The Sting (1973)
96%RT Audience Score: 95%
Awards & Nominations: Won 7 Oscars
18 wins & 6 nominations total
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.
When you’ve got Paul Newman and Robert Redford on screen together, you know you’re in for a good time. And “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” doesn’t disappoint. Director George Roy Hill brings the perfect mix of charm, humor, and unexpected turns to this classic Western.
Newman and Redford play off each other so well, it’s like they were born to be on screen together. And the way they pull off those slick heists? It’s almost too cool for words. But don’t worry, there’s plenty of laughs to balance out the action.
Sure, it’s a bit of an oldie, but “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” still holds up today. So grab some popcorn, kick back, and enjoy the ride. You won’t regret it.
Production Company(ies)
Zanuck Brown Productions, Universal Pictures,
Distributor
MCA/Universal Home Video, Universal Pictures, Universal Home Entertainment
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Union Station – Canal St. & Jackson Blvd., Near West Side, Chicago, Illinois, USA
MPAA / Certificate
PG
Year of Release
1973
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:2h 9m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Dec 25, 1973 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 31, 1998
Genre(s)
Comedy/Drama
Keyword(s)
starring paul newman, robert redford, robert shaw, charles durning, ray walston, eileen brennan, directed by george roy hill, written by david s ward, produced by tony bill, julia phillips, michael phillips, comedy, drama, box office success, budget, reviewed by alexander walker, derek malcolm, david robinson, tom milne, colin bennett, kenneth robins, margaret minxman, george melly, romola costantino, michael billington, janet maslin, kevin m w, alec b, john b, carlos m, PG rating, con artist, revenge, crime boss, elaborate scheme, twists, improvisation, 1973, MCA/Universal Home Video, Universal Pictures, Universal Home Entertainment, Tubi, streaming, free, AVOD, WatchFree, TubiOriginals, summer of streaming, The Sandlot, RV, The Matrix
Worldwide gross: $156,000,000
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,161,893,517
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 78
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 126,705,945
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $5,500,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $40,964,195
Production budget ranking: 946
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $22,059,219
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $1,098,870,104
ROI to date (est.): 1,744%
ROI ranking: 59
Robert Redford – Johnny Hooker
Robert Shaw – Doyle Lonnegan
Charles Durning – Lt. William Snyder
Ray Walston – J.J. Singleton
Eileen Brennan – Billie
Director(s)
George Roy Hill
Writer(s)
NA
Producer(s)
Tony Bill, Julia Phillips, Michael Phillips
Film Festivals
Cannes
Awards & Nominations
Won 7 Oscars
18 wins & 6 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Picture Winners, Oscar Winners
All Critics (77) | Top Critics (21) | Fresh (72) | Rotten (5)
Here are all the good old-fashioned film virtues standing up to the test of storytelling in a movie that Is constantly whetting your curiosity to know — “What happens next?”
March 7, 2022
Alexander Walker
London Evening Standard
TOP CRITIC
A beautifully ironic thriller with Paul Newman and Robert Redford that echoes Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid without succumbing to its innate pretensions.
March 7, 2022
Derek Malcolm
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
It is an unabashed, light- hearted entertainment, set in a Runyonesque underworld peopled with amiable, picturesque, larger-than-life gangsters with crepe hair and costume boxes always at the ready to stage some ridiculously elaborate con job.
March 7, 2022
David Robinson
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
The Sting is a charmer, no doubt about that.
March 7, 2022
Tom Milne
Sight & Sound
TOP CRITIC
Add sharp professional playing all round (only Robert Shaw’s limping Irish gangster slows the jollity a bit) and you nave a film to carry you along despite its length; a film to leave you all smiles. The best of the year, though?
March 7, 2022
Colin Bennett
The Age (Australia)
TOP CRITIC
The Sting is heartily recommended, for it is a film in which superlative technique transcends any logical carping — not a great film by a long shot but a superb example of the film-maker’s craft which is also top entertainment.
March 7, 2022
Kenneth Robins
Sydney Morning Herald
TOP CRITIC
I suppose when you get right down to it neither Newman nor Redford, nor any of the seasoned cast, are put to too much strain in carrying off the plot with such apparently eff or t less flair. But for sizzling entertainment it could not be bettered.
March 7, 2022
Margaret Minxman
Liverpool Echo
It’s an old-fashioned, full-blooded entertainment, with a plot fast enough to conceal any inconsistencies, some cunningly placed coups de cinema ingenious enough to provoke spectators Into releasing sighs of delight at being thoroughly taken in.
March 7, 2022
George Melly
Observer (UK)
It’s a film of superb style, using one of the American legends — not the Wild West drama or the New York comedy, but the pre-war Chicago underworld one — to provide tough thrills with a comic edge to them.
March 7, 2022
Romola Costantino
The Sun-Herald (Australia)
It is very much a film about disguise, deception and acting; and the cleverness of the plot is that It first of all let us in on who is kidding whom and then pulls a substantial amount of rug from beneath our feet.
March 7, 2022
Michael Billington
Birmingham Post
The Sting is good clean fun, quite a lavish production, and lovely to look at, as are its leading men.
February 10, 2022
Janet Maslin
Boston Phoenix
Certainly loaded with blanks!
January 17, 2022 | Rating: 4.5/5
James Wegg
JWR…
Plot
Johnny Hooker, a small time grifter, unknowingly steals from Doyle Lonnegan, a big time crime boss, when he pulls a standard street con. Lonnegan demands satisfaction for the insult. After his partner, Luther, is killed, Hooker flees, and seeks the help of Henry Gondorff, one of Luther’s contacts, who is a master of the long con. Hooker wants to use Gondorff’s expertise to take Lonnegan for an enormous sum of money to even the score, since he admits he “doesn’t know enough about killing to kill him.” They devise a complicated scheme and amass a talented group of other con artists who want their share of the reparations. The stakes are high in this game, and our heroes must not only deal with Lonnegan’s murderous tendencies, but also other side players who want a piece of the action. To win, Hooker and Gondorff will need all their skills…and a fair amount of confidence.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
There is no mention of the film US or anyone in its cast on this page.
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