Critical Reception and Legacy (The Sting) The Sting
The Sting was the highest-grossing film of its year
Released on Christmas Day 1973, The Sting became a commercial phenomenon. On a production budget of approximately $5.5 million, the film earned $156 million domestically and $101 million internationally, for a worldwide gross of $257 million. Adjusted for inflation, that figure approaches $972 million — placing it among the twenty highest-grossing films in American history. (wikipedia, the-numbers)
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Budget | ~$5.5 million |
| Domestic gross | $156 million |
| Worldwide gross | $257 million |
| Adjusted domestic (est.) | ~$972 million |
Contemporary reviews praised craft over depth
Roger Ebert gave the film four out of four stars, calling it "one of the most stylish movies of the year." He praised Ward's screenplay and Hill's direction, emphasizing the film's construction as entertainment. (rogerebert — 403, cited from search results)
Gene Siskel awarded three and a half stars out of four:
"A movie movie that has obviously been made with loving care each and every step of the way." — Gene Siskel, Chicago Tribune (1973)
Vincent Canby's New York Times review captured the film's self-aware pleasure in its own mechanics:
"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." — Vincent Canby, The New York Times (1973)
Variety identified the film's commercial potential immediately, praising both the reunion of Newman and Redford and the production values:
"George Roy Hill's outstanding direction of David S. Ward's finely-crafted story of multiple deception and surprise ending." — A.D. Murphy, Variety (1973)
Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times called it "an unalloyed delight, the kind of pure entertainment film that's all the more welcome for having become such a rarity." John Simon noted it "works endearingly without a hitch." (wikipedia)
Kael dissented, finding the charm mechanical
Pauline Kael wrote the era's most significant negative review, arguing that the film's pleasures were calculated rather than felt:
"Visually claustrophobic, and totally mechanical. It keeps cranking on, section after section." — Pauline Kael, The New Yorker (1973)
She questioned the age-appropriateness of the leads — "Isn't it a little early in life for Paul Newman to be playing an old-pro trickster coming out of retirement for one last score?" — and criticized the film's gender politics, noting the "absence of women" as a conspicuous gap. Her most memorable line was a dismissal that doubled as an accurate description of the target audience:
"The Sting is for people — and no doubt there are quantities of them — who like crooks as sweeties." — Pauline Kael, The New Yorker (1973)
The film swept the 46th Academy Awards
The Sting won seven of its ten Oscar nominations at the 46th Academy Awards ceremony in April 1974:
| Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| Best Picture | Tony Bill, Michael Phillips, Julia Phillips |
| Best Director | George Roy Hill |
| Best Original Screenplay | David S. Ward |
| Best Film Editing | William Reynolds |
| Best Art Direction | Henry Bumstead, James W. Payne |
| Best Costume Design | Edith Head |
| Best Scoring: Original Song Score and Adaptation | Marvin Hamlisch |
Robert Redford was nominated for Best Actor but lost to Jack Lemmon for Save the Tiger. The film was also nominated for Best Cinematography (Robert Surtees) and Best Sound (Ronald Pierce, Robert Bertrand). (wikipedia, imdb)
The sweep was notable for its breadth — the film won in both technical and creative categories, reflecting a consensus that its achievement was as much about craft as about storytelling.
The film's other honors span decades
Beyond the Oscars, The Sting collected recognition from multiple institutions:
- Directors Guild of America: Outstanding Directorial Achievement (George Roy Hill)
- National Board of Review: Top Ten Films; Best Film
- People's Choice Awards: Favorite Motion Picture
- Writers Guild of America: Named #39 on the 2006 list of 101 Greatest Screenplays
- National Film Registry: Selected for preservation in 2005 by the Library of Congress as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant"
The National Film Registry designation in 2005 marked the film's formal induction into the American cinematic canon — thirty-two years after its release. (wikipedia)
Modern aggregate scores confirm the consensus
| Service | Score |
|---|---|
| Rotten Tomatoes | 92% (101 reviews; 8.3/10 average) |
| Metacritic | 83/100 (universal acclaim) |
| IMDb user rating | 8.2/10 |
Retrospective critics defend the Oscar against auteurist skeptics
The Sting's Best Picture win over 1973's more critically fashionable entries — Mean Streets, Serpico, The Long Goodbye, American Graffiti, The Exorcist — has drawn periodic reassessment. Some critics argue that the Academy chose popularity over artistry; others contend that the film's craft has aged better than its reputation.
"If only every Oscar winner held up as well as The Sting." — Roger Moore, Movie Nation (2023)
Moore describes his first viewing as "a life-changing experience" and praises Ward's screenplay as "far and away his best script," calling the production design a "near-perfection of its period detail."
Sean Keeley at The Dispatch argues that the film's paradox — "appearing effortlessly entertaining while executing sophisticated craft beneath the surface" — is itself the achievement:
"Despite featuring Paul Newman and Robert Redford — icons of the emerging New Hollywood movement — The Sting deliberately evokes cinema's Golden Age." — Sean Keeley, The Dispatch (2023)
The sequel proved the original was inimitable
The Sting II (1983), written by David S. Ward and starring Jackie Gleason and Mac Davis in the Newman and Redford roles, was a critical and commercial failure. Its existence serves primarily as evidence that the original's success depended on the specific chemistry of its cast and director rather than on its plot mechanics. (wikipedia)