IMDb top 250: #96
Rating 8/10
Director: George Roy Hill
Writers: David S. Ward
Starring: Paul Newman, Robert Redford & Robert Shaw
"Not only are you a cheat, you're a gutless cheat as well."
The Sting reunites from - Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - Director George Roy Hill with Paul Newman and Robert Redford. It is a great movie full of so many twists and turns that you don't see coming and it keeps you guessing right up until the final moment. Robert Redford plays grifter Johnny Hooker (Redford) who seeks out Henry Gondorf (Newman) after the death of his partner to teach him "the big con"- an elaborate scam known as "the wire", using actors and con artists to create a fake off-track betting parlour - to fleece money from evil Doyle Lonnegan (Shaw) who was responsible for the death of his partner.
The three leads are all equally great, although Robert Shaw's Irish accent dips here and there. Robert Redford is charming and perfectly cast. Newman is a hoot as Henry and gets the best lines, which are delivered to perfection and have me laughing out loud every time I hear them. I've not seen this movie in a while and completely forgot that Miles (Harold Gould) from the Golden Girls was in it.
One of the best things about the movie is the music, Scott Joplin's rag lends itself so well to the fast, crime caper tone and period of the movie. You'll be whistling 'The Entertainer' for hours, long after the movie is finished. The sets are just right and the costumes are wonderful, every detail perfect right down to the clicking of Johnny's Brogues.
The Sting has a great script and a fast pace and it really does have some 'didn't see that coming' twists, where no one or nothing are what they seem. It is a classic that totally deserves to be in the top 500!
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