The Sting
Academy Award × 7·National Film Registry
Rent/Purchase
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.
What critics thought
The Sting is broadly celebrated as a masterclass in crowd-pleasing entertainment — a caper film whose elaborate con-within-a-con structure, period style, and Newman-Redford chemistry won over nearly all comers. The lone significant dissent came from critics who found its mechanical, section-by-section construction more slick than spirited, arguing the film's relentless charm was itself a kind of hollow trick.
“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. One forgives its unrelenting efforts to charm, if only because The Sting itself is a kind of con game, devoid of the poetic aspirations that weighed down Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.”
Vincent Canby·The New York Times
“a movie movie that has obviously been made with loving care each and every step of the way.”
Gene Siskel·Chicago Tribune
“George Roy Hill's outstanding direction of David S. Ward's finely-crafted story of multiple deception and surprise ending will delight both mass and class audiences.”
Variety
Genres
Comedy, Crime, Drama
Cast & Crew
DirectorGeorge Roy Hill
StarringPaul Newman, Robert Redford, Robert Shaw, Charles Durning, Ray Walston
ComposerMarvin Hamlisch, Scott Joplin
The Sting
Academy Award × 7·National Film Registry
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.
What critics thought
The Sting is broadly celebrated as a masterclass in crowd-pleasing entertainment — a caper film whose elaborate con-within-a-con structure, period style, and Newman-Redford chemistry won over nearly all comers. The lone significant dissent came from critics who found its mechanical, section-by-section construction more slick than spirited, arguing the film's relentless charm was itself a kind of hollow trick.
“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. One forgives its unrelenting efforts to charm, if only because The Sting itself is a kind of con game, devoid of the poetic aspirations that weighed down Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.”
Vincent Canby·The New York Times
“a movie movie that has obviously been made with loving care each and every step of the way.”
Gene Siskel·Chicago Tribune
“George Roy Hill's outstanding direction of David S. Ward's finely-crafted story of multiple deception and surprise ending will delight both mass and class audiences.”
Variety
Genres
Comedy, Crime, Drama
Cast & Crew
DirectorGeorge Roy Hill
StarringPaul Newman, Robert Redford, Robert Shaw, Charles Durning, Ray Walston
ComposerMarvin Hamlisch, Scott Joplin
Rent/Purchase