Sunday, October 23, 2005

The Entertainer, Indeed

I'm a big fan of movies, but I wouldn't necessarily call myself a "movie buff." To me, the distinction is this: the "movie buff" is a fan of Classic Cinema, of the old great films. The movie buff has probably seen most of the AFI Top 100 Movies list. Me, I just like to see a lot of movies.

Still, every now and then, I like to try out one of those classic films, to see if it lives up to all the hype, awards, and acclaim. Generally, I'm pretty disappointed. Over the years, I've viewed (and ultimately have not liked) Citizen Kane, Casablanca, The Godfather (Parts I and II), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and others. (I appreciated the cinematography of Lawrence of Arabia, but didn't think too much of the movie.) Maybe I'm just a snob when it comes to older movies.

However, I finally saw one today that I did quite enjoy: The Sting.

I know The Sting is not really that old a movie. It was made before I was born, though. It won the Oscar for Best Picture, though it did not actually make the AFI Top 100 list. Nor will it make my own top 100 list.

But it was nevertheless a very enjoyable movie. It's certainly a movie that casts a long shadow over many that would follow. For example, many people blame The Sixth Sense for Hollywood's fascination of late with "twist endings." But The Sting was there long before. (Hell... you could go back all the way to Citizen Kane for that, except that it's impossible to come to that movie not knowing the ending.)

The cast of The Sting is great, the writing is sharp, and of course everybody knows the music by Scott Joplin whether they've seen the movie or not. (I think I heard somewhere that a significant number of people actually think the song "The Entertainer" is called "The Sting.")

If you're like I was this time yesterday -- that is, a fan of "heist" movies that has never seen The Sting -- you owe it to yourself to check it out.

5 comments:

GiromiDe said...

Considering so many critics believe the 1970s was the height of American cinema, you might want to stay in that decade, unless you're perusing Hitchcock.

Anonymous said...

Uh, this is totally eerie. I just watched The Sting (for the first time) on a whim this past Friday. I enjoyed it as well. The card game on the train was an excellent scene! Redford, Newman, and Quint (Shaw, but he'll never shake that name in my mind) all fill amazing roles. Side note, did you know the guy who played Luther was James Earl Jones' FATHER? That shocked me. Anyway, yeah, like you I get on a classic movie kick on occasion, but it seems I enjoy more than you do. I liked the first two Godfather movies and Cuckoo's Nest...didn't care much for Lawrence of Arabia as much.

DrHeimlich said...

I didn't know what relation that actor was to James Earl Jones, but the resemblance was unmistakable. I saw the "Earl Jones" in the credits, but I suppose I assumed "brother" or something. Again... it's a movie from 1973. :-)

Anonymous said...

Yeah, "brother" was my guess. Then again, I can't imagine James Earl Jones ever looking too young. "The Great White Hope" (another movie I've not seen) is supposed to be one of his earliest ventures.

Brad said...

I tried to to think that everyone has their taste ... but, man! How could you not like Casablanca???