The Sting - Universal Essentials Collection 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital [4K UHD]

It was really no surprise when "The Sting" won the Academy Award for best picture of 1973. A great story with a wonderful twist ending and an unbeatable cast: Charles During, Ray Walton, Eileen Brennan, Harold Gould and headed by Paul Newman, Robert Redford and Robert Shaw. Most of all we have a film that accurately reproduces the atmosphere of the times in which it is set -- the Depression of the 1930s. This is certainly one of the great films to come out of Hollywood. Now we have this classic movie available in the Blu-ray format with great picture and sound. Being an audiophile of many years, I tend to notice the improvements in the audio first. Here, the title music has been remixed in stereo to provide a great improvement. The piano introduces the original Joplin theme and then the small orchestra comes in with great presence and power. The rhythmic nature of the music is notably enhanced by the power of the tuba, traditionally used in popular music of that time, although it is necessary to point out that ragtime music used exclusively in this film had long gone out of style by the 1930s. No matter -- it works perfectly here. The film uses sound stage interiors and sets, and beautiful sets they are depicting the Chicago Loop and buildings true to the time of the film and beautifully reproduced in Blu-ray clarity. For the sake of the one or two people in the world who haven't seen this movie, I won't go into the finish. My favorite scene in this, and probably any other movie, is the conclusion of the poker game between Newman and Shaw on board the train to Chicago. Shaw has managed to sneak in a stacked deck ultimately dealing himself four nines and Newman four treys. He raises Newman's bet by $10,000 and, a little hesitant and slightly frowning, Newman sees the raise. Smiling, Shaw lays down his nines certain that he has won. Newman pauses for a second or two and then lays down his hand smiling and saying, "Four Jacks. You own me $10,000, pal." When I first saw this film in a theater, the audience was quiet for a few seconds until they realized what had happened. Then they began to howl with laughter. It's still the best played scene I've ever seen in a film. The expression on Shaw's face as he looks down at Newman's cards is unforgettable. I doesn't matter how many times I've bought this movie in various formats, the Blu-ray is worth it -- I know I'll be watching it again.

A classic. Always worth seeing again. Great acting.

Entertain, fun, great acting and music

The director is George Roy Hill, and the superstars are those 2 excellent old buddies Paul Newman and Robert Redford. This time, they play con men that methodically and with excellent resourcefulness fleece a rich mark (Robert Shaw). Their approaches are surprisingly complex (it would take every one of today's space to try to clarify them.) A lot of the enjoyable in the motion picture is checking out Hillside and his screenwriter, David S. Ward, keep the plot directly. The flick is arrived Chicago of the 1930s, and several of the exterior situations were filmed to this site (featuring an efficient system chance at Union Terminal). We see a huge, confused, lusty, brawling city where the big guys with the muscle are in some way constantly getting rid of to the people with the self-confidence angles. Robert Shaw never ever determines which struck god. Shaw is a high-stakes gambler that initially acquires hooked throughout a casino poker game in between New york city and Chicago on the 20th Century Limited. Newman and Redford area god, mark god and begin to manipulate your man. He never ever determines they even understand each various other, and that's part of the charm: They have to play a great deal of scenarios for your man as full strangers, as Redford casually allows drop that he understands the location of the greatest cable area in Chicago. The concept, Redford describes, is to enable Shaw to win big on a set equine race in order to ... however I had not been kidding when I pointed out the scheme is complexed. Paul Newman runs the cable area. Or must we claim it appears to be operated by Newman. Or, much more accurately, it seems a cable room, because the entire operation is merely a theatrical set, and everybody in the room is a star, and the "programs" from the track really are being composed by a reporter in the back space. The film has a good, light-fingered design to it. Hillside delicately children the 1930s with his small overestimations of styles and designs. He informs his story episodically, damaging the motion picture down in to the numerous stage of the con game. And he's extremely proficient at preserving a type of off-balance pacing; we can never rather pin Newman and Redford down. They're constantly kind of angling into scenes, making enigmatic declarations under their breath and working from the very least a step ahead of us. Hillside's visual style is oblique; rather than posting his stars in the frame and tape-recording the activity, he appears to sneak up on it. Newman and Redford virtually appear on their way to yet another motion picture. If that seems like an objection, it's not suggested as one: The style listed here is so seductive and brilliant it's hard to locate. It resembles absolutely nothing else I have actually seen by Hillside, and at times, it nearly reminds me of Jacques Tati crossed with Robert Altman. It's good to obtain a criminal activity flick a lot more concerned with humor and personality compared to with blood and gore; listed here's one, as we claim, for the entire family members.

At the time of its release in 1973, THE STING was considered the inferior of the two Newman/Redford buddy pictures (the other being BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID released in 1969), but that general consensus has reversed today. THE STING is one of those movies that if you haven't seen yet, you should experience on your own without reading a single review. There is a reason why this movie won the Oscar for best screenplay and it would spoil the fun to have the plot synopsis in your head before you actually experience the film on your own. So, what to review here? The DVD itself and the film has been lovely restored. The picture is quite sharp and the colors have never looked better as can be seen when compared to the theatrical trailer included in this set. As another reviewer noted, there is a slight frame jump just after the opening credits end, but that's about it. Having just the film on disc 1 shows the care with which Universal did the transfer, there are no compression tricks needed to put just a single 2hr 10 min movie on a dual-layer disc. Moreover the sound quality is excellent with even the gunfire showing the subtle dynamics of recoil and not the typical flat "bang" (again, compare with the trailer). The framing is 1.85:1, the same as in the release shown in theaters. The "extras" on this set are a bit paltry and this is where it missed a 5-star review. The second disc contains a trailer (which unfortunately is from the re-release, where is the original?), some production notes, and a 1 hour "making of" feature. This feature includes interviews with Newman and Redford, as well as Eileen Brennan, Charles Durning, Dimitra Arliss (who plays the minor character Loretta), and Ray Walston (who died in 2001). The supporting actors recollections are just as, if not more, insightful than the leads. The writer, David Ward, and the music adapter, Marvin Hamlisch, also are included. Hamlisch doesn't offer much more than the usual comments about the ragtime music not being from the period of the film, but it is fascinating to hear that it was George Roy Hill's (the director) idea to go in this direction. Ward wanted the music to be bluesy! While the recollections are nice, it's a shame that David Ward did not do an audio commentary to the film. His screenplay drives everything and so, despite not having George Roy Hill around for a commentary track (he died in 2002), it would have been fascinating to hear Ward's thoughts on every plot point. Some of these topics are raised in his interview but I would have liked even more. As a two-disc set, this is a bit pricey, but with a fantastic transfer worth it. Just don't expect much from the second disc. Finally, if you enjoyed this picture, you might want to consider checking out HOUSE OF GAMES, which is also about conmen but with a far more brooding tone.

Director George Roy Hill had a hit with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in 1969, and four years later he brought the movie's two stars together again in The Sting. Paul Newman and Robert Redford had a natural chemistry that appealed to audiences, so the comedy adventure of western cowboy outlaws in the first decade of the 1900s was followed by the comedy adventure of eastern criminal grifters in the 1930s. The Sting was another huge hit, with Newman as the wise old con man Henry Gondorff, and Redford as the up-and-coming con man Johnny Hooker. All the way down the cast list you find accomplished actors, and the intricate screenplay needed just such pros to make it work. Robert Shaw portrays an Irish gangster, Doyle Lonnegan, a tough who tells one of his henchmen that he would even kill a childhood friend if necessary to preserve his hold on the mob. Gondorff and Hooker, the small-time grifters, are out for revenge against Lonnegan for killing one of their old con-man accomplices. Regarding Lonnegan, Johnny Hooker says "he's not as tough as he thinks", to which the more experienced Gondorff replies, "neither are we." Gritty realism flows through the entire film, but the story is told with a light comedic touch. Of special note is the soundtrack music of Scott Joplin, now most famous for "The Entertainer" due to its use in The Sting. Joplin's music was actually from a time even earlier than the setting of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, but its spirit does seem to fit the time of The Sting. When a film succeeds, or when it fails, much credit or blame is due the director. George Roy Hill took this complex story, delicately balanced between tragedy and farce, and made it work. At least four sub-plots are interwoven, and each is brought to a conclusion with no loose ends. The Sting is a greatly enjoyable film, and a tribute to Hill's craftsmanship and that of his stellar cast. This one is so good that it is worth the upgrade to Blu-ray. There is a bit of controversy about the aspect ratio, whether 1.37 to 1 or 1.85 to 1. I am normally very sensitive to such things, but seeing both versions years apart, I noticed nothing amiss. For what it is worth, the Blu-ray picture quality in The Sting is way better than that in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

perfect

This is a classic movie with 2 top notch actors. Its a must watch!

perfect in every way

Ce film de gangster et de petits escrocs est une pure merveille. Il fait partie des films à voir au moins une fois dans sa vie. Distribution extraordinaire, humour, drame, rebondissements, il y a de tout dans ce film.

Ce produit répond à mes attentes.

Ein Film Klassiker den man gesehen haben sollte. Auch die Zustellung ist sehr zügig gewesen. Empfehlenswert.

A1