia boss named Lonnegan. Lonnegun kills Luther and Hooker gets away, devastated by his friend’s death.
Hooker then seeks out an old friend of Luther, Henry Gondorff (played by Paul Newman), a legendary con artist in retirement with feds on his tail. Together they plan to go against Lonnegun.
So, my younger brother was watching the film with me and it was his first time. He rolled his eyes. “Oh, I know what will happen. They will go and take revenge on the boss.”, he exclaims.
I grinned. Oh, boy! If it was that simple!
They make an elaborate plan to get back to the boss and use his characteristics against him. And every moment of it, every step of it is so damn enjoyable!
The boss (played by Robert Shaw, and he did an amazing job) maintains an immaculate picture of him. No one crosses him and manages to get away. This is the reason he chases and guns down the con men in the first place for money that hardly means anything to him. Something more valuable than money, his image, is on the line. He won’t take a loss. He can’t lose. He’s an egoistic maniac.
Henry and Hooker decide to take on that blind pride. To shatter it to the ground. To humiliate him utterly. That would be far worse than killing him. Henry rally up his old pals and henchmen to make it happen.
How they go about it is the true charm of the film. If you’ve never seen it, you are in for a treat!
Oh and did I say, Paul Newman and Robert Redford?
The action scenes are stylish as hell. The chase scene, the one where Henry plays poker. True gem of some moments!
The background score also gets you in the mood. You’d care for the characters, love their trickeries.
Back in the days heist films weren’t that jolly. The makers had to maintain production code. This film was after the abandonment of that code, so you can expect no such moral policing.
The Sting won 10 oscar nominations and won 7, including the best picture, best director. But this bit info shouldn’t lead you to believe automatically that it’s good. Oscar doesn’t mean anything. I’m only saying this to bait you into seeing it. :P
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Oh my, what a wonderful blast from the past. I’m old enough to remember when that film came out. But I have not seen it in so many years. I really need to watch it again. Great review!
I was sorry to hear that Robert Redford’s son Jamie died the other day. I am not sure of the cause, but so sad for Robert to lose his son. It sounds like he was talented snd in the business as well.
It was really popular back then wasn't it? It must have been such a tremendous experience seeing it in the theater! I think I was born in the wrong era. Sigh!
I wasn't aware of Jamie's passing. Looks like he had some kind of cancer. It's heartbreaking, to see your child passing before your eyes. No matter the age.
GREAT POST!!!
Thank you for publishing it to our community feed!
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Thanks @jaynie 😊
Nice! I was born way after 1973 🤣
but I guess even I would enjoy The Sting (:
Thanks for the recommendation @notacinephile! (:
I was born born in 1991, so way after the movie was released as well ! 😉
Happy watching, I'm sure you'll like it!
All the actors in this show were amazing, a hit then and now, great story line brilliant acting!
We went into the city of Johannesburg to see The Sting at the Metro Johannesburg, grand old building long gone...
(Not my photo from original source Cinema Treasures where link will take you.)
I looked up the theater. Looks like it was closed down due to the rise of multiplexes. A sad thing to be honest.
Thanks for sharing this @joanstewart It just gave me a rush of nostalgia I never experienced.
We had some amazing theaters in the city and suburbs, most have gone. So glad I lived as a teenager during those years we had a lot of fun @notacinephile
I see! That must have been a time to experience!
Yeah, a lot of theaters closed down and more so now with steaming services sprouting everywhere.
It is a great film, one I saw when it first came out, and I will never forget it. Nice write up.
You're one of the lucky ones I envy then!
Thanks for stopping by.
We're gonna have to find and watch this one soon. I remember loving it as a kid, but there must have so much I didn't understand. As you say, I had that untrained eye. It's still not trained, just widened a bit. 😁
Thanks for an excellent write up and film recommendation.
I'm sure you'll have a great time re-watching this gem!
I've been re-watching a lot of films lately, great ones preferably. No, not the ones I saw as a kid but only a handful of years ago. I've been much surprised to see how different each one of them looks now to me. The same thing happens with books too.
Oh jeeze. I missed this post this week.
The Sting is in my top 5 all time. I saw it real time on the big screen. It was simply amazing, a thing that hadn't been done.
It is one of the very few movies that kept me guessing right to the end. I mean to the very last scene. I was dumbfounded by the outcome.
Thanks for bringing this back to me!
You're very much welcome!
The Sting certainly changed how we see the heist genre! I wish I could be three when it first came out!
When the final act was revealed I remember laughing as a maniac the first time! 🤣