The Sting

Although I might have seen a reasonable amount of films, there are of course always more films I haven't seen than have. What is more, some of these are considered classics that everyone should see (I only score 71% on Film Addict). Until yesterday, one of these was The Sting. In case you don't know, it stars Robert Redford and Paul Newman as conmen in 1930s Chicago. They get together to plan a sting on a wealthy New York gang leader (played by Robert Shaw). It aims for (and achieves) great cinema rather than great art. Newman and Redford have a magical on-screen presence, hardly rivalled nowadays. They don't really have to say anything. Their combination here (and again in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) make it the buddy-movie of all buddy-movies. It has good writing, good acting, good music, and is great fun. There are a few annoying moments where the audience is deceived as much as the characters, but that kind of device was probably invented in this film. We've just seen it too many times now for it to be fresh (including the very similar recent Ocean's Eleven). Is this the kind of film Hollywood would still be making if it wasn't for Star Wars four years later? Is that a good thing? Best line: 'Try not to live up to all my expectations'.