The 1970s was a time of auteurism and existentialism, with many mainstream movies dipping into a seriousness heretofore unfound in American cinema. But sandwiched in between purposefully heavy films like The Godfather and Scarecrow, Deliverance and Chinatown, The Parallax View and The Conversation, was screenwriter David Ward and director George Roy Hill’s The Sting, which reunited Paul Newman and Robert Redford as two con artists in 1930s-era Chicago and racked up seven Academy Awards, including the Oscar for Best Picture, along the way. Though hardly a trifle, the 1973 film was characterized by a sprightliness that stood in stark contrast to much of its dramatic genre brethren of the time — think of it as its year’s Forrest Gump, in some ways. To wit, this brief reflection, from a review of Universal’s “Legacy Series” release of the movie on DVD late last year.

Redford stars as up-and-coming grifter Johnny Hooker, whom Henry Gondorff (Newman) takes under his wing when the former’s mentor is murdered by the Mob. Together they set out to extract their revenge by fleecing big-time racketeer Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw), though as they set up their “long-form” con, the rakish Hooker tries to keep Gondorff in the dark about a crooked cop (Charles Durning) that could spoil the whole scam, and other mitigating details that linger in the background like dark clouds. The rapport of the stars is topnotch, and it’s not for nothing that this film did extremely well at the box office. Director Hill’s familiarity with his Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid charges is evident in almost every frame, and together with cinematographer Robert Surtees and composer Marvin Hamlisch — who nicely adapts Scott Joplin’s ragtime music — he creates a backdrop that is so of a piece that you almost don’t notice the film’s professionalism when stacked up against its beguiling sheen.

Universal’s new “Legacy Series” release of the film gives it a handsome presentation in a hard-shell, book-style two-disc set. Presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, the film also offers up Dolby digital 5.1, Dolby digital 2.0 and English DTS 5.1 sound mixes. Apart from these admittedly noteworthy qualitative up-ticks, though, the release is rather concise, if not exactly lacking, in supplemental material. Alongside a reissue trailer is The Art of the Sting, an engaging, hour-long making-of documentary that includes interviews with the film’s two legendary stars, as well as Durning, Ray Walston, writer Ward and more. While director Hill and others have passed away, there are more than enough reminiscences from others to nicely fill out this recollection, though it should definitely be watched following a (re-)viewing of the film, as there are dissections of plot that could easily sully a more virginal viewing experience. While more DVD bonus materials certainly would have been nice — particularly something further breaking out and spotlighting the music — The Sting remains an eminently watchable filmic treat, a movie well worth exploring for younger movie fans. (Universal, PG, 129 mins.)