The Sting (1973)
...all it takes is a little confidence.
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.
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| Type | Movie |
|---|---|
| Released | 25 December 1973 |
| Genre | Comedy, Crime, Drama |
| Director | George Roy Hill |
| Starring | Paul Newman, Robert Redford and Robert Shaw |
| Runtime | 129 min |
| Rated | PG |
| Scores | Rotten Tomatoes (average) 8.3/10 · Rotten Tomatoes 93% · Metacritic 83/100 · IMDb 8.2/10 · TMDB users 8.0/10 |
| Budget | $6 million |
Where to watch The Sting
The Sting is streaming on Prime Video ($13.98 a month) in the US. If that is the only reason to subscribe, one month of Prime Video is $13.98 at list price.
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Rent or buy
You can rent or buy The Sting on Apple TV, Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube and Fandango at Home.
Where to watch The Sting in 2 other countries
| Country | Streaming on (price a month) |
|---|---|
| Australia | Binge $19.00 AUD, Foxtel |
| Japan | U-NEXT ¥2189 JPY |
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What kind of watch this is
George Roy Hill’s 1973 crime drama runs 129 minutes, a duration that feels like a long card game where the stakes slowly ratchet up. Paul Newman and Robert Redford team up to pull off a massive swindle, a heist that relies less on muscle and more on the specific, dangerous kind of charm that can talk a mobster into his own pocket. The film is dry, slick, and surprisingly warm, treating the con as a dance rather than a fight. It is a masterclass in pacing, where every glance carries weight. You do not need to know the rules of poker to enjoy the rhythm, but you will respect the precision.
What the critics said
Rotten Tomatoes sits at 93% with an average of 8.3 out of 10, a score that suggests the charm worked. Metacritic agrees, landing on 83 out of 100 for universal acclaim. Roger Ebert gave it four stars, calling it "one of the most stylish movies of the year." Gene Siskel, slightly more cautious, awarded three-and-a-half stars for a film made with "loving care." Pauline Kael, the lone dissenter, found it "visually claustrophobic" and mechanical. The consensus? It’s a slick con that convinces you to go along.
How it did with audiences
The budget was $6 million. The film went on to gross $156 million in the United States and Canada, then another $101 million internationally, for a worldwide total of $257 million. In 1973 and early 1974, that made it a box-office smash. By August 2018, inflation adjustments had pushed it to the 20th highest-grossing film in the United States. On TMDB, users rate it 8.0 out of 10. On IMDb, the weighted average sits at 8.2/10 as of February 2026. Audiences did the math, and the numbers looked back.
Awards
The Sting took 9 of its 10 major awards. George Roy Hill won Best Director, David S. Ward won for the screenplay, and Marvin Hamlisch won for the score. It also swept Production Design, Costume Design, and Editing. The Academy gave Best Picture to Tony Bill, which is how the Academy operates.
What came next for the cast
Newman and Redford shared the Butch Cassidy lead. After 1973, Redford appeared in Avengers: Endgame, while Newman appeared in The Hudsucker Proxy. Shaw, who appeared in From Russia with Love and A Man for All Seasons, later appeared in Jaws. The credits do not say the film caused the divergence. They just mark where the paths split.
If you liked this
TMDB's recommendations for people who watched The Sting.
Read more: Catch Me If You Can
Sources
- The Sting on TMDB — synopsis, cast, ratings and recommendations
- Wikidata Q62665 — review scores, box office and awards (CC0)
- “The Sting” on Wikipedia, by its contributors (history) — reception, audience figures and legacy, summarised and adapted here under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Where to watch and prices: Binge Boss, from TMDB watch-provider data (powered by JustWatch) and our own provider list
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