The Sting (Legacy
Series)
Picture: C+
Sound*: B- Extras: B- Film: B-
(*Specifically DTS 5.1: B- Dolby 5.1: C+ Dolby
2.0 Mono: C)
Trying to write this review proved harder than what I
initially thought. Writing paragraph
after paragraph it became apparent that the problem with this review was trying
to make the film sound better than it actual is. There I said it! The
Sting is a film that does not live up to it’s reputation and falls among one of
the most overrated films of all time!
Surprised? Well, while other
critics are still praising this film after all these years, this review shall
dissect the film in a whole new light and while it’s still an enjoyable film,
it still is a flawed gem that has been hailed as a imperfect diamond.
Starting with the direction alone director George Roy Hill
got lucky with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and his pacing in this film
is not nearly executed as well. Not
only that, but the chemistry between Robert Redford and Paul Newman does not
quite work nearly as well or even give us enough background on either character
to really help the story. There are not
enough moments where we just see them being ‘themselves’ and like the
characters of Butch and Sundance we actually saw them being people and having
moments where they were bonding and deepening our relationship with them as our
story unfolds. The problem with The
Sting is that the beginning seems to concentrate on just getting past the
things that need to happen in order for the rest of the film to get going.
There are also moments where the film seems incredibly
long and drawn out and that takes away some of the films momentum that is
worked to build up. The plot is hardly
feasible and even when we give ourselves over to it then it seems to take
advantage of us. Two con men are
working together to put a ‘sting’ on a crime boss who has killed a mutual
friend of theirs. Newman’s character is
the expert, while Redford plays the semi-rookie looking to get even with our
crime boss (played by Robert Shaw). The
film wanders in and out of a bit of comedy, drama, and caper, but never fully
gives itself over to any of those.
This is one of those films that has a reputation and
therefore we almost feel like we should like it because…well, ‘Everyone else
does, right?’ Not exactly! Overlooking the films flawed moments is
merely a choice. It just doesn’t seem
like the film holds up nearly as well as it could have and while it certainly
has been an influential genre bending film, especially nowadays with films like
Oceans Eleven and Oceans Twelve, Bandits, Snatch, and the list continues. However, most of those films are emulating
the better portions of the film, which include the literal ‘payoff’ moments and
some of the spicier moments with Redford and Newman on screen. These are of course two of the best actors
to have graced the silver screen and their abilities and presence are well
displayed here despite the films setbacks.
Fortunately the two actors did NOT participate in the sequel to this
film. Talk about career suicide no
matter what reputation they had achieved at this point.
So what other problems are there? Well, the film is set in 1930’s Chicago and
the ragtime score provided is as out of place as our characters are at moments. The score itself would better suit a film
set about 20 years prior to this and the film is suppose to be set somewhere
around The Depression, but we are given very little support of that in the
surroundings.
This is the second time that Universal has issued this
film to DVD and this is now a part of their Legacy Series, which has restored
the film and placed in into a 2-Disc keepcase with a second disc of
extras. I am a bit disappointed with
the quality here as well, which does not help me appreciate the film
either. First, there is the 1.85 X 1
anamorphic transfer that suffers from looking hazy and soft. It does not take a keen eye to notice this
either! Darker scenes have a washed out
look and while the film probably has not looking this good on home video; it
still has its drawbacks. Some people
might complain about the fact that the film is from an open-matte print that
has then placed the black bars at the top and bottom to give the appearance of
widescreen. Some people actually prefer
the film in 1.33 X 1 instead and that’s a rare case.
Some scenes hold up better than others, but still show
that this film is in need of a full restoration and if the original camera
negative exists that needs some work.
There is way too much grain and patterns seem to have a hard time
displaying properly. Skin tones seem
natural looking so the DVD does have that going for it, but there is little to
praise about this outside of some nice detail and good color.
The audio is also another slight problem. Here we are given the choices of the films
original Dolby Digital mono, then a 5.1 Dolby and 5.1 DTS remix. I am not happy with any of them to be
honest. The mono sounds thin and harsh,
despite being restored, whereas the 5.1 mixes spill little if any sound at all
into the surrounds and the only time the film even seems to be in left or right
channels is during the musical sections, which are far louder than the rest of
the film. Dialogue comes and goes with
a huge variance in it’s decibel level and it become a nescience trying to get
the film set at a good volume level.
The DTS mix is probably the most refined, but still has some harshness
and problems despite being free of distortion.
Well, while the presentation still has some reservations
this new edition does contain a documentary/making of that resides solely on
disc two, along with the trailer. The Art of the String is a retrospective
that runs nearly one hour in length with Dolby Stereo sound and is a good
companion piece to the film. Fans should
be moderately happy, although a commentary track would have been a sweet
addition as well, but maybe next time.
This is a tough call to make on this DVD edition because
both the extras are moderately light by today’s expectations and the quality is
not nearly as top-notch as the packaging might make you believe with the
‘restored’ markings all over. Even the
inclusion of DTS, which is always a warm welcome, fails to energize the film
enough in it’s sound performance and the picture suffers too drastically from a
hazy, washed out, poor black level print.
Even a die-hard fan might be a bit disappointing that more care was not
taken in this film, especially since this is the second-go-around for this
title on DVD to date. I guess it’s the
roll of the die on this one, that is if you are prepared to not be …well,
stung!
- Nate Goss
