Get the MovieNight app
Add it to your home screen — faster & full screen
Get the MovieNight app
Add it to your home screen — faster & full screen
Universal Pictures
The Sting Collection
...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.
Filipe Manuel Neto
Sep 4, 2023 · via TMDB
**It is imperative to rediscover this magnificent film.** There are many films about con artists and confidence games (Ocean’s Eleven and its two or three sequels, for example), but I had never seen one that was so good-natured and in which the main characters were so likable. It's a light, family comedy from the 70s, in which a group of tricksters decides to risk their lives to deceive a powerful and rich mobster in order to avenge a friend, killed by his hitmen. This film was, at the time, a huge financial success in the USA and won notable awards, especially seven Academy Awards: Best Film, Best Director, Best Original Soundtrack, Best Original Screenplay, Best Costume Design, Best Editing and Best Art Direction! Therefore, it is difficult to believe that a film with such qualities has been forgotten, but it is true. I never saw it on television, I never heard much about it, I don't think it even had much visibility outside his country of origin. In Portugal there wasn't, but I understand why: the film premiered the day before the country experienced a military coup against the government, and the rest of that year was very complicated here, so no one was very willing to go to the movies. Therefore, I think that recapping this film and bringing it back to theater, in a possibly restored version, would be a gesture of complete justice to its quality. The film has three enormous actors who deserve praise for the work done here: Robert Redford shows value and talent in a film that will open many doors for him, Robert Shaw offers us one of the best dramatic exercises of his artistic maturity and Paul Newman shines and enchants us in the role of an elegant and friendly swindler full of tricks. Seeing these three great actors together on stage is simply delightful. The film also has a good secondary cast, with Robert Earl Jones, Charles Durning, Eileen Brennan, Ray Walston and other good artists. On a technical level, we have to surrender to the impeccable cinematography achieved by the meticulous eye of director George Roy Hill, in cooperation with a team of good professionals, and which perfectly emulates old films from the 30s with the advantage of color, in tones deliberately brownish, golden and yellowish. The sets, props and costumes are simply incredible: the cars can make classic admirers salivate and the costumes deserve a place in the closet of any gentleman with a taste for the “old-style” elegance they exude. The period is well recreated and the situations balance dramatic tension and humor well. The soundtrack is solidly based on Scott Joplin's piano melodies and is wonderful to listen to, and the titles are magnificently well-designed and have art in themselves. It's a long film, two hours long, but it's so delightful to watch and so well edited that time flies by.
CinemaSerf
May 27, 2023 · via TMDB
Say what you like about the undoubted chemistry between Paul Newman ("Henry") and Robert Redford ("Johnny") this film belongs to a superb effort from the understated but hugely entertaining Robert Shaw. He's the hard-nosed gangster "Lonnegan" who gets (anonymously) fleeced by a "Johnny" who quickly decides that discretion is the better part of valour and gets out of Dodge. It's at this stage that the two grifters decide that their mark could be good for a great deal more money and so set up an elaborate operation purporting to be an undercover betting (on horses) proposition. Now "Lonnegan" ain't no easy target and every step they take is filled with danger - but slowly and surely the two, alongside a veritable army of fellow cons, start to piece together the ultimate lure for this clever, but ultimately greedy, man. Can they pull it off? Can they pull it off and survive? The films looks great, the writing is quickly-paced, humorous and it allows for loads of engagement between almost everyone - including an on-form Eileen Brennan and the charismatic "Kid Twist" (Harold Gould). The aesthetics are fabulous too - the sets, costumes, cars - even the tommy guns - all work really well adding huge richness to this cracking tale of the worm that turned. The Scott Joplin accompaniment is just icing on the cake of this classy and stylishly entertaining crime drama that I still love watching, fifty years on.
John Chard
Sep 9, 2019 · via TMDB
Not only does it sting, it floats like a butterfly as well. Academy Award Winner Best Picture, Academy Award Winner Best Director-George Roy Hill, Academy Award Winner Best Screenplay-David S. Ward, Academy Award Winner Best Editing-William Reynolds, Academy Award Winner Best Song Score-Marvin Hamlisch, Academy Award Winner Best Art Direction/Set Decoration-Bumstead & Payne, Academy Award Winner Best Costume Design-Edith Head, Nominated for Best Actor (Redford), Best Cinematography, Best Sound. Few films can draw me in and indulge me on repeat viewings like The Sting does, it was barely 36 hours ago when I sat there talking to the screen offering advice like I was in the flipping film. I have seen it written that the film's success was only garnered because of the star appeal of the leads! Well for starters that is an insult to Robert Shaw who may be accused of overdoing it at times, but his portrayal of Lonnegan is a complete joy, witness the fury on his face during an on train poker game as the irrepressible Newman does comedy gold. Visually the film is a delight, and the story fuses together to culminate in an ending that not only stings with impact; but also floats like a cinematic butterfly. 10/10
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
Amazon Video
Apple TV Store
Google Play Movies
YouTube
Fandango At Home
YouTube TV
TCM
Amazon Video
Apple TV Store
Google Play Movies
YouTube
Fandango At Home
Paul Newman
Henry Gondorff
Robert Redford
Johnny Hooker
Robert Shaw
Doyle Lonnegan
Charles Durning
Lt. Wm. Snyder
Ray Walston
J.J. Singleton
Eileen Brennan
Billie
Harold Gould
Kid Twist
John Heffernan
Eddie Niles
Dana Elcar
F.B.I. Agent Polk
Jack Kehoe
Erie Kid
Dimitra Arliss
Loretta
Robert Earl Jones
Luther Coleman
James Sloyan
Mottola
Charles Dierkop
Floyd (Bodyguard)
Lee Paul
Bodyguard
Sally Kirkland
Crystal
Arch Johnson
Combs
Brad Sullivan
Cole
John Quade
Riley
Leonard Barr
Burlesque House Comedian
Paulene Myers
Alva Coleman
Jack Collins
Duke Boudreau
Tom Spratley
Curly Jackson
Ken Sansom
Western Union Executive
Ta-Tanisha
Louise Coleman
William Benedict
Roulette Dealer
Robert Brubaker
Bill Clayton from Pittsburgh (uncredited)
Kathleen Freeman
Kid Twist's Wife (uncredited)
Bruce Kimball
Lacey the Bouncer (uncredited)
Alexander Lockwood
Landlord (uncredited)
Byron Morrow
Mr. Jameson from Chicago (uncredited)
Arthur Tovey
Bank Officer (uncredited)
Jack Berle
Gambler (uncredited)
Robert Buckingham
Gambler (uncredited)
Bob Harks
Pedestrian (uncredited)
George Holmes
Gambler (uncredited)
Mike Lally
Gambler (uncredited)
Henry Bumstead
Art Direction
Robert Surtees
Director of Photography
Edith Head
Costume Design
Dean Smith
Stunts
George Roy Hill
Director
Robert Crawford Jr.
Associate Producer
David Brown
Executive Producer
Richard D. Zanuck
Executive Producer
Julia Phillips
Producer
Michael Phillips
Producer
Tony Bill
Producer
Gunther Schuller
Music Arranger
Marvin Hamlisch
Music Arranger
Marvin Hamlisch
Music Director
Marvin Hamlisch
Music Producer
Ralph Grierson
Musician
Marvin Hamlisch
Original Music Composer
Scott Joplin
Original Music Composer
David S. Ward
Writer
Hall of Mirrors
Memorie
Pure Scum
BRINK
Brian Roe: That's My Vibe
Dance With The Devil
Va Banque
The Power and the Glory
Smrť šitá na mieru
Shadows of Desire
Schindler's List
The Green Mile
Saints & Sinners: Judgment Day
Pulp Fiction
Forrest Gump
Once Upon a Time in America
The Silence of the Lambs
Rear Window
Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion
“Slovo” House. Unfinished Novel
The Handmaiden
A Clockwork Orange
The Usual Suspects
Reservoir Dogs
Double Indemnity
All About Eve
Amadeus
American Beauty
Le Bonheur des autres
The Naked Island
Mind Games
Fatal
Inside The Mob's Bloody Valentine
Perfect
Der streitbare Herr Kickel
To Kill a Mockingbird
Catch Me If You Can
Kill Bill: Vol. 1
The Deer Hunter
Million Dollar Baby
Braveheart
Rope
Rebecca
Titanic
Mirror
On the Waterfront
Dances with Wolves
Snatch
It Happened One Night
All Quiet on the Western Front
Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
Nine Queens
The King of Comedy
The Untouchables
Mystic River
Gloomy Sunday
Annie Hall
Charade
A Raisin in the Sun
The Longest Distance
Sardinia
Mississippi Burning
Battleship Potemkin
Thelma & Louise
The Marathon Family
The Last Emperor
The Bad Guys
The Old Gun
Shooting Dogs
To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar
The Devil's Advocate
Ray
The Bourne Ultimatum
The Man Who Knew Too Much
The Experiment
American Me
The Lego Movie
Sicario
Lupin the Third: Jigen's Gravestone
Distant Lights
The Remains of the Day
I Stand Alone
Jackie Brown
Jacob's Ladder
The African Queen
The Bourne Supremacy
Along Came Youth
Gone Baby Gone
The Quiet Man
The Aristocats
Green Street Hooligans
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Batman
Driving Miss Daisy
The Boys in the Boat
A Fish Called Wanda
West Side Story
Crash
God Does Not Believe in Us Anymore
In the Mouth of Madness
White Christmas
The Public Enemy
The Driver
Our Mother's House
A History of Violence
12 Mighty Orphans
Pale Rider
Stranger Than Paradise
Out of Africa
John Q
Chicago
Fahrenheit 451
The English Patient
Pillow Talk
Quo Vadis
Frenzy
The Lake House
While You Were Sleeping
Holiday Inn
Strange Days
An American in Paris
State of Grace
I am a Berliner
Oliver!
Gentleman's Agreement
Pieta
Rubber Duckie
Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles
Inland Empire
Valkyrie
Bronson
Layer Cake
Breakdown
Gomorrah
Battle of the Bulge
Heaven Can Wait
Fish Tank
Three Seconds
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Battle of Britain
Payback
Cop Land
Unthinkable
Nick the Sting
The Vancouver Asahi
Con Air
Never Back Down
Hit Man
Carne
Lucas
Short Sharp Shock
Katyn
Going My Way
I Capture the Castle
Jimmy's Hall
We Own the Night
Inspector Sun and the Curse of the Black Widow
Out of Sight
Dead Presidents
48 Hrs.
Street Kings
Around the World in 80 Days
Backdraft
Dumb and Dumber
Bad Boys II
The Children of Huang Shi
Clear and Present Danger
The Four Feathers
Psycho-Pass: Sinners of the System - Case.1 Crime and Punishment
Guys and Dolls
The Legend of Bagger Vance
Dog Days
The Salton Sea
War and Peace
Support Your Local Gunfighter
Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse
Risky Business
Freud's Last Session
My Best Friend's Wedding
Slither
Killer Joe
Hard Target
Aces Go Places
Topkapi
The Grifters
The Nutty Professor
G.I. Blues
The Lemon Drop Kid
Cut-Throats Nine
The Poughkeepsie Tapes
Living It Up
When Friendship Kills
Fabian: Going to the Dogs
The Gift
The Whole Nine Yards
The Cotton Club
The River Wild
The Principal
The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case
THX 1138
Big Bang Love, Juvenile A
Unhinged
Weekend at Bernie's
The Love Scam
The Greatest Story Ever Told
Judgment Night
Confessions of Felix Krull
Executive Decision
The Jackal
I Love You Phillip Morris
Butterfly on a Wheel
Being Julia
The House Across the Street
Married Bachelor
Rally Road Racers
Derailed
Game of Death
The Black Tent
Sommersby
The Assignment
Danger: Diabolik
Pacific Heights
Revenge of the Ninja
Live by Night
The Air I Breathe
Death Warrant
Now You See Him, Now You Don't
Entrapment
Romeo Is Bleeding
Frontier(s)
Gigi
Izzat
Loving You
Last Summer
Amelia Earhart: The Final Flight
Let the Corpses Tan
Assault on Precinct 13
The Brink's Job
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
Locked Out
My Best Friend
Welcome to Collinwood
Pennies from Heaven
Zulu Dawn
About Last Night...
The Man Who Cried
Valhalla Rising
Smile at Last
Endless Night
Mafia Mamma
7 Virgins
Monster Man
Wonderland
The Wedding Party
Wasp Network
Shaft
Topaz
Another 48 Hrs.
Blue Hawaii
The Trap
I Was a Mail Order Bride
Buñuel en el laberinto de las tortugas
Koza Nostra. Mom's Coming
Los ojitos verdes
Far North
Best Seller
Fun in Acapulco
Edmond
Mr. No Legs
The Penthouse
Four Rooms
Grande école
Raw Deal
Mahogany
What's New Pussycat?
Alfie
Carry On Up the Jungle
Camp Nowhere
Capone
Racer and the Jailbird
Trucker
Beverly Hills Cop III
Guernica
Alien Girl
Wedlock
The Magic Christian
Five Fingers for Marseilles
Undertow
Metro
The Wrecking Crew
Bad Seed
Amelia
More Sex & Violence
Risky Business
Robbing Mussolini
Frankie and Johnny
You May Not Kiss the Bride
Lorna
City of Industry
Solo mía
Tortured
Enter the Ninja
The Spirit Is Willing
Children of the Pines
Cherry, Harry & Raquel!
Batman Forever
A Serbian Film
Avenging Angelo
Charro!
Change of Habit
Bruc: The Manhunt
Pink Sauce
Eagle's Wing
Knock Knock
A Perfect Plan
Blues Brothers 2000
The Promotion
Paris Pigalle
Wander
Graduation Heist
The Man Is Armed
Paradise, Hawaiian Style
Hells Angels on Wheels
The Other Side of the Mirror
The Hillside Strangler
In Security
Voodoo Macbeth
Butcher the Bakers
Baise-moi
Howling II: Stirba - Werewolf Bitch
Matka
The Grim Sleeper
The Big Bet
Three Day Millionaire
Attack of the 50 Foot Woman
Apuesta con la muerte
Five Loose Women
Christina's House
Naked Singularity
Delta of Venus
María Navajas
Bonsoir
Ninjas vs. Zombies
Under Still Waters
Rytmus 1934
Loafer
Los cómplices del infierno
For Love Alone
Porch Pirates
Happy Slapping
Blackness
Panoh
Džarkovia
Kleingeistganoven
Stories of A Madman
Endless Content Forever
Čenkovej deti
Ramachandra Boss & Co
The Voice
The Robbers
L'Inverno
Zlatý drak
The Plan
Casino Caper
Stitches
I Wish I Were Pretty
Trash Monsters from Outer Space
Brighter Stars
Untitled
Catch Me If You Can
Paper Moon
The Asphalt Jungle
The Wrong Man
The Outfit
Shadow of the Thin Man
Little Caesar
Family Plot
Owning Mahowny
The Outfit
Logan Lucky
Red Notice
Bottle Rocket
Deathtrap
Life
The Rise
'G' Men
I Walk Alone
Robbery
Find Me Guilty
Get Shorty
Mad Money
Pocket Listing
The Old Man & the Gun
Ocean's Eleven
Six Degrees of Separation
King Creole
Mobsters
Kajillionaire
Johnny Dangerously
Robin and the 7 Hoods
Uptown Saturday Night
Things Change
Fun with Dick and Jane
After the Sunset
White Lightning
Madea's Witness Protection
The Good Thief
Welcome to Collinwood
Stark Raving Mad
Kansas City
Bandidas
Tough Guys
The Comeback Trail
Dec 25, 1973
Jun 4, 1977
Re-release
Nov 5, 1978
ABC Network, USA commercial television debut
© 2025-2026 MovieNight. All rights reserved.
Versus
Sign in to play →
The Stranglers - Live '78, SF
1978
Saddle Leather Law
1944
Sign in to vote
Battle your watched movies head-to-head
Community Top Movies
Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
The Dark Knight
2008 · 14 wins
Halloween
1978 · 13 wins
Final Destination
2000 · 12 wins
Halloween II
1981 · 11 wins
Trivia
Leaderboard →Playing as a guest — sign in to save your score and rank on the leaderboard.
Movie Trivia
Guess the movie from a clue — tagline, plot, cast and more. Pick from four posters.
What movie experience do you prefer?
What is your favorite movie genre?
Versus
Sign in to play →
The Stranglers - Live '78, SF
1978
Saddle Leather Law
1944
Sign in to vote
Battle your watched movies head-to-head
Community Top Movies
Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
The Dark Knight
2008 · 14 wins
Halloween
1978 · 13 wins
Final Destination
2000 · 12 wins
Halloween II
1981 · 11 wins
Trivia
Leaderboard →Playing as a guest — sign in to save your score and rank on the leaderboard.
Movie Trivia
Guess the movie from a clue — tagline, plot, cast and more. Pick from four posters.
What movie experience do you prefer?
What is your favorite movie genre?
We use essential cookies to run MovieNight, plus analytics (Google Analytics) and advertising (Google AdSense) cookies. By continuing to browse, you agree to this — or click No and we won't. See our Terms & Privacy Policy to learn more.