Rating: 
Summary: Eight in the Corner!
Review: This is a powerful movie- one that still holds up 40 years after its release. Paul Newman is outstanding...moody, angry, selfish, yet shows he has a heart. The supporting cast is brilliant. George C. Scott, Jackie Gleason, and Piper Laurie are all terrific, and all were nominated for Oscars for their performances. This a B/W film, and be grateful it is. This story was made for black and white. The film captures the feeling of the pool halls, the smoke, the action, it is all there on the screen. Robert Rossen was a wonderful director and his talen shinnes in this film. In addition, the DVD contains some wonderful extras, including a nice featurette on the film and some shorts on how to make the pool shots shown in the film. If you are a film buff, this is one worth having. Great acting, a good story, and a tight well written script...what more can you want from a film?
Rating: 
Summary: GO AHEAD AND PURCHASE IT, EVEN IF YOU'VE NEVER SEEN IT
Review: This is the rarest of movies which, even if you've never seen it, you can buy it and be certain you will not be dissapointed. I was lucky enough to catch it on late T.V. some years ago and it has become one of my favorites. Seeing it on DVD only made me discover how much I had been missing (they really make great use out of the Wide-screen screen).
Even more than a pool-movie this is a movie about growing up the hard way. The casting is incredible and as a result the characters are all unforgetable.
If you only have the money to purchase either this or one of the year's newest hits, think again, do yourself a favor and pick The Hustler.
Rating:
Summary: As fresh as every in 2002
Review: I won't go into the story itself here, others have done a great job. What I will state is that this black and white film is as fresh and relevant now as it was when it was made. The shadowy, amoral world of this film is recognizable as our own. The cheap lives and cheaper sex should be recognizable by anyone who has ever stepped outside of a suburb. Perhaps the most profound moments of this film come from Jackie Gleason. With expression and body language he shows his complete ownership of the game at the beginning of the film. At the end he shows that he is owned, and cannot move to the freedom of Newman.
Rating:
Summary: Fast Eddie is a classic character.
Review: There is a reason Paul Newman is one of only two actors twice nominated for an oscar for playing the same role. I was amazed to learn that he made most of his own pool shots despite the fact taht he had not played before being cast in the movie. This movie holds up.
Rating:
Summary: THE Pool Film That Is A Must
Review: If you love pool...this is a must for everyone. If you don't...it's still a must. :) Great story, themes, pool, and great performances.
Rating:
Summary: Hustle this one into your collection, quick!!!
Review: The Hustler spotlights one of Paul Newman's finest performances in his portrayal of Fast Eddie Felson, an arrogant, amoral pool hustler who's determined to be the greatest pool player in the country by beating the legendary Minnesota Fats (played flawlessly by Jackie Gleason). The film is a gritty, uncompromising character study and tragic love story that is set in the world of pool hustlers. Piper Laurie; as an alcoholic floozy who falls hard for Fast Eddie; and George C. Scott as the cold hearted manipulative gambler, Bert Gordon,-- contribute two additional flawless supporting performances. It was directed by the controversial Robert (All the King's Men) Rossen (he resisted but eventually named names during the infamous blacklist of the 50's). The film focuses on the arrogant, unsympathetic exploits of a con man as he uses his charm, looks and pool playing skills to hustle enough money to challenge Minnesota Fats, only to be humiliated in defeat. As 'Fast Eddie' attempts to raise money for a re-match, he meets and almost falls in love with Sarah a fellow alcoholic. At first Fast Eddie refuses to be managed by Bert Gordon, but after a pool hall hustle ends up with Fast Eddie having his thumbs broken, he reconsiders. Before the re-match with Minnesota Fats, a warm up high stakes game in Louisville has tragic consequences. The film dares to focus on a-typical anti-hero characters who live by amoral codes. Very little Hollywood style gloss is to be found anywhere in this stylistic gritty masterpiece which wound up being nominated for 10 Academy Awards (West Side Story won most of them that year). Cinematographer Eugene Shufftan deservedly won an Oscar for his moodily lit, beautiful black and white images. Harry Horner's and Gene Callahan's intricately art direction, production design and set decoration were also awarded with Oscars. Pool legend Willie Mosconi taught Newman how to look and act the part of a pool hustler and also made Newman's trick shots in the film. Jackie Gleason was already an excellent pool player. There really was an Aames pool hall in New York City and it is used for the film's most riveting scenes. Boxer Jake LaMotta (of 'Raging Bull' fame) plays a bartender in the film. Director Rossen who began his career as a screenwriter made only one other film (1964's Lilith) after 'The Hustler'. Rossen died in 1966. Martin Scorcese directed the 1986 sequel Color of Money, with Newman reprising his Fast Eddie role (and this time Newman won a best Actor Oscar for his efforts) as he teaches an up and coming hustler (Tom Cruise) the ropes. The sequel doesn't come close to being as good as the original (despite its stylistic flourishes, cast and director). Interesting to note that the characters in The Hustler were fictitious and an above average pool player legally changed his name to Minnesota Fats AFTER the film was released. The real life 'Minnesota Fats' eventually played a nationally televised (hosted by Howard Cosell) pool exhibition with William Mosconi in the 1970's more than 10 years after this 1961 film. DVD IMAGE AND SOUND The film has been digitally re-mastered in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. The films looks to be in excellent shape with very little print damage observed. The look of the film is smoky and gritty and the shadow details are rich indicating strong black levels present. This is a very sharp looking black and white film. The sound will not impress but the dialogue, sound effects and occasional music is crisp and usually centered..
DVD EXTRA'S In addition to two trailers for the film, there are a few interesting featurettes some production stills and the superb commentary track. Richard Schickel hosts the too short documentary The Hustler: The Inside Story which gives us some details on how the film came to be made, and delivers some we were there stories from some of the film-makers and a few surprise guests. "How to Make the Shot," and "Trick Shot Analysis by World Artistic Champion, Mike Massey"
are two shorts demonstrating and showing viewers how to make some trick shots on the pool table. There is a superb commentary track which features the reminisces, and perspectives from actors: Paul Newman, and Stefan Gierash (Preacher), Dede Allen (film editor), Ulu Grosbard (assistant director), Carol Rossen (the director's daughter), Richard Schickel (film critic, Time), and Jeff Young (film historian). The comments cover all aspects of the making of the film. Newman's comments as one might expect are few. The film looks and sounds great, the extras compliment the classic film very well. Along with Hud, and Nobody's Fool, The Hustler has, what for me, is one of the three best Newman performances on film. Considering the supporting cast are superb, there's little for anyone to fault with this film. Christopher J. Jarmick, is the author of The Glass Cocoon with Serena F. Holder a critically acclaimed, steamy suspense thriller...
Rating:
Summary: Tension In Black And White
Review: Tension in American movies has changed in the way it is created. Currently, unrelenting action accompanied by loud music is the norm for creating tension, i.e., most of Raiders of the Lost Ark, and the entire Mission Impossible 2. The evolution into non-stop tension producing action accompanied by loud music has been gradual. The small action scenes became highpoints of those early significant movies, i.e., the chase scene in Bullitt, and the chase scene in the French Connection. None of this applies to The Hustler. Tension is produced by silences. And by darkness. Watch this movie again and count the times when nobody speaks. Notice that there is a two minute period of tension producing silence when Newman and Gleason shoot pool.. The lighting is dark Or perhaps the darkness is light enough to see in. When the window shade is pulled open and the sunlight floods the pool hall, Jackie Gleason shouts to get rid of the sunlight. The shade goes back up, Darkness resumes its reign. The tension becomes so thick you can cut it with the proverbial knife. In the apartment, when Paul Newman opens the shutters in Piper Laurie's bedroom, sunlight floods the room. They look outside. There are people standing. There are people talking. Newman and Laurie are relaxed. They talk. In this movie, whenever the scene is well lit, the people are relaxed and enjoying themselves. George C. Scorr is relaxed and drinking at the big party. This is a great movie. It is worth studying once a year. There are no chase scenes. There is no music. And there are those words not spoken. There are so many words not spoken. There are those people not talking. But everyone is communicating. Do not mistake those silences in black and white for dead moments. The actors are communicating with their eyes, their stances, their gestures, their body language.. This is a great movie. It is the required text on the study of creating tension in early American movies.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT MOVIE ,FANTASTIC MUSIC SCORE
Review: MUCH BETTER THEN THE COLOR OF MONEY,TOM CRUISE IS NOT A GOOD ACTOR.FANTASTIC MUSIC SCORE BY KENYON HOPKINS ON SAX.IS THE MUSIC AVILABLE ON CD.
Rating:
Summary: The most heartwrenching tale of loss ever put on screen...
Review: Paul Newman as Fast Eddie Felson will bring tears to your eyes and make you question your values, the depth of your life, and the extent of your love. The movie is more than just a story of a man, it is a poem about success and the payments we make in matters of the heart to achieve our goals in life. Filmed in black and white, it elicits a nostalgia for days past and sets the perfect tone for the noir-like telling of Fast Eddie's lesson in character. Jackie Gleason, as the fictional Minnesota Fats, is the sad grandfather we all wish that we could cheer up...going through the routines of life and relishing in the simplicity of rote actions. For him, the pool hall is a cathedral, and the table is the place where he recites his rosary...more out of habit than out of love. For Fast Eddie (Newman), the pool hall is his local bar, an addiction that fuels his passionless life, the Holy Grail that is just beyond his reach. It promises greatness that he secretly fears he is incapable of grasping. Like a drunk who promises to drink you under the table, his pride pushes him to lose again and again. The supporting cast is impeccable. Piper Laurie is so heartbreakingly beautiful and torn that you wish you could hold her and tell her the things that Fast Eddie never will. Watch this movie alone, and then call your loved ones after the credits...it's one of the few movies that truly affects your soul.
Rating:
Summary: Great
Review: Paul Newman is great! Jackie Gleason is great! George C. Scott is great! The story, directing... you guessed it...Great!!! You can't go wrong here. This movie is a classic!
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