The Sting
The
Sting had the bad fortune of being the film that won the Best Picture
Oscar in the year between The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather
Part II (1974). Perhaps because of that, this classic has become
well-respected (it did win seven Oscars) and fondly remembered but somewhat
faded from public view. While The Godfather Saga has been
packaged and repackaged for the digital age, The Sting was only
briefly available on DVD before and this new release is the first time that
this classic film has been released with notable extras or even in the
letterbox format.
Well, I apologize if I
offend the cult of mob purists, but this DVD release shows that not only has
The Sting aged far better than either of the Godfather movies,
it was also a much superior, more imaginative and well-written movie in
the first place. While The Godfather quickly fell into a
predictable rhythm (lavish family function followed by gruesome mob
violence, over and over again ad nauseum) there is nothing predictable about The Sting. This
celebration of con men also cons the audience throughout, directing your
attention in one area while picking your pocket in another. The
Sting has one of the few truly shocking endings in Hollywood history --
anyone who tells you they knew what was happening the first time they saw it
is simply lying to you.
The Sting takes place
in Chicago during the Great Depression (the ongoing use of Scott Joplin's
ragtime music to score the film is just one of the many ways that the film
is spectacularly evocative of the era.) It is the story of Johnny
Hooker (Robert Redford), a small-time grifter who mistakenly cons a numbers
runner for the biggest gangster in the city (Robert Shaw). When his mentor
(Robertearl Jones) is killed in retribution, Hooker finds a down-on-his-luck
purveyor of the big con named Heny Gondorff (Paul Newman) to help him get
revenge.
I won't tell you any more of
the storyline, because that would rob you of the opportunity to experience
the twisting, turning landscape of the film on your own. Just remember
nothing is ever exactly what it seems and every time you think you've got
everything figured out, you are wrong.
The Sting has an
amazing plot and script, but it also works because of three of the great
actors of our generation are hitting on all cylinders. Newman and
Redford are outstanding, shockingly bettering their chemistry in their
iconic first film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, which was made
a few years previously.
As great as Redford and
Newman were, this film seriously demands a reassessment of one of the
most fascinating characters in film, the late, great Robert Shaw. Shaw was one
of the last legendary hard-living British actors (and he was an accomplished
playwright, writing several theatrical productions including The Man In
the Glass Booth.) Shaw drank too much, worked too hard, was an
insanely competitive sportsman and an over-the-top lover. And
eventually, as these things so often happen, he died too young. He had
a heart attack
in the late 70s at 59 years-old right as his acting career was exploding --
an explosion that can be traced directly to this role. Interestingly,
this wasn't even Shaw's greatest film role, his best was as the hardened
shark hunter Quint in Jaws. Shaw also played a Bond villain (in
From Russia With Love), a ruthless hi-jacker (in the great, nearly
forgotten The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3), a king (A Man For All
Seasons), the Sheriff of Nottingham (Robin and Marion) and a
hardened treasure hunter (stealing The Deep from co-stars Nick Nolte
and Jacqueline Bissett's wet t-shirt). His Sting gangster boss
Doyle Lonnegan is ruthless, greedy and surprisingly likable character and
Shaw infuses him with a surprising nuance. People don't act like this
anymore, and that's a damned shame. Robert Shaw was one for the ages.
I don't like to use
superlatives, but The Sting is pretty darn close to a perfect movie.
It is the type of movie that reminds you how powerful the art form
can be and gives you hope that it can be that way again if talented people
come up with the right story. Don't take it
from me, see it yourself. (9/05)
Jay
S. Jacobs
Copyright ©2005
PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved.
Posted: September 15, 2005.
