What a joy. This movie is so good on so many levels. The period detail and the settings are lovely, the ragtime musical score is world-famous and will run through your head for DAYS if you are lucky, and the plot is a serious contender for the 'Most Twisty Plot' award. If you like trying to figure out what's really going on in movies, you'll love this one.

And Paul 'Serious Honey' Newman is wonderful in this, as a semi-retired con man bent on one last big hit. Robert 'Mr. Wooden' Redford is not too bad, and Robert Shaw chews the scenery with the best of them.

A well-deserved Best Picture award winner, and a real treat to watch either for the first, or the twentieth, time.

Note on the DVD: it's pan-and-scan, an abomination in general and especially for such a beautifully made picture. There is NO widescreen version available, so I'd recommend renting it rather than buying it. Want to know more about movie aspect ratios? check out Gatadd's excellent description.

And don't forget to visit The Gatadd Zone!

A widescreen version has become available in the couple of years since I wrote this review...but it's still worthwhile checking out gatadd's web site.