"What was I supposed to do? Call him for cheating better than me?"

My DVD collection contains many blockbuster films from recent years. Filled with incredible special effects and thunderous DTS surround sound, these films are fun to watch again and again. However, there are a few classic movies in my collection that are actually older than I am, and Shauna and I were able to add a few more recently.

Using a gift certificate I got from a very good friend I was able to finally pick up the Special Edition DVD of ‘The Great Escape’ (1963). It’s a fairly pricey DVD, which kept me from adding it to the collection earlier, so many thanks to JR! I also picked up two classic Paul Newman / Robert Redford films, ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’ (1969) and ‘The Sting’ (1973). All three DVD editions come with bonus discs filled with special features and I can’t wait to learn more about these memorable films.

Over this past weekend Shauna and I got together with another great friend, Vince, to watch The Sting. Shauna has seen it many times and was actually the one who got me to see it for the first time while we were dating. Vince claimed he had seen it before but soon realized that he was thinking of another movie. It was the perfect audience; a long-time fan who has loved the film from childhood, an eager movie addict who had only seen it once, and an interested friend who got to experience the original ‘big con’ for the first time.

Robert Redford plays Johnny Hooker, a small time con artist in the 1930s who inadvertently scams $10,000 from a man working for infamous criminal banker Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw, ‘Jaws’). Lonnegan, looking to make an example of the petty thieves, has Hooker’s partner murdered. Seeking revenge, Hooker teams up with Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman) to target Lonnegan as the mark in “the big con”. With Lonnegan’s goons still hunting for Hooker, an FBI investigation into Gondorff’s activities and a police detective out to profit from it all, Hooker and Gondorff will have to play every angle to make sure the sting goes off without a hitch.

I think the main draw to seeing this film has to do with Redford and Newman. If you’ve ever seen Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, you know what I’m talking about. Of course, if you’ve seen The Sting then you would know what I would be talking about if I was talking about Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The point is that Redford and Newman are an impressive duo and their chemistry on-screen is unparalleled. You can tell that these actors not only enjoy working together but that they are likely very good friends in real life. Shauna was telling me that Paul Newman is old enough that he is probably only going to do one more movie and he has indicated that he would like to do it with Robert Redford. Watching them play off each other in The Sting is impressive and incredibly entertaining. They have a way of drawing you into their scheme and making you feel like you’re a part of it all.

Each actor is incredibly talented in his own right. Paul Newman gives one of the best performances of his career in the poker scene on the train. This scene set the bar high for films like Rounders, Ocean’s 11 and Maverick. That’s impressive for a film that’s now over 30 years old. And it’s that staying power that proves how great The Sting really is. The story is one that would do well in today’s theatres, as is the acting, script and direction. It’s not surprising that The Sting garnered 10 Academy Award nominations in 1973 and went on to win 7 of them, including Best Picture. I was surprised at how modern the film felt, despite its age.

The Special Edition DVD of The Sting is a wonderful treatment of this classic film. The first of two discs contains the feature film in a beautiful 1.85:1 Anamorphic transfer. The sets and costumes might look dated (the film is set in the 1930s) but the picture quality is anything but. Colors are sharp and crisp, detail is incredible and there are no image artefacts or scratches to be seen. Universal has done a fantastic job of cleaning up The Sting and they even include a DTS 5.1 sound track! The film doesn’t really make much use of all that 5.1 can offer, but it certainly goes a long way toward drawing you into the movie. Voices are clear and the music is perfectly balanced with the action on-screen. Again, for a movie that is over 30 years old this DVD is a truly impressive presentation.

A second disc contains a number of special features, which I haven’t had a chance to look at yet. However, I am considering a full review of this DVD, along with 2 others, as part of my application for a DVD-review job with digitallyobsessed.com. So stay tuned for more details on The Sting as well as information regarding my rise to fame as a world renowned DVD critic.

The Sting is an incredible film. Paul Newman and Robert Redford are perfect together and their performances are very entertaining. The script is fantastic and keeps the story moving at a pace that will have you gripped from start to finish. In the end The Sting is just a ton of fun. This is the film that truly inspired the ‘big con’ films like Ocean’s 11, The Italian Job, The Color of Money and Heist. And, arguably, none of them have done it as well as The Sting did. You owe it to yourself to see this film.

The Sting gets 9 winks and a nod (out of 10).

Find a sweet mark, make sure everything’s jake and click here for ‘The Sting’ trivia.