| Title | : | The Sting: A Novel Approach to Cinema (Deep Focus) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1593762798 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781593762797 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 128 |
| Publication | : | First published February 1, 2011 |
Matthew Specktor’s passionate, lyric meditation turns The Sting on its head, on its side, and right-side-up in an effort to unpack the film’s giddy complexity and secret, melancholic heart. Working off interviews with screenwriter David S. Ward and producer Tony Bill, and tacking from nuanced interpretation of its arching moods and themes to gimlet-eyed observation of its dizzying sleights-of-hand, Specktor opens The Sting up to disclose the subtle and stunning dimensions—sexual, political, and aesthetic—of Hill’s best film. Through Specktor’s lens, The Sting reveals itself as both an enduring human drama and a meditation on art-making itself, an ode to the necessary pleasure of being fooled at the movies.
The Sting: A Novel Approach to Cinema (Deep Focus) Reviews
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I enjoy short series such as this one on film, "A Novel Approach to Cinema." This book was entertaining and almost great. It was intelligently written with an interesting perspective, behind-the-scenes details, and a passion for the film. A couple of things turned me off: the author's use of bad language (in an attempt to be cool?)--I'm all for it when it fits, but this was just awkward--and a strange fixation on the homoerotic, which I felt bordered on bigotry in a couple of remarks.
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Specktor tells us highbrow critics like Pauline Kael didn't understand The Sting. He sees depth whereas Kael saw shallowness. His explanation of the grifter lifestyle complete with the source material being a 1940s book, The Big Con, is helpful in understanding the underworld that ran the very kind of game that is used here. Newman is the big operator and Redford is the small-timer and together they will gut a big fish. He's impressed with both actors and even more so with the fish played by a hobbled Robert Shaw, who was going to drop out after an injury but stayed on with crutches.
Specktor has his own unique take on the film. Even the parts meant to fool the audience do not trouble him. There is one particular nod to the zeitgeist though. He believes there is some sort of latent homosexuality in the relationship between Newman and Redford because of the way they look at each other. Why is male friendship a mystery to so many adults?
I have now read three books in this series and I can see why the collection stopped at 6 volumes. The writers tackling these films take an esoteric view of them. You have to be in for an offbeat take and most fans of any film aren't going to respond in ways that sell a lot of books. -
Best one of the series so far. (Yeah, I know they only put out five books, but the others have been so uneven) This was a decent look at a popular film, with research and thought and some (but not too much) memoir. I always liked this movie, watched it whenever it was on TV and so I had a good point of reference. The author did a good job interviewing people involved in the movie and really taking a critical eye of it. For a wee book, this was a nice well rounded look at a movie about con artists and how movies themselves is a con game. Liked it.
