George Roy Hill's - The Sting - Newman Redford DVD Review George Roy Hill The Sting Newman Redford DVD Review George Roy Hill The Sting Newman Redford DVD Review George Roy Hill The Sting Newman Redford DVD Review George Roy Hill The Sting Newman Redford DVD Review George Roy Hill The Sting Newman Redford DVD Review George Roy Hill The Sting Newman Redford DVD Review George Roy Hill The Sting Newman Redford DVD Review George Roy Hill The Sting Newman Redford DVD Review

directed by George Roy Hill
USA 1973

The movie has a nice, light-fingered style to it. Hill gently kids the 1930s with his slight exaggerations of fashions and styles. He tells his story episodically, breaking the movie down into the various plateaus of the con game. And he's awfully good at maintaining a kind of off-balance pacing; we can never quite pin Newman and Redford down. They're always sort of angling into scenes, making enigmatic statements under their breath and staying at least a step ahead of us. Hill's visual style is oblique; instead of stationing his actors in the frame and recording the action, he seems to sneak up on it. Newman and Redford almost seem on their way to another movie. If that sounds like a criticism, it's not meant as one: The style here is so seductive and witty it's hard to pin down.

Excerpt from Roger Ebert's Review Found HERE

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Theatrical Release: December 25th, 1973

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DVD Comparison:

Universal - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Universal (Legacy Series) - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Universal Pictures - Region 2,4 - PAL

Big thanks to Maarten de Haas for the Universal Pictures Screen Caps!

(Universal - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Universal (Legacy) - Region 1 - NTSC - MIDDLE vs. Universal Pictures - Region 2,4 - PAL - RIGHT)

DVD Box Covers	Out of Print
Distribution	Universal Region 1 - NTSC	Universal (Legacy Series) Region 1 - NTSC	Universal Pictures Region 2,4 - PAL
Runtime	2:09:12	2:09:08	2:03:54 (4% PAL speedup)
Video	1.33 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 4.27 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.33 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 8.16 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.85:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 7,23 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: Universal
Bitrate: Universal LEGACY SERIES
Bitrate: Universal Pictures
Audio	English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono, DUBS: French Dolby Digital 2.0 mono, Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 mono	English Dolby Digital 5.1, English Dolby Digital DTS, English Dolby Digital 2.0, DUBS: French Dolby Digital 2.0 mono, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 mono	English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono, DUBS: German Dolby Digital 2.0 mono, French Dolby Digital 2.0 mono, Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 mono, Italian Dolby Digital 2.
Subtitles	English, Spanish, none	English, Spanish, French, none	Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Portuguese, Norwegian, Polish, Swedish and none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Universal Aspect Ratio: Fullscreen - 1.33 Edition Details: • Production Notes • Bios DVD Release Date: March 31st, 1998 Keep Case Chapters 16	Release Information: Studio: Universal (Legacy) Aspect Ratio: Widescreen letterboxed - 1.85:1 Edition Details: • The Art of The Sting - A Retrospective on the making of The Sting (56:14) • Theatrical Trailer • Production Notes DVD Release Date: September 6th, 2005 Keep Case Chapters 16	Release Information: Studio: Universal Pictures Aspect Ratio: Widescreen letterboxed - 1.85:1 Edition Details: • Production notes • Cast and Filmmaker's notes • Theatrical trailer DVD Release Date: August 11, 2003 Keepcase Chapters 17

Comments

ADDITION: - Universal Legacy Series NTSC - There is a big difference in the color scheme of these three DVDs and although we may never know with 100% certainty which is most accurate - the new Legacy edition has the most true skin tones. Luckily this one is in its theatrical aspect ratio (1.85) and is anamorphic. We have noticed in past comparisons that full-frame and open-matte transfers always seem to be sharper than their widescreen counterparts (see Eye of the Beholder comparison HERE). I don't know why this is. Regardless, with the optional audio bumps, bonus disc of the 50 minute documentary "The Art of the Sting" - and the feature's more realistic skin tones we judge the Legacy to be the issue to own.

*****

Anybody got any tape? Yes even the newer Universal - Region 1 "The Sting" DVD sold HERE is the Open Matte, 1.33 - full screen version. You can see a little more cropped on the side edges of the Region 1 as well. Widescreen fans of this film in North America are not very happy. I would have bet that on the newer version Universal (R1) would have got it right. Unfortunately the PAL edition is somewhat hazier with a pinkish hue making skin tones redder. Extras are nothing to rave about but the Region 2,4 wins with an added theatrical trailer. So if you want to see this like its theatrical debut, you need to buy the Region 2,4 PAL edition.

- Gary Tooze

DVD Menus

( Universal (Legacy) - Region 1 - NTSC - Disc 1 )

( Universal (Legacy) - Region 1 - NTSC - Disc 2 )

(Universal - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Universal Pictures - Region 2,4 - PAL - RIGHT)

Screen Captures

Subtitle Sample