Rating: NR
Genre:
Drama
Release Date: 06/04/2002
SubTitles: English/Espanol
Dubbed: English/French
Sound: DD1/DD2/THX
Run Time: 135 Minutes
Distributor/Studio: 20th Century Fox
As
The Hustler's
"Fast" Eddie Felson,
Paul Newman created a classic antihero, charismatic but fundamentally flawed, and nobody's role model. A pool player from Oakland, CA, as good as anyone who ever picked up a cue,
Eddie has an Achilles' heel: arrogance. It's not enough for him to win: he must force his opponent to acknowledge his superiority. The movie follows
Eddie from his match against billiards champ
Minnesota Fats (
Jackie Gleason) as he falls in love with
Sarah (
Piper Laurie), an alcoholic would-be writer and sometime prostitute, and falls under the spell of
Bert Gordon (
George C. Scott), a successful gambler who offers to take
Eddie under his wing and teach him how to play in the big time. However, when
Sarah joins
Eddie and
Bert on a trip to Louisville for a high-stakes match with a dandy named
Findlay (
Murray Hamilton), the consequences prove tragic. Along with a classic performance by
Newman,
The Hustler also features turns by
Scott,
Laurie, and
Gleason, in a rare dramatic role. Cameos from pool champ
Willie Mosconi and boxer
Jake LaMotta add to the atmosphere of
Harry Horner's grubby production design and
Eugen Schüfftan's camerawork. Director
Robert Rossen, who had been working in films since 1937, was to direct only one more film,
Lilith (1964), before his death in 1966. In 1986,
Newman returned to the role of
"Fast" Eddie in
Martin Scorsese's
The Color of Money, for which he finally earned an Academy Award as Best Actor.
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
;)
