Scorpio

Play trailer

Scorpio

PG

1973

1h 54m

Action

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

59%

Tomatometer

22 Reviews

39%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

Cross (Burt Lancaster) is an experienced assassin for the CIA who decides he's quitting the business. When he announces his intentions, however, the CIA decides they'd rather have him dead than retired. They assign Scorpio (Alain Delon), a French assassin whom Cross has mentored for years, to do the job. A complicated game of cat and mouse follows, during which Cross relies on his many contacts and years of experience to elude the man he's taught everything he knows.

Critics Consensus

Burt Lancaster and Alain Delon add some much-needed weight, but Scorpio doesn't offer much that spy thriller fans haven't already seen before.

Read Critics Reviews

Jerry Oster

New York Daily News

Jun 3, 2021

2/4

A spy movie that tries to transcend the dutifully ordinary twists of its plot and tell a tale of a squalid world in which nothing not friendship nor love nor life has any value. It is so relentless in rendering meanness that it leaves a bitter aftertaste.

Go to Full Review

Kevin Thomas

Los Angeles Times

Jun 3, 2021

Follows a trite formula on such an unduly large, far-flung scale that it finally gets out of hand, leaving the viewer confused and therefore indifferent.

Go to Full Review

George McKinnon

Boston Globe

Jun 3, 2021

Just when you think the international spy intrigue films have reeled to the final fadeout, along comes a picture like "Scorpio" to prove there's life in the old genre yet.

Go to Full Review

David Parkinson

Radio Times

Jun 3, 2021

3/5

Lancaster manages to combine the fear of the fugitive with the toughness and resource we have come to expect of him.

Go to Full Review

John Huddy

Miami Herald

Jun 3, 2021

A slick, talky, occasionally theatrical, but frequently audacious and exciting yarn...

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Frans B

@FransB Jun 10, 2026

Well done. Classic acting from whole very seasoned cast. Familiar premise and grand scale. Well written and directed with good cinematography. Old school cinematic make up and storytelling. Whole ambiance creates atmosphere. Musical score is entertaining and integral part of story as it were in those days. Lots of very carefully choreographed gestures and dialogue. Not as action filled as modern spy drama but enough of that and then some drama, dilemma, emotion, intrigue and suspense. If you are into classical moviemaking, it is surely worth a watch

See more

thiago s

@Thiagostone Nov 10, 2025

Filme mais ou menos, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são mais ou menos, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom

See more

Steve D

@RT35616104 Aug 4, 2023

A depressing predictable drag.

See more

paul d

@PaulusLoZebra Nov 24, 2021

Michael Winner's Scorpio is an engaging spy thriller. It's got the same basic ingredients as many films in the genre: Cold War tension, brilliant covert solo operators who take on the world, untrustworthy bureaucrats in Washington and Moscow, double-crosses, ageing spys and their young replacements … should I continue ? This film succeeds because the three leads Lancaster, Delon and Scofield command our attention, each in their own way. And Lancaster's athletic stunts at age 59 are impressive.

See more

Sep 1, 2020

The bad guys are the CIA!

See more

Oct 23, 2015

A lot of stunning cinematography and wonderful writing, but I wasn't a fan of the ending.

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Michael Winner

Director

Burt Lancaster

Cross

Alain Delon

Jean 'Scorpio' Laurier

Paul Scofield

Zharkov

John Colicos

McLeod

Gayle Hunnicutt

Susan

Scorpio: Official Clip - I Want Cross

2:00

Now Playing

Scorpio: Official Clip - Getting the Drop on the Opposition

1:34

Now Playing

Scorpio: Official Clip - I'm Still a Communist

2:32

Now Playing

Scorpio: Official Clip - Hit and Run

1:03

Now Playing

Scorpio: Official Clip - Let Me Get My Bag

0:30

Now Playing

Scorpio: Official Clip - Can We Talk?

2:15

Now Playing

Scorpio: Official Clip - The Object Is Not to Win

3:43

Now Playing

Scorpio: Official Clip - Crashing His Tail

2:12

Now Playing

Scorpio: Official Clip - Construction Shoot Out

3:43

Now Playing

Scorpio: Official Clip - Cross Came Back

1:21

Now Playing

View more videos

Mr. Majestyk

84%

66%

Mr. Majestyk

Watchlist

The Getaway

84%

81%

The Getaway

Watchlist

The Killer Elite

56%

32%

The Killer Elite

Watchlist

Diamonds Are Forever

64%

57%

Diamonds Are Forever

Watchlist

Gone in 60 Seconds

43%

65%

Gone in 60 Seconds

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

Cross (Burt Lancaster) is an experienced assassin for the CIA who decides he's quitting the business. When he announces his intentions, however, the CIA decides they'd rather have him dead than retired. They assign Scorpio (Alain Delon), a French assassin whom Cross has mentored for years, to do the job. A complicated game of cat and mouse follows, during which Cross relies on his many contacts and years of experience to elude the man he's taught everything he knows.

Director: Michael Winner
Producer: Walter Mirisch
Screenwriter: David W. Rintels, Gerald Wilson
Production Co: Mirisch Corporation, Scimitar Productions
Rating: PG
Genre: Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 19, 1973, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 30, 2016
Runtime: 1h 54m

Join The Newsletter

Join The Newsletter

Cookie Settings