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The Sting - (Deep Focus) by Matthew Specktor (Paperback)

The Sting - (Deep Focus) by  Matthew Specktor (Paperback) - 1 of 1
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About this item

Highlights

  • From Melville to Madoff, the Confidence Man is an essential American archetype.
  • About the Author: Matthew Skecktor is a former film executive for Tribeca Productions and 20th Century Fox.
  • 128 Pages
  • Performing Arts, Film
  • Series Name: Deep Focus

Description



About the Book



From Melville to Madoff, the Confidence Man is an essential American archetype. George Roy Hill's 1973 film "The Sting" treats this theme with a characteristic dexterity. The movie was warmly received in its time, winning seven Academy Awards, but there were some who thought the movie was nothing more than a slight throwback. Pauline Kael, among others, felt Hill's film was mechanical and contrived: a callow and manipulative attempt to recapture the box-office success of Robert Redford and Paul Newman's prior pairing, "Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid."
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.



Book Synopsis



From Melville to Madoff, the Confidence Man is an essential American archetype. George Roy Hill's 1973 film The Sting treats this theme with a characteristic dexterity. The movie was warmly received in its time, winning seven Academy Awards, but there were some who thought the movie was nothing more than a slight throwback. Pauline Kael, among others, felt Hill's film was mechanical and contrived: a callow and manipulative attempt to recapture the box-office success of Robert Redford and Paul Newman's prior pairing, Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid.

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.



Review Quotes




Praise for Deep Focus

"Soft Skull hits the likely appeal perfectly." --Mark Asch, The L Magazine

"A spectacular idea for a series." --Paul Constant, The Stranger



About the Author



Matthew Skecktor is a former film executive for Tribeca Productions and 20th Century Fox. He is the author of the novels That Summertime Sound and American Dream Machine, and his writing has appeared in various periodicals, including Open City, Five Chapters, and Salon. He lives in Los Angeles.
Dimensions (Overall): 6.65 Inches (H) x 4.74 Inches (W) x .36 Inches (D)
Weight: .2 Pounds
Suggested Age: 22 Years and Up
Number of Pages: 128
Genre: Performing Arts
Sub-Genre: Film
Series Title: Deep Focus
Publisher: Catapult
Theme: History & Criticism
Format: Paperback
Author: Matthew Specktor
Language: English
Street Date: May 17, 2011
TCIN: 1003614490
UPC: 9781593762797
Item Number (DPCI): 247-12-8509
Origin: Made in the USA or Imported
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Shipping details

Estimated ship dimensions: 0.36 inches length x 4.74 inches width x 6.65 inches height
Estimated ship weight: 0.2 pounds
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