Paul Newman and Robert Redford make up the legendary duo of Henry Gondorff and Johnny Hooker in George Roy Hill's The Sting. The two play the best con artists the big screen has ever seen. This classic film has become inspiration for many others such as the Ocean's Trilogy. A con film with twists and turns around every corner. The Sting won 7 Academy Awards in 1974 including: Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay.
When a young grifter's partner and friend is killed by Chicago mob boss Doyle Lonnegan, (Robert Shaw), he teams up with legendary con artist Henry Gondorff to exact his revenge. Henry asks him "why do you want to get him so bad kid?". And Johnny replies "because I don't know enough about killing to kill him."
Hooker's partner Luther was well known and loved by many Chicago grifters and they all wanted to help Hooker execute the "big con" against the dangerous Doyle Lonnegan. The goal is to get a large sum of Lonnegan's money without him knowing that it is them who took him. A crooked cop, along with some FBI agents are just a couple of the obstacles that stand in their way.
The Sting is just an all around fun movie. I think that Paul Newman and Robert Redford delivered outstanding performances as Henry Gondorff and Johnny Hooker. I first saw Paul Newman and Robert Redford together in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, a film that I absolutely love, and after seeing them together in The Sting I think they have become one of my favorite acting duos.
The Sting is a great film, a classic. I have to give props to my dad for recommending this movie to me. He has always supported my love for films and encouraged me to write about them. For that I am forever grateful. Before he mentioned The Sting I really hadn't heard anything about this film and, maybe to your surprise, that makes me happy. It makes me feel like even though I have seen more movies than the average person; everyday there is still a possibility that I will discover a great film.
It's crazy to think that films have only been around for about 1 hundred years and it makes me wonder how many good movies will be forgotten over time. I believe that the great films will live forever but I feel bad for the next generation, in the sense that it is going to be a lot harder for them to catch up with all the films from the past than it was for me; and there are still plenty of films that I need to see.
The Sting is a great movie from the past and I hope it lives on forever. So, check it out.
