The Sting (1973) = C-
This film seems overrated to me. The sets and make up are horrendous, and it looks like a cheap television production. The style of the opening credits, where they used quick clip shots of the actors from later in the film, reminded me of the opening credits for Love Boat and Fantasy Island. The characters are not very likable and the plot is dragged out with average screen writing. The only thing it really has going for it is the cast. Not as good as I was expecting.
Really? Have you seen many TV productions from the 1970s? Also the cutting perfectly captured the feel of a 1930s movie and the dialog has a real punch to it. Maybe it wasn’t your cup of tea but The Sting is a long way from being badly made or cheap. I only saw it for the first time a few years ago and it is one of my all time favorite films now. To each their own and I guess if you compare it to something made today it looks like it was made for Tv, but it is a period piece that takes place in doors so I do have to wonder what you were expecting from a 43 year old film of this type. Did you expect them to spend money where it wasn’t needed and ad car chases and explosions just to make the movie look like it cost more?
I am not trying to be insulting, I am just wondering what you expected from a movie of this type and age. At the time it was made Hollywood was still recovering from the problems of the late 60s, so things were having to be kept on budget but I have to say if you have seen any photos of the 30s, this film does look like the 30s, only in colour and if you watch a lot of films from the period it has the same style of editing.
At least I think that explains why people love this film so much.
Sorry I just reread what I wrote and I noticed that it may come off as too combative, that was not my intent. I was simply trying to explain why this movie is so loved and understand what you mean by saying that it looked cheap. I know people who don’t like The Sting but I have never heard anyone accuse it of looking cheap before so I was trying to understand that.
Sorry if I gave the impression this was personal or I was rude in any way.