How others will see it. The Sting was a critical and commercial success. It won the Oscar for Best Picture. Its Marvin Hamlisch/Scott Joplin score briefly revived Ragtime. Obviously, people liked it. And deservedly so, since it is a good movie. The story is complex but comprehensible. The script is succinct, and the characters are mildly compelling. We especially appreciate the greed of Robert Shaw, and his eagerness for the big score when he thinks the game is fixed on his behalf.
Who wouldn't like this film? Well, women are apt to like it less, although Redford's presence ensures at least a minor romantic interest. The film is short on action, comedy, and babes, but the suspense is compelling enough for most viewers.
How I felt about it. Paul Newman is first-billed, but the story is told nearly exclusively through Redford, who is in most scenes. It is curious that Newman and Redford never starred in a movie together again, since their two joint efforts, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Sting, were such lauded box office hits. However, both would work again with the director of the two movies, George Roy Hill. Redford starred in Hill's The Great Waldo Pepper, while Newman was the lead in the Slap Stick.
The Sting was released the same year as another Depression-era movie about con artists, Paper Moon. The latter chose to use radio broadcasts to evoke the era. For some reason, The Sting used Ragtime music, which was popular prior to World War I but was out of fashion by the 1930s. However, it is hard to argue with financial success. The soundtrack to The Sting sold plenty of copies. The soundtrack to Paper Moon did not.
A running theme throughout The Sting is that Redford's life is endangered, since an angry cop and several gangster hitmen are after him. Redford seems remarkably indifferent to this, worrying about a hit only when one is taking place. It is especially odd that his long con involves several face to face meetings with Shaw and his top henchmen, at the same time that Shaw's hitmen are after him. And wouldn't Shaw investigate how long the horse race parlor was in business before going for the big score? It is also hard to believe that Redford won't take his cut from Newman at film's end. Sure he'll blow it. But why give up the pleasure of doing so?