Sleuth

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Sleuth

PG

1972

2h 18m

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

90%

Tomatometer

29 Reviews

90%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Based on the renowned play by Anthony Shaffer, this mystery finds Andrew Wyke (Laurence Olivier), a wealthy author of detective novels and game aficionado, facing off against his wife's lover, Milo Tindle (Michael Caine), a middle-class hair salon-owner. When Wyke, who is seemingly content to split from his wife strikes an unusual deal with Tindle, it sets into motion a fierce game of one-upmanship between the two, with the stakes growing increasingly higher.

Pauline Kael

The New Yorker

09/29/2023

The ornateness of the conceits becomes heavy, and Sleuth stops being fun at the end of the first round, long before the end.

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Judith Crist

New York Magazine/Vulture

06/12/2020

The transition of Sleuth from stage to screen is more than a matter of "opening" the scene (and what an opening that garden maze provides for the film!).

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Jay Cocks

TIME Magazine

04/20/2010

This is a fastidious, acrobatically cunning and invigoratingly well-acted thriller.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

1d

3.5/4

A delicious adaptation of Anthony Shaffer’s stage hit.

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Alain Garsautl

Positif

05/03/2022

Rarely has a film so precisely, by its very form, established its maker as the all-powerful, organizing intelligence that the audience cannot perceive directly. This concept is deeply rooted in Mankiewicz’s attitude toward his subject and his art.

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Chase Burns

The Stranger (Seattle, WA)

02/02/2022

I don't get it. The puppets, man, they really kill it. It's hard to take serious men who love puppets seriously.

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Ian H

@RT76979283 6d

Two of the greatest actors of all time match wits and talents in one of the most fun mystery/thrillers ever written. Sean Connery once said that Michael Caine was the best actor he ever worked with. After seeing this film you will agree with him. As for Olivier, legends of his grandeur on stage have long inspired many actors, as has his forcibly restrained performances for the film camera. Sleuth is about as close as we will ever get to see the true Sir Laurence Olivier because director Joseph Mankiewicz was not afraid. He seems to have learned the lesson of Norma Desmond, "I am big. It's the pictures that got small." Well, Sleuth is big and grand in every way. A true masterpiece.

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M G

@Maryse29 Feb 22

Keeps you on your toes

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Olivia J

@RT02808372 Oct 15

Essentially just two people in a single location, yet it never slows and never misses a beat, staying relentlessly engrossing with little more than sharp discourse.

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Alec B

@Alec97 10/13/2023

The struggle for masculine and class dominance as it was meant to be told.

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Shioka O

@RT54204327 09/25/2022

Their acting is so great, energetic and enjoyable. Somehow overwhelming to see it at home. I would love to see it played on stage.

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william d

@acsdoug 06/06/2022

Superb script with two of the greatest movie actors of all time.

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Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Director

Laurence Olivier

Andrew Wyke

Michael Caine

Andrew Wyke

Morton Gottlieb

Producer

Anthony Shaffer

Screenwriter

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Synopsis

Based on the renowned play by Anthony Shaffer, this mystery finds Andrew Wyke (Laurence Olivier), a wealthy author of detective novels and game aficionado, facing off against his wife's lover, Milo Tindle (Michael Caine), a middle-class hair salon-owner. When Wyke, who is seemingly content to split from his wife strikes an unusual deal with Tindle, it sets into motion a fierce game of one-upmanship between the two, with the stakes growing increasingly higher.

Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Producer: Morton Gottlieb
Screenwriter: Anthony Shaffer
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Rating: PG
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 10, 1972, Original
Runtime: 2h 18m