Flick Pick: The Sting

The Sting
(Universal, 1973)

George Roy Hill's second teaming with Newman and Redford, and by far the better of the two. With a script rescued from a junk pile by an agent's reader, it was subsequently sold to Universal. With Newman and Redford slated to appear, the role of the mark went begging until Paul Newman personally delivered the script to Robert Shaw, asking him to take the part. Made for about $10M, and released at Christmas, it blew everything else away, raked in receipts, and scooped up Seven Academy Awards. With earnings adjusted for inflation, it's still one of the top twenty movies of all time, and one of the most enjoyable caper comedies ever made, spawning any number of movie and television copycats over the last 40 years. Marvin Hamlisch's adaptation of Scott Joplin's rags in the soundtrack made Joplin a household name again, and ensured the recognition of his musical talents for generations to come.
Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screeplay, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Music