Movie · 1973 · Comedy, Crime, Drama · 2h 9m · PG · English
Curator score: 9.1/10 (482.6K ratings)
...all it takes is a little confidence.
Overview
A novice con man teams up with an acknowledged master to avenge the murder of a mutual friend by pulling off the ultimate big con and swindling a fortune from a big-time mobster.
Ratings
Curator score: 9.1/10
IMDb: 8.2/10
Letterboxd: 4.20/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
Metacritic: 83
TMDB: 8.0/10
Director
George Roy Hill
Production
Universal Pictures, The Zanuck/Brown Company, Bill/Phillips Productions
Cast
Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Robert Shaw, Charles Durning, Ray Walston, Eileen Brennan, Harold Gould, John Heffernan, Dana Elcar, Jack Kehoe, Dimitra Arliss, Robert Earl Jones, James Sloyan, Charles Dierkop, Lee Paul, Sally Kirkland, Avon Long, Arch Johnson, Ed Bakey, Brad Sullivan
Curator Review
Verdict
A polished, crowd-pleasing caper with immaculate pacing, sharp star chemistry, and a twisty structure that still feels elegant decades later. It’s as much about the pleasure of the con as the con itself, balancing wit, suspense, and old-school movie glamour.
Best for
fans of smart crime capers
viewers who like charismatic star duos
people who enjoy twist endings and elaborate setups
audiences drawn to classic Hollywood craftsmanship
Skip if
you want gritty realism over style
you dislike period settings and old-fashioned pacing
you prefer action-heavy crime films
you need morally straightforward protagonists
Overview
The Sting is one of those rare studio-era entertainments that feels both effortless and meticulously engineered. Every piece clicks: the period detail, the ragtime energy, the crisp editing, and the easy chemistry between Newman and Redford. It’s a movie built on confidence, and that confidence is infectious.
Worth noting
What makes it endure is how much fun it has with deception. The plotting is intricate, but the film never becomes mechanical; it keeps the tone light, playful, and just sly enough to make you feel like you’re in on the joke, even when you’re not. The result is a caper that plays like pure cinematic sleight of hand.
Bottom line
It’s also a great reminder of how stylish mainstream filmmaking used to be when it trusted charm, structure, and performance over noise. If you like crime stories with wit, elegance, and a final payoff that lands like a grin, this is essential viewing.
Top Letterboxd reviews
eely (5★) · 3601 likes
the color palette they used to grade this is 100% just a way to make paul newman’s eyes look bluer and the blood on robert redford’s mouth look redder, and you know what? i agree.
celia (4.5★) · 2245 likes
Robert Redford has Brad Pitt face
Sam (4★) · 1685 likes
It has:
- Robert Redford changing his hairstyle
- Robert Redford smiling
- Robert Redford running
- Robert Redford drinking
- Robert Redford playing games
- Robert Redford sitting
- Robert Redford being hot
Karsten (4★) · 1328 likes
you gotta love these guys
liam f (4★) · 1141 likes
this may be one of the most overused phrases in the book, but I believe it's more than fitting to say that they truly don't make films like this anymore
1987 · Crime, Thriller, Drama · 1h 42m · R · Curator 8.3/10 (25.8K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, MGM Plus, Philo, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
A tightly controlled confidence game movie that turns manipulation into a formal pleasure.
1963 · Comedy, Mystery, Romance · 1h 53m · NR · Curator 8.5/10 (289K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Philo, Pure Flix, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Bloodstream
A glossy, witty game of deception and shifting identities with impeccable pacing and star appeal.