1973--The Sting, George Roy Hill

1973--The Sting, George Roy Hill

Nominated: American Graffiti, Cries and Whispers, The Exorcist, A Touch of Class

Should have won: The Exorcist

Be sure to see: Don't Look Now, Enter the Dragon, Fantastic Planet, Westworld, The Wicker Man

“He's not as tough as he thinks”--Kelly

 “Neither are we”--Shaw

   

      Joliet, IL, 1936. Two con men plan revenge for the murder of a mutual fried. The mob responsible is led by a master conman himself. They set up a fake gambling ring to carry out a sting.

     Robert Redford and Paul Newman team up four years after Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, this time with Redford taking the reins for the lead. The plot gets complicated yet utterly involving with con men, police, and the design of the film itself taking over.  The score might be the main star of the movie. It seemed that, unlike most films, the score wasn't under the action but right in front; it wanted to be heard not just be made aware of.  It was almost a character. The color pallet was almost comic bookish at times, not that that is a bad thing. It is hard to determine which characters to trust, and that is all anyone can ask for in a film like this. There is one death in particular I was completely shocked by and wouldn’t dream of spoiling and the ending sure surprised me, too. It would easily make a list of the best twist endings in a movie.

     David Ward, the screenwriter, said he wanted to make a movie about pickpockets because he'd never seen one before. I guess he missed Oliver! which won best picture only five years before. The movie makes another case for rooting for the bad guys, I would guess. It has a great cast, not just in the leads. It was nice seeing Robert Shaw appear. He seems to have decent range playing completely different roles in the few movies I've seen him in. And as a MacGyver fan, it was neat seeing Dana Elcar take part.

     One of the biggest problems with the Oscars is there are no separate genres. I enjoyed The Sting but to think it beat The Exorcist is absurd. Part of me wants to say you can't compare apples to oranges since they are completely different genres of films. However, the fact they were in the running together means you have to. The Sting is a fun, fast, enjoyable film. I've spoken to a handful of people who swear this is one of the best movies they've ever seen; that it is a shoe-in as best picture of 1973. But I am compelled to say the golden man should have gone to The Exorcist that year. Not just because it is a more memorable movie but it is a miracle, both behind the scenes and what ended up on screen. It is a masterpiece while The Sting is entertainment. It is worth a look for a fun story, good visuals, twist ending and, my favorite aspect of the movie, the score.