Critic's Pick — Weekend Classics: 'The Sting'

Although they made only two movies together, Robert Redford and Paul Newman are remembered as one of the great duos of Hollywood superstar talent. By comparison, John C. Reilly and Will Ferrell have made three movies in which they were the stars. George Clooney and Brad Pitt have teamed up for six. Robert De Niro/Joe Pesci and James Franco/Seth Rogen have each made seven. Yet the quality-over-quantity factor favors Redford and Newman. Following the success of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, which won four Oscars out of seven nominations, Redford and Newman reunited with director George Roy Hill for The Sting, a crime movie that was just as much fun as their first. Centered on a pair of Depression-era con men, The Sting is one of the truly great caper movies. The antagonist of the duo is an Irish American crime boss played flawlessly by Robert Shaw. Along with a ragtime soundtrack, a magnificent wardrobe and a plotline guided by silent-film-style title cards, the film creates a unique fantasy of the 1930s Chicago underworld. Winning seven of its 10 Academy Award nominations, The Sting is just as much an eternally captivating film as Butch Cassidy was four years prior. With three showings as part of the Belcourt’s Redford retrospective, The Sting is worth the effort to see on the big screen. For showtimes, visit belcourt.org.

Jan 17 & 20 at the Belcourt

2102 Belcourt Ave.