The Sting (1973) Universal Pictures 📢 Director: George Roy Hill 💰 Producer: Tony Bill, Michael Phillips, Julia Phillips 👫 Cast: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Robert Shaw. 🏆 Awards ceremony: -46th Academy Awards: April 2, 1974. Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles, California. 🎭 Other films nominated for Best Picture this year: -American Graffiti. -Cries And Whispers. -The Exorcist. -A Touch Of Class. 📕 Plot summary: Chicago 1936, two con men set up an eloborate scheme to fleece a racketeer out of half a million dollars. 💥 Standout scene: The poker game on the train between Paul Newman and Robert Shaw. 🔑 Facts: -The 46th Academy Awards. -Nominated for 10 Academy Awards, it won 7: Best Picture, Director, Screenplay (original), Music, Costume Design, Art Direction, Editing. -Second Best Picture outing for Robert Shaw (A Man For All Seasons). -Top-billed Paul Newman's first scene is after 26 minutes. 🙂 Personal opinion: From the opening scene where Robert Redford and his cronies rip off an unsuspecting guy in an alleyway, to the card game on the train, and the suspenseful conclusion... this film has everything (except nudity!) It's a very, very clever film with an immaculate screenplay and carried by three heavyweights in Paul Newman, Robert Redford and Robert Shaw. Robert Shaw returns to the Best Picture spotlight after playing King Henry VIII seven years prior and is outstanding here... and this was before he hijacked a subway train and got eaten by a shark in the following two years! Even the introduction of his character is done well with his back to the screen followed by a side profile, keeping him partially obscured for a while. The twist ending is one of the best endings to ANY film I have ever seen. However, if you have been paying attention closely then it shouldn't really be a 'twist' ending. It only really works well the first time you see the film. And take a breath.... Did it deserve the Oscar? ✅YES. One of the greatest movies ever made. ⭐️9/10

Review date: 21 March 2025