Judging Oscar: 1973

I have watched or re-watched the films nominated for Best Picture and Best Director and then placed a value judgment on what I saw cinematically.  Last time I did 1980.  This is 1973. 

BEST PICTURE

WINNER: The Sting (dir. George Roy Hill)

Charm and entertainment value can go a long way, and why shouldn’t it?  This is a perfectly executed update and expansion of the Depression-era programmer that has as much fun with its scenery as it does with its plot.  And I won’t hold any of that against it.  Snappy dialogue, scenery-chewing performances, period costumes, a wonderfully evocative ragtime score.  David S. Ward's script is sharp and sparkling, perfectly structured and paced and kept that way by George Roy Hill. It is impossible for me to view this film objectively anyway, as it was the first “grown up movie” that my parents let me see (at around 13 or 14 I was determined to see any Oscar nominees I could from the 70’s through the 90’s).  I loved it then, even as it spun my head around in circles, and I love it now for Robert Shaw, for Paul Newman, for all the bit character actors like Durning and Gould.  I love it for the sets, for the feeling, for the nostalgia.  I love it for the plot mechanics.  I could sit down and watch it just about any time.  I don’t have to figure it out; I like going along for the ride.