Product Details

• Actors: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Robert Shaw, Charles Durning, Ray Walston
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: A & E Home Video
• VHS Release Date: February 4, 2000
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (247 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000006QP5
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #700,448 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

Winner of seven Academy Awards including Best Picture, Director, and Screenplay, this critical and box-office hit from 1973 provided a perfect reunion for director George Roy Hill and stars Paul Newman and Robert Redford, who previously delighted audiences with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Set in 1936, the movie's about a pair of Chicago con artists (Newman and Redford) who find themselves in a high-stakes game against the master of all cheating mobsters (Robert Shaw) when they set out to avenge the murder of a mutual friend and partner. Using a bogus bookie joint as a front for their con of all cons, the two feel the heat from the Chicago Mob on one side and encroaching police on the other. But in a plot that contains more twists than a treacherous mountain road, the ultimate scam is pulled off with consummate style and panache. It's an added bonus that Newman and Redford were box-office kings at the top of their game, and while Shaw broods intensely as the Runyonesque villain, The Sting is further blessed by a host of great supporting players including Dana Elcar, Eileen Brennan, Ray Walston, Charles Durning, and Harold Gould. Thanks to the flavorful music score by Marvin Hamlisch, this was also the movie that sparked a nationwide revival of Scott Joplin's ragtime jazz, which is featured prominently on the soundtrack. One of the most entertaining movies of the early 1970s, The Sting is a welcome throwback to Hollywood's golden age of the '30s that hasn't lost any of its popular charm. --Jeff Shannon

Product Description

" When Marion Barry was caught on tape smoking crack in a Washington hotel room, it was the crowning moment of a long investigation. But, like so many high-profile sting operations, the Barry case was instantly surrounded by controversy. THE STING is a hard-hitting look at cases where the line between ensnaring a likely criminal and entrapping a duped victim is blurred. Examine the vast differences between cases like Barry's and the commonplace incidents where police pretend to be prostitutes or drug dealers in order to catch ""johns"" and users. While most low-profile cases lead to quick convictions, many high-profile targets, like automaker John DeLorean, win acquittal. Here, law enforcement professionals, including the prosecutor in the Barry case and one of the DeLorean investigators, explore the troubling aspects of sting operations. Learn surprising details from famous cases, including the fact that DeLorean offered no money for the cocaine agents ""sold"" him! And revisit the granddaddy of all stings, the infamous ABSCAM incident.From the entrapment defense to the confusing rules that govern these controversial operations, AMERICAN JUSTICE goes undercover to reveal the secrets of THE STING."

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

123 of 130 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WHY NOT GET THE FACTS BEFORE COMPLAINING???, December 16, 2004

By 

J. Caruso (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sting (DVD)

I just bought this DVD for my father because this movie IS a classic, no matter what anyone says. But, when it came in the mail, I was surprised to see "Full Screen" on the front of the box. So I did what many of you did NOT do (with the exception of reviewer cammonro dated Sept 2, 2003), I went to the Universal web site and emailed their Home Entertainment division.

From Universal Studios Home Entertainment:

'The Sting' is only available on DVD in the 1.33:1 aspect ratio, which in this case displays the same picture information side-to-side as was seen theatrically. Also, more information is shown top-to-bottom than in the theatrical version because of the way the film was originally shot.

One process used in creating movies for theatrical exhibition is to place 'mattes' over the top and bottom of the 35 mm film frame to alter the aspect ratio to 1.85:1 'Widescreen.' To avoid black letterboxing bars on the top and bottom of the picture when it is displayed on standard television, the original mattes are removed in a process known as 'Open Matte.' (This is not to be confused with 'Pan & Scan,' a completely different process of transferring film to Video and DVD.) 'Open Matte' was used with in the production of 'The Sting.'

SO THERE YOU HAVE IT. For all of you complaining about how this DVD is PAN-AND-SCAN, you are WRONG. And for all of you still waiting for WIDESCREEN, you ALREADY HAVE IT with this DVD if you understand what Universal is saying above; you are actually seeing MORE than what you'd see in the theater version because of the "Open Matte" process Universal used, NOT pan-and-scan.

If anyone begs to differ with these facts, argue with the source, Universal.

433 of 473 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stop whining about "full screen"!, December 17, 2004

By 

Ander (Vancouver) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sting (DVD)

Please stop whining about this DVD's aspect ratio. It's not "full-screen." It's widescreen with the original top and bottom sections restored.

According to film historian David P. Hayes, THE STING was filmed in 4:3 (equivalent to "full-screen") ratio because director George Roy Hill wanted it to look like an old movie. The studio (and/or the exhibitors) apparently had second thoughts about it, though, so theatrically-released prints had the top and bottom sections blocked ("matted") to fit the widescreen format.

What you see on this DVD is not "pan and scan" (with missing left and right content), but the original format with the top and bottom restored.

(...)

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome Movie on HD DVD!, February 12, 2007

By 

James Morrison "Jay" (Rochester, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sting [HD DVD] (HD DVD)

Honestly i've seen better HD DVD's but still this one is remastered like crazy,its a hell of alot clearer than the original dvd release and its amazing to see what they can do with movies such as old as this one. I mean 1973 this movie comes out and after watching the HD DVD you would think it was a new release. All in all to keep this short this is an amazing film and you should pick it up on HD DVD right now!