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The Sting

The Sting (1973)

tomatometer

91

Average Rating: 8.1/10
Reviews Counted: 46
Fresh: 42 | Rotten: 4

Paul Newman, Robert Redford, and director George Roy Hill prove that charm, humor, and a few slick twists can add up to a great film.

80

Average Rating: 6.9/10
Critic Reviews: 5
Fresh: 4 | Rotten: 1

Paul Newman, Robert Redford, and director George Roy Hill prove that charm, humor, and a few slick twists can add up to a great film.

audience

93

liked it
Average Rating: 4.1/5
User Ratings: 56,978

My Rating

Movie Info

Four years after setting box offices ablaze in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Paul Newman, Robert Redford, and director George Roy Hill re-teamed with similar success for The Sting. Redford plays Depression-era confidence trickster Johnny Hooker, whose friend and mentor Luther Coleman (Robert Earl Jones) is murdered by racketeer/gambler Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw). Hoping to avenge Luther's death, Johnny begins planning a "sting" -- an elaborate scam -- to destroy Lonnegan. He enlists the

PG, 2 hr. 10 min.

Drama, Classics, Comedy

David S. Ward

Sep 6, 2005

Universal Pictures

Cast

All Critics (46) | Top Critics (5) | Fresh (48) | Rotten (4) | DVD (29)

Newman and Redford pass a few facial expressions between them and try to cool each other out. If there ever was much of a script, it can be said to have gone to waste.

October 1, 2008 Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | Comments (3)
TIME Magazine
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Extremely handsome production values and a great supporting cast round out the virtues.

February 19, 2008 Full Review Source: Variety | Comment
Variety
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Top-notch entertainment.

December 13, 2006 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comment
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The film is so good-natured, so obviously aware of everything it's up to, even its own picturesque frauds, that I opt to go along with it.

May 9, 2005 Full Review Source: New York Times | Comment
New York Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The movie has a nice, light-fingered style to it.

October 23, 2004 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | Comments (2)
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Smart, stylish caper -- but not for kids.

January 1, 2011 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comment
Common Sense Media

Overrated, overlong and unconvincing formulaic comedy caper that relies heavily on star power.

March 18, 2008 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | Comments (11)
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

The Sting still holds up as a beautifully constructed piece of mainstream entertainment with two stars burning brightly and staying on the right side of smug.

February 19, 2008 Full Review Source: Film4 | Comment

In the parlance of the day, everything about it is jake. (HD-DVD Edition)

February 15, 2007 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
Movie Metropolis

The camaraderie between the two principal actors is almost as appealing as it was in Butch Cassidy.

February 15, 2007 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
Movie Metropolis

Vastly overrated.

December 13, 2006 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | Comments (5)
TV Guide's Movie Guide

A sly heist-style caper the joyously relives the Roaring Twenties

December 13, 2006 Full Review Source: Oscar Guy | Comment
Oscar Guy

this Depression-era comedy cashes in on the individual charm of Paul Newman and Robert Redford and the strong chemistry between them, also evident in Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid.

July 25, 2006 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | Comment

The film ends up relying on different chapter headings to explain what's going on, but it's all very professional, with fine attention to period detail.

June 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out | Comment

Still fairly entertaining, though its tricky twists have been co-opted by many subsequent films, and there's no getting around the fact that [it's] way too long.

November 17, 2005 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | Comment
Combustible Celluloid

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.

October 19, 2005 Full Review Source: Now Playing Magazine | Comment

The DVD is a nostalgic refreshing look at an old classic...

October 14, 2005 Full Review | Comment
International Press Academy
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for The Sting

A few years after the great Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Paul Newman and Robert Redford reteamed with director George Roy Hill for this- an intricately crafted and wonderfully structured con artist/heist picture filled with tons of twists and turns, and entertainment value out the wazoo.Set in 1936 around

April 19, 2008
cosmo313
Chris Weber

Super Reviewer

A very good Oscar winner and and a classic

August 15, 2011
DreamExtractor
Brad Wright

Super Reviewer

    1. Doyle Lonnegan: Your boss is quite a card player, Mr. Kelly; how does he do it?
    2. Johnny Hooker/Kelly: He cheats.
    – Submitted by Francis L (3 months ago)
    1. Henry Gondorff/Mr. Shaw: Four jacks.
    – Submitted by Alison P (10 months ago)
    1. Doyle Lonnegan: You follow?
    – Submitted by Randy G (11 months ago)

Latest News for The Sting

September 14, 2010:
Harold Gould: 1923-2010
Veteran character actor Harold Gould, whose most notable appearances included roles in "The Sting,"...

February 2, 2010:
David Brown: 1916-2010
David Brown, the film and theater producer whose works included "The Sting," "Jaws," and "The...

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