Criterion’s newest collection is movies all about con-games. I love this sub-genre and while some great ones are missing, you can choose from The Grifters, The Lady Eve, Trouble in Paradise, Matchstick Men and, of course, the platonic form of con movies, The Sting. Few movies have such balanced leading-man roles and both Redford and Newman are magnetic.
The key to any great con movie is the end, and while it’s hard to re-capture the wild delight the finish of the The Sting gives to the first-time viewer, scenes like the poker game (Lonniman! Lorriman! Linnehan!), Mottola in the back of the cab (“I just made the world’s easiest five grand”), the telegraph office, Salino’s denouement, and, of course, the sting itself, do not lose their magic. If it’s been awhile, treat yourself. It it’s too soon, almost everything in the collection is worth a watch if you love a good con. (Criterion)