In 1973, The Sting starring Robert Redford and Paul Newman became an instant global success. Critics and fans gushed about the movie and the handsome young stars while the box office hit $160 million (equal to $800 million today) The Sting remains the 20th highest-grossing film of all time. Gene Siskel rated it 3½ out of 4 stars and said it “was obviously made with loving care each and every step of the way” while his cohost Roger Ebert gave it a perfect 4 out of 4 stars and said it was “one of the most stylish movies of the year.”

In honor of the 2020 Academy Awards, the Sunrise Theater will be screening this Oscar classic on Sunday, January 5 at 4 pm as the first in a series of Oscar Flashbacks. Tickets are $8 reserved seating.  The movie is sponsored by Knickers Lingerie.

The Sting is a complicated caper film set in 1936 about two professional grifters (Newman and Redford) who try to con a mob boss (Robert Shaw). It was directed by George Roy Hill, who had directed Newman and Redford in the western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in 1969.  Hill painstakingly made The Sting reflect the feel of 1930s Chicago and of old Hollywood films from that era. Even the artwork in the credits was inspired by 1930s art from The Saturday Evening Post. The beer characters are seen drinking is Schlitz which was the largest beer company in the world during the 30s. Hill used locations in Chicago and Los Angeles that had not been modernized including the Santa Monica Carousel, The Biltmore Hotel, and Chicago’s Union Station.

Tickets to the Sunrise Theater’s showing of The Sting are available at SunriseTheater.com, the Sunrise office, or by calling 910-692-3611. Other Oscar Flashbacks coming to the Sunrise include Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (2002) sponsored by WhitLauter Jewelers on January 12 and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1968) sponsored by Ashten’s Restaurant on February 2.

 

Contributed.

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