Editorial Review:

Description:
Paul Newman heads a superb cast featuring Jackie Gleason, George C. Scott and Piper Laurie in the riveting film that received an Academy Award(r) nomination as Best Picture of 1961 and brought all four of its Oscar(r) nomination. Newman (Best Actor nominee) is electrifying as Fast Eddie Felson, an arrogant, amoral hustler who haunts backstreet pool rooms fleecing anyone who'll pick up a cue. Determined to be acclaimed as the best, Eddie seeks out the legendary Minnesota Fats (Gleason, Supporting Actor nominee), who's backed by Bert Gordon (Scott, Supporting Actor nominee), a predatory gambler. Eddie can beat the champ, but virtually defeats himself with his low self-image. The love of a lonely woman (Laurie, Best Actress nominee) could turn Eddie's life around, but he won't rest until he beats Minnesota Fats, no matter what price he must pay. Voted one of the year's ten best by "The New York Times" and "Time," and distinguished by 2 Academy Awards- Cinematography, Art Direction-Set Decoration (B&W), The Hustler is a dazzling cinematic triumph.

Amazon.com essential video:
Paul Newman shines as cocky poolroom hustler "Fast" Eddie Felson in Robert Rossen's atmospheric adaptation of the Walter Tevis novel. Newman's Felson is a swaggering pool shark punk who takes on the king of the poolroom, Minnesota Fats (a cool, assured Jackie Gleason in his most understated performance). After losing big and crashing into a void of self-pity, Eddie meets down-and-out Sarah (Piper Laurie in a delicate performance), an alcoholic blue blood who's dropped into Eddie's world of dingy bars and seedy poolrooms. Eddie regains his confidence and attracts the attention of a shifty, calculating promoter, Bert Gordon (George C. Scott at his most heartless), who offers to bring Eddie into the big money--but at what cost? Rossen brings his film to life with the easy pace of a pool game, giving his actors room to explore their characters and develop into a razor-sharp ensemble. Eugen Schüfftan earned an Academy Award for his shadowing black-and-white cinematography, as did art directors Harry Horner and Gene Callahan for their deceivingly simple set designs. Even in the daylight this film seems to be smothered by night, lit by the dim glow of a bar lamp or the overhead glare of a pool-table light, an appropriate environment for this tale of one man's struggle with his soul and his self-esteem. Newman returned as an older, wiser, cagier Felson 25 years later in Martin Scorsese's Color of Money. --Sean Axmaker

WITHOUT A DOUBT, 'THE HUSTLER' RANKS AS AMONG THE BEST AMERICAN FILMS OF ALL TIME. A GREAT CHARACTER DRIVEN STORY WITH SMOKEY POOLHALLS AND HUSHED GAMBLING DENS FOR BACKDROP AND ALL KINDS OF INTERESTING THINGS GOING ON. JACKIE GLEASON WAS TERRIFIC IN THIS MOVIE, AS WAS GEORGE C. SCOOT, PIPER LAURIE AND MYRON McCORMICK, WHO PLAYED NEWMAN'S POOL MENTOR IN THE BEGINNING OF THE STORY. THE BONUS DVD THAT CAME WITH THE MAIN DVD REVEALED THE BEHIND THE SCENES INFO OF THE MAKING OF THIS CLASSIC FILM AND THAT WAS VERY INTERESTING TOO. EVEN THE ACTORS WHO PLAYED MINOR PARTS IN 'THE HUSTLER' ADDED SO MUCH REALISM TO THE FILM. THE DIRECTION, SCREENWRITING AND CINEMAPHOTOGRAPHY WERE EXCELLENT, AS WAS THE EDITING AND JAZZY MUSIC SCORE. A PERFECT MOVIE IN MY OPINION.

Average Rating:

Rating: - BEST PAUL NEWMAN MOVIE EVER!
WITHOUT A DOUBT, 'THE HUSTLER' RANKS AS AMONG THE BEST AMERICAN FILMS OF ALL TIME. A GREAT CHARACTER DRIVEN STORY WITH SMOKEY POOLHALLS AND HUSHED GAMBLING DENS FOR BACKDROP AND ALL KINDS OF INTERESTING THINGS GOING ON. JACKIE GLEASON WAS TERRIFIC IN THIS MOVIE, AS WAS GEORGE C. SCOOT, PIPER LAURIE AND MYRON McCORMICK, WHO PLAYED NEWMAN'S POOL MENTOR IN THE BEGINNING OF THE STORY. THE BONUS DVD THAT CAME WITH THE MAIN DVD REVEALED THE BEHIND THE SCENES INFO OF THE MAKING OF THIS CLASSIC FILM AND THAT WAS VERY INTERESTING TOO. EVEN THE ACTORS WHO PLAYED MINOR PARTS IN 'THE HUSTLER' ADDED SO MUCH REALISM TO THE FILM. THE DIRECTION, SCREENWRITING AND CINEMAPHOTOGRAPHY WERE EXCELLENT, AS WAS THE EDITING AND JAZZY MUSIC SCORE. A PERFECT MOVIE IN MY OPINION.

Rating: - This is a must own 2-disc edition
Paul Newman channels hubris and hurt all at the same time as a cocky pool shark, or hustler, that finds love in a woman almost as damaged as himself. Jackie Gleason and Newman are on the cover, but the surprise performance comes from George C. Scott who is electrifying & menacing as the man who controls the big-time pool halls and has his own demons to face. The 2-disc special edition of this DVD is absolutely fantastic. Great commentary, several min-documentaries covering everything from the novel the film was base don to the legacy it's left in the pool world. And my favorite feature is the option to have a pool champion do video commentary for all the pool-hall scenes. Recommended purchase.

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Rating: - Good movie for any Paul Newman fan
The movie was rather slow, but I still enjoyed watching it, especially knowing that there was as sequal that was filmed and took place 30 or 40 years later. The DVD was of good quality.

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Rating: - MUST OWN MOVIE!!!!!!!
YOU HAVE TO ADD THIS TO YOUR COLLECTION. Classic all the way!!!!!!!!! Newman at his best!

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Rating: - All-time great, but Collector's Edition is overkill
The Hustler seems underrated. It's not on AFI's Top 100 list, only appearing in its subset of Top 10 sports movies (#6). Evidently it *was* in the larger AFI 400 list that voters received and then pared down. Also I think a generation of moviegoers has only the vaguest conception that Eddie Felson was around before The Color of Money.

Since I happen to think it's a classic of American cinema, I'll spend most of this review addressing some other angles. But I will say in my opinion that this was also Paul Newman's best performance. He is in almost every scene, whereas in Cool Hand Luke there is a larger cast to help pull the weight. George C. Scott is a great villain here, and Jackie Gleason does surprisingly well in an understated role. Why didn't he do more non-comedic roles? And is it really true that Billy Friedkin wanted to cast Gleason as Popeye Doyle in The French Connection (Gene Hackman's famous Oscar-winning role)? Watching the film makes one appreciate good acting. Even the pool shots are real trick shots, no CGI!

It is worth noting the differences between this DVD (the "Special Edition" release from 2002, hereinafter referred to as "SE") and the more recent "Two-Disc Collector's Edition" from 2007 (hereinafter referred to as "CE"). Yes, "CE" has more bonus features--chief among these is an A&E biography of Paul Newman--but are they worth an upgrade if you already own "SE"? I'm not sure, and I won't be making the investment to find out. After all, "SE" already has a running commentary with more than half a dozen people, a documentary, technical insight into the pool mechanics, and more. Plus the quality of the picture/sound is excellent.

One thing that's always bothered me is the airbrushed photo that appears on the back cover of "SE". Interestingly, the same travesty appears on the front cover of "CE". In both cases we see a classic shot of Newman leaning over the corner of the pool table. In the movie (and the original still photograph), he has a cigarette dangling out of the left corner of his mouth. But Fox airbrushed this out. However, you can still see the *shadow* of the cigarette! In fact, on the back cover of the "SE" there is an inset with bonus features, and a screenshot of the DVD menu which features the original (B&W) shot which *does* have the cigarette. Smoking was obviously a common habit in the 50s and 60s, surely even more so in pool halls. Why try to hide that?

Director Robert Rossen named names to the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) during the Red Scare. It may have gotten his career back on track, but I think it hurt him in other, worse, ways. The Hustler was his next to last film and as one of its main themes is redemption, it is not hard to see Newman/Felson's journey as one Rossen was familiar with. After all, Rossen also produced and co-wrote the screenplay. He died from several illnesses at the age of 57, and I wouldn't be surprised if guilt was one of them.

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