Parents need to know that this film contains several violent scenes, including several on-screen shootings. None of these deaths are terribly bloody. In this film, no one is on the right side of the law. The good guys are simply better at cheating than the bad guys, and their swindling is justified on the grounds that the man they are cheating has killed their friend. There is quite a bit of gambling, drinking, and smoking as well.
100 plus better than a recent caper-like movie I've seen (Duplicity-yugh) but it did have some semi-graphc violence, like when a character is shot in the head, but it's brief. The language in today's terms would definitely earn a PG-13, but that didn't bother me any. I haven't seen any other movies from 1973, but this one probably deserved the Best Pic win.
For the first 45 minutes or so, I wondered why my son liked this movie so much. After that, it's easy to get caught up in the twists and turns. Of course, Paul Newman and Robert Redford are very easy on the eyes :o) I was surprised at the PG rating, however, considering the amount of language in it. This will become one of our favorites.