Oldies Movie Review - The Sting

Director: George Roy Hill
Genre: Drama/ Comedy/ Crime
Runtime: 129 minutes
Year: 1973
Starring: Robert Redford, Paul Newman, Robert Shaw

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2024 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 11: A MOVIE FROM THE 1970S
 
Description: Two grifters (Robert Redford, Paul Newman) team up to pull off the ultimate con.

Review: After the complete success of cowboy film “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”(1969), director George Roy Hill and lead actors Paul Newman and Robert Redford reunited four years later for the equally successful “The Sting”.

Two small time crooks, Henry Gondorff and Johnny Hooker, teak up to take on Doyle Lonnogan, using their wits and slight-of-hand tricks.

“The Sting” is basically a modern version of Favid and Goliath, with Newman and Redford playing the small David character and Robert Shaw is the big-time villain. It’s has a good portion of comedy in it, without becoming a slapstick, which would made this a completely different movie. “The Sting” has won 7 Oscars (out of 10 nominations) and is such a joy to watch. I just love young Newman and Redford together.

I really loved this movie experience, just a bit more than “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”.

Rating: 5/ 5

Oldies Review - Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Director: George Roy Hill
Genre: Western/ Crime
Runtime: 106 minutes
Year: 1969
Starring: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katherine Ross, Strother Martin, Henry Jones, Jeff Corey, Cloris Leachman

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2021 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 4: A MOVIE FROM THE 1960S

Description: Wyoming, early 1900s. Butch Cassidy (Paul Newman) and The Sundance Kid (Robert Redford) are the leaders of a band of outlaws. After a train robbery goes wrong they find themselves on the run with a posse hard on their heels. Their solution: escape to Bolivia.

Review: Four years before “The Sting”, director George Roy Hill brought together Paul Newman and Robert Redford for the first time and formed the fantastic duo of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Hill puts in a legendary performance as a director, with Conrad L. Hall at his side as cinematographer. Who brings something brand new to the market, especially for the time, with the switching between sepia shots and the regular color shots is fantastic. In between, a montage of photographs is used to cover the time of the journey, which fits the film perfectly. All this is once again supported by the lively and cheerful music of Burt Bacharach.
“Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” is a fun and enjoyable film. Paul Newman and Robert Redford manage to alternate the blood-curdling chase with plenty of humor. This gives the film a fresh touch and keeps it from being so heavy. I am not the world’s biggest fan of westerns, but there is no denying that “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” is a fun and exciting western.

Rating: 4/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 20: Cool Hand Luke

Director: Stuart Rosenberg

Genre: Drama/ Crime

Runtime: 126 minutes

Year: 1967

Starring: Paul Newman, George Kennedy, J.D. Cannon, Lou Antonio, Robert Drivas, Strother Martin, Jo Van Fleet, Clifton James, Morgan Woodward, Luke Askew, Marc Cavell, Richard Davalos, Robert Donner, Warren Finnerty, Dennis Hopper, John McLiam, Wayne Rogers, Harry Dean Stanton, Charles Tyner, Ralph Waite, Anthony Zerbe, Buck Kartalian, Joy Harmon

Description: Luke Jackson (Paul Newman), nicknamed Cool Hand Luke, refuses to conform to life in a rural prison.

Review: Paul Newman said that the script of the film “Cool Hand Luke” was one of the best he had ever read. It’s not a surprise that Newman, who often plays the antihero, does a magnificent job. From the opening scene, where a drunk and cavalier Luke beheads a couple of parking meters. For this little crime he is send to a prison camp for two years. We see that Luke isn’t just a dumb drunk who wants to get caught, he was a war hero. Luke doesn’t really care about the rules in the camp and soon he gets a certain status.

Classic movies often have elements that come to mind when hearing the movie title, like the atmosphere, the development of the leading character and the supporting cast. “Cool Hand Luke” has many memorable moments, like the boxing match against Dragline where Luke refuses to give up and the bet where Luke has to eat fifty eggs in an hour.

Besides Luke, we don’t really get to know much about his fellow inmates. The movie focuses on Luke. With that, the character of Luke is one of the most beloved ones in cinema history.

This is definitely a movie we will all remember Paul Newman by. Luke Jackson is one of the best, maybe the best role he has ever played.

Rating: 4/ 5