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Sleuth

Sleuth

Thriller · Mystery · Crime · 1972

A man who loves games and theatre invites his wife's lover to meet, setting up a battle of wits with potentially deadly results.

Movie details

Sleuth

“Think of the perfect crime... Then go one step further.”

1972 Thriller · Mystery · Crime 2h 18m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

7.9 / 10

50.9K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

90 %

Tomatometer

TMDB

7.7 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

A man who loves games and theatre invites his wife's lover to meet, setting up a battle of wits with potentially deadly results.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Sleuth?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Written by

Anthony Shaffer

Laurence Olivier

Laurence Olivier

Andrew Wyke

Michael Caine

Michael Caine

Milo Tindle

Court is in session

Put Sleuth on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Big-Idea Head

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.