This is a must own 2-disc edition
Added 11/1/2009
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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Good movie for any Paul Newman fan
Added 10/17/2009
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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MUST OWN MOVIE!!!!!!!
Added 10/15/2009
YOU HAVE TO ADD THIS TO YOUR COLLECTION. Classic all the way!!!!!!!!! Newman at his best!
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All-time great, but Collector's Edition is overkill
Added 9/16/2009
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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You know, like anything can be great, anything can be great. I don't care, BRICKLAYING can be great, if a guy knows...
Added 6/14/2009
When I sat down to watch the Hustler I expected it to be a pretty straight forward story of talent and greed, the build up to the match of a lifetime, win or lose, all the tropes that tend to come with a film about talent and obsession. I was expecting something along the lines of Steve McQueen and the Cincinnati Kid or Charles Bronson in Hard Times, which are both great flicks about gifted men trying to cut out a life in the seedy underbelly of America. The Hustler parallels both of these flicks, but it seems like there is a lot more to chew on in the story of Paul Newman's Fast Eddie, with his dream to beat the reigning champ of the pool hall, Minnesota Fats, played very restrained by Jackie Gleason.
The Hustler is one of those movie experiences that I tend to cherish. Often I find that I have a hard time getting into pre-70s films because I lack the experience and frame of reference to appreciate the merits of the filmmaking when I grew up in an era that built on that foundation. Hazarding a guess, I'd say that one of the merits of a film like the Hustler was its unique narrative flow. Instead of building to one climax, the plot has a number of peaks and valleys, throwing off the usual expectations and keeping the viewer engaged. It's also genre blending, not to mention incredibly subtle, even for its slightly hammy dialogue and heartfelt performances. What ended up hooking me into the story was that there was a thematic through line, Fast Eddie's search for love, that I really wasn't paying attention to, which in my mind has the true build up and climax to the story. It's not the love of a woman, or really a love of pool, but a love of process and meaning.
There's also an openness for interpretation, for finding allegory and metaphor in the film. George C. Scott might as well be playing the devil, and it's Fast Eddie's soul in the stakes pile with his match against Minnesota Fats. But the beauty of this is that it's in the details, and not so heavy handed that it makes the film overbearing or hard to watch. There's also a very realistic tone to the film. It's one of the touchstones in that era that illustrates the breaking away from ham-fisted, staged, theatrical filmmaking, to a more honest no holds barred portrayal of life, Cinéma vérité, even for being filmed a good seven years before the end of the Hayes code. I'd suggest the Hustler for anyone who enjoys the early work of Marlon Brando, the films of James Dean and Steve McQueen, or early unconventional filmmaking.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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This is a must own 2-disc edition
Added 11/1/2009
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.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Good movie for any Paul Newman fan
Added 10/17/2009
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.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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MUST OWN MOVIE!!!!!!!
Added 10/15/2009
YOU HAVE TO ADD THIS TO YOUR COLLECTION. Classic all the way!!!!!!!!! Newman at his best!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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