The Color of Money (1986)

Damn good! (But doesn't entirely fulfill its promise)

There's an admirable economy in the set-up. We see right away that Fast Eddie (Newman, in a reprise of his role from 1961's The Hustler) is still hustling, now off-brand liquor instead of pool, from which he retired long ago. At the same time we meet his love interest, conveniently doubling as the object of his liquor hustling, trying to break through the sales pitch to reach Eddie. We soon see cheap liquor has brought him good money, but it isn't made to appear all that glamorous or enriching in other ways. At the same time we're introduced to Vincent (Cruise) and his girlfriend/manager Carmen (Mastrantonio). The sound of Vincent's "sledgehammer break" (the break being the first shot of the cue ball into the group of nine balls) distracts Eddie from his pitch, and after observing Vincent, Eddie moves in to make a pitch of an entirely different kind. For a few minutes we're being hustled along with Vincent and Carmen. Carmen isn't really so dumb, though, and soon we wonder who will end up hustling whom.

With Eddie as manager/teacher, the trio go on the road where Vincent is to learn to hustle as they work their way to a big score at the national pool championships. Along the way Eddie's own passions, and pride, are rekindled, and he starts to believe he should be pushing the cue stick himself. The trio splits up, to meet again at the nationals.

Among the virtues of the first part of the film, in addition to the very tight script and editing, is that the three main characters are well balanced, each with an interesting and important kind of power and weakness. The emphasis is on psychology and character. As the film enters the final third, there is a shift to the kind of build-up to a show-down that we might have expected from the start. Mastrantonio's character becomes less important, and what replaces the earlier psychological tensions doesn't pay off as well either in terms of depth or excitement. To be sure, there is character development at the end, but some of it's pretty barely sketched. And there's plenty of excitement leading up to the climax, with some impressively edited pool sequences, but the very end is more of a whimper (almost literally, as there's some near-begging) than a bang.

Bottom line: this is an excellent film in most respects, with fine acting from all involved, interesting ideas, intelligent dialogue, exciting sports, and a mixed pay-off. Well worth seeing and owning. The currently available DVD is nonanamorphic widescreen, meaning it has its complete original image but will have black bars on the sides on a wide-screened monitor. The image quality is good; the stereo sound was a bit jarring at first (to me) but quickly became enjoyable in its brightness and fulness. Good music from Robbie Robertson and others.

Some notes. A number of reviewers complain of Cruise's acting, and he often divides audiences in that regard. I think he was a natural for the role, and filled it very well. (I also thought he had the more difficult role in Rain Man, and was every bit as good as Hoffman, maybe better.)

The film avoids almost completely the truly dark side of gambling/hustling, to the point that Eddie openly hands Vincent an envelope clearly stuffed with money at a key point in a way that would have led to investigations, broken kneecaps or worse in real life. Vincent's hustle that led up to this didn't make much sense to me, given the other options available, and not letting Eddie in on it made more sense as a way to heighten the drama than as a rational decision.

The film doesn't draw attention to the different moral/sporting issues involved in different kinds of hustles. Some hustles are used only to build up the bets, but sporting skill is still relied on to get the pay-off. There seems a big difference between that and actually winning money by throwing a game, especially in a major tournament where others rely on everyone bringing their best.

That Eddie had to repeatedly ask a certain character if he was a hustler rang false to me, as the excellent actor who played the character was making it clear to us he was hustling. More subtle direction would have helped make the scene more believable.

About the ending, lack of resolution or open-endedness isn't a problem for me, but it just didn't fit the build-up. Another reel fleshing out the end with material as good as the first part of the film would have made this film great.

I'm among those who would love to see a sequel in Cruise's later years where he passes on the legacy to another hot newcomer. December 30, 2007

Great movie, Poor DVD

The movie itself is great. However, the DVD is of poor quality. It does not have any "extras" either. October 30, 2007

Great Product

The movie I bought was in fantasic shape I would buy from this shipper again. March 9, 2006

A great sequel

A sequel of sorts of Newman's 1960 THE HUSTLER, and a great one. Newman, long out of the pool game now, but still unable to forget it, finds Tom Cruise shooting the daylights out of the game one night and talks the brash young kid into going on the road and becoming a hustler, with Newman as his mentor. Then halfway through the picture Newman gets the bug to play again. He and Cruise meet up in Atlantic City in a match and Newman wins, only he learns that Cruise lost on purpose to collect a bigger debt. Although it's just an example of his pupil learning his lessons too well, Newman is crestfallen; but he refuses to share in the money - thus he's purified under fire and comes away clean. It's a bit of a shock to see the movie shift from Cruise to Newman halfway through, but the ending redeems it. Both Cruise and Newman are simply mesmorizing to watch. Everything in the movie seems to work perfectly: the gritty pool-hall settings, the minor characters (especially Forest Whitaker as a hustler) - everything. Definitely worth a watch. May 15, 2005

The Color Of Money: The coolest Scorsese flick

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Martin Scorsese is one of the best directors living today. Films like Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Raging Bull, The King Of Comedy, and his most recent The Aviator are modern day classics.

The Color Of Money is also on the list of Scorsese's movie portfolio, and it's also one of the best movies made in general. The film stars Paul Newman (The Hustler) and Tom Cruise (Jerry Maguire, Rain Man) as hustlers out to make big cash in the pool halls. Newman reprises his role as Fast Eddie Felson, from 1961's film The Hustler, an oldtimer who is looking for new talent to sport around, Tom Cruise plays his target Vincent, a talented pool player and potential hustler. Felson teaches Vincent and his girl sidekick Carmen (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) everything there is to know about professional hustling and then out they go across country hustling through every state they pass on their way to the big championship in Atlanta. The highlight of the film is in the tense relationship between the desperate Felson, the crazy jealous Vincent and the manipulative Carmen, and how they manage to work as a team.

Recommended

A January 3, 2005

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